Queen clipping

[Nannysbees]

That's a brilliant idea the drones.

 

[E&MBees]

That's a brilliant idea the drones.

Unless of course, that particular drone has the perfect genes!

 

[elainemary]

One friend told me, and have since followed always put her back middle frame uncapped brood where there are more likely to be nurse bees. Yes had queens balled in the past, but since doing this it has worked. Yes i clip, with out apiaries it is sort of necessary.

Yes agree I thought of that afterwards and placed a queen yesterday onto a lightly shaken frame to dislodge the flyers. Also in an upper brood box if possible to keep away from the flyers. They’re the ones early in spring which can get into a frenzy foraging. That’s my biggest learning, place her back with the bees that welcome her, watch and get ready to cage if necessary! Plus try and keep cool, I’m sure they pick up on beekeeper behaviour just like we do theirs.

 

[elainemary]

Unless of course, that particular drone has the perfect genes!

Yes hold back on the last clip. At that stage you’ve proved you can do it!

 

[Arfermo]

I have always used the 'crown of thorns' for marking and clipping. Just need to be careful not to cut the cotton though but by moving the frame away from the hive(s) so that flying bees can get away and leave the queen alone for my attention makes clipping very easy actually and no cross contamination of pheromones either. Never ever had a problem.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

It's not necessary. It done for the apiarist so they know the queen's age. The bees themselves replace her when she declines. So don't bother !

You seem to be confused between clipping and marking

 

[elainemary]

Visited the colony that attempted to ball my clipped queen to check she’d emerged ok from the cage. Empty cage, colony seemed very calm. Looked at an adjacent brood frame, v young larva (must have had eggs on when I caged her), no emergency cells. Foragers going bonkers bringing in pollen into the brood box below, so shut them up and added another super. Looks like a ‘free’ lesson, phew.

 

[Malmcd]

I have experienced queen balling in the past but that was marking/clipping early in the season and am reluctant to even open a hive too early in the season these days. I have also experienced a queen ‘playing dead’ when handled, a couple of times. Convinced I have killed them but have then found them there as large as life on the next inspection. This behaviour has puzzled me, but I now wonder if it could be a defence mechanism used by queens if they are being balled?

 

[elainemary]

I have experienced queen balling in the past but that was marking/clipping early in the season and am reluctant to even open a hive too early in the season these days. I have also experienced a queen ‘playing dead’ when handled, a couple of times. Convinced I have killed them but have then found them there as large as life on the next inspection. This behaviour has puzzled me, but I now wonder if it could be a defence mechanism used by queens if they are being balled?

Thanks that’s another helpful tip about not marking too early (especially in first foraging frenzy). Another tip, contrary to the ‘books’, that say mark early in the season whilst there are not many bees in the hive. Need to get it done though before swarming preps start and when there are going to be enough mature drones around.

My understanding is there are 3 circumstances around balling:
-Killing a foreign queen
-Virgins spraying other virgins (excrement, nice) causing workers to ball the virgins (got that one from David Tarpy)
-Defense mechanism to protect a ‘frightened’ queen.

So maybe you’re right and perhaps I was seeing defense rather than attack. But just didn’t look v friendly and a bit of abdomen arching going on, looking as though they were going in for the kill!

Another day in the life of a beekeeper. If it was easy we’d probably not stick with it as much as we do!

Thanks for everyone’s contributions