Queen Pheramones

[Quest for the Good Life]

Can anyone enlighten me as to how long it takes from the Queen being absent in the hive before her pheramones fade and the workers start to create Queen cells?

 

[barratt_sab]

We requeened on colony last year. We removed the old queen at 4pm one day and put the new queen in at 10am the following day - and removed the 4 QCs that they had made in 18 hours.

 

[Quest for the Good Life]

We requeened on colony last year. We removed the old queen at 4pm one day and put the new queen in at 10am the following day - and removed the 4 QCs that they had made in 18 hours.

That's quick then . . .

Thought it might take a few days to clear before they changed their behaviour

 

[huntsman666]

Within 24 hours.

 

[Steve Dyer]

There is a sort of "worried random searching" walk activity that bees do when they are queenless - both inside and outside the hive which can exhibit itself within two or three hours of losing a queen.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Less than an hour.

 

[Poly Hive]

From observing the other night whilst removing queens. 10 mins.

PH

 

[Hivemaker.]

I agree,short space of time,place a caged queen on the top bars of a queenless colony,they are all over the cage in seconds,pheromones work fast.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

A queen flew off from a mini-nuc whilst I made a ham-fisted attempt to clip and mark her a week ago. They were out fanning for her in about 2 minutes.

(She came back, now clipped).

 

[oliver90owner]

How to find your queen made easier - split the brood in two halves. Within minutes there will be a difference. Half an hour and even a new beek would likely easily tell the difference between the quiet bees and the Q- ones.

 

[Quest for the Good Life]

How to find your queen made easier - split the brood in two halves. Within minutes there will be a difference. Half an hour and even a new beek would likely easily tell the difference between the quiet bees and the Q- ones.

Thanks that's a good tip I will try to remeber

 

[Quest for the Good Life]

There is a sort of "worried random searching" walk activity that bees do when they are queenless - both inside and outside the hive which can exhibit itself within two or three hours of losing a queen.

So the bees know straight away that she's gone. How long then before they start to make queen cells and arrange for replacements that the bee keeper would notice. Is that straight away also?