Tails pointing up

[Ailsaboat]

Another newbee question,
I went to check the bees yesterday in a rare break in the weather (heavy rain only just stopped) and was suprised by the amount of activity outside the hive.
Loads more bees than usual and quite a few on the landing platform walking around with their back end pointing straight up.
Took the roof off and moved the empty feeder blocking the hole in the crown board, a fair few bees came out of the hole onto the crown board and started doing the same thing, maybe a dozen or so, and about 8 were doing the same 'dance' - walking around on what looks like there tip toes with their whole abdomen pointing straight up.
Had another look today and all back to normal
Never seen it before and just wonderd if this behaviour meant anything.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Sounds as if they were "fanning" - spreading pheromones around.

 

[oliver90owner]

Time of day? What is the status of the queen in the colony? What do you mean by heavy rain - continous for the whole day or an intermittent downpour? Just stopped meaning what? How long was 'just'? What was the temperature?

Most revolve around the status of the queen. Like, could there be a virgin queen in there?

 

[VEG]

You thinking maybe a mating flight RAB?

 

[Ailsaboat]

It's my 1st colony, arrived 1 month ago as a 5 frame nuc transfered into my hive. Told it was this years queen.
Was about 5pm and had been raining pretty constantly all day, stopped only about 15 mins before i went to look at hive. Dont have exact temp but it was quite warm to say weather was so bad

 

[For want of a better word]

Strange... out ducks were doing that this afternoon too !

 

[oliver90owner]

Not enough information, but my post was fairly well pointing in that direction if all the answers were indicative of that possibility.....but I would only suggest that with just a tad more info...

 

[ultreen1]

Whenever I remove the board covering the hole in the top they do the same. Maybe it's something to do with thermoregulation.

 

[susbees]

The bees in nucs and mating nucs are much more quickly sensitive to the queen being out of the hive - in mininucs the fanning is almost instantaneous.

Other fanning behaviours seen in hiving swarms to call the other bees into the box and cooling the hive when a row can be seen at the entrance.

 

[MandF]

As other have said, what they are doing is fanning nasonov pheromones, which are "homing" pheromones.

Here is a good explanation, together with the different scenarios they are used in.

http://honeybee.drawwing.org/book/nasonov-gland

 

[victor meldrew]

Here's a bee exposing it's Nasanov gland and fanning !
I would examine colony first opportunity . Look for eggs . 5 weeks is a long time for a virgin Queen to get mated , that's if the nuc was supplied in that condition . alternatively , something could have happened to the supplied Queen which has then been replaced ??
VM

 

[acabee]

Another newbie here - funnily enough I was going to post a very similar question as Ailsaboat. I know my hive is queen+ and queen in residence (saw her and eggs yesterday). During the last week, during the day (between showers) they have lined up along the entire entrance, abdomens pointing up. They don't seem to be fanning (as wings are mostly visible). But they 'rock' backwards (ie upwards) and then move down again a few mm in a cycle.
The bees were about 3 deep doing this - ones completely upside down underneath the entrance lip, ones head down below the entrance and then ones half way between horizontal and vertical.
I did wonder if they were getting water / moisture that might have collected off the bottom lip of the entrance?? But why the rocking movement?

(I've seen individual wasps chew wood surfaces in similar ways, but know that bees can't do this.)

Acabee

 

[FreeFall]

They don't seem to be fanning (as wings are mostly visible). But they 'rock' backwards (ie upwards) and then move down again a few mm in a cycle.
Acabee

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbwumXVTOz8"]Like this?[/ame]

 

[tkwinston4]

No sound on my computer; why are they doing that?

 

[FreeFall]

No sound on my computer; why are they doing that?

He says that no-one really knows...

 

[Ailsaboat]

On mine there wasn't as many as that, i would say that if i normaly have 7 or 8 bees hanging around the platform, then there was about 20 and maybe half ware doing the abdomen up thing.
I've been deliberately leaving alone as seems to be the recommendation on here with a new colony, but as it's been suggested that i get in as soon as poss to check the queen etc, is the general concensus that i do this almost regardless of the weather(obviously not if it's too bad) instead of waiting for a good sunny day??

 

[acabee]

Ah.... now that's more like it. Mine are not on the main face of the hive above the entrance and not so many, but otherwise the same motion and actions.
Thanks FreeFall for posting that video - very informative.
Acabee

 

[REDWOOD]

I have a colony of feral bees and as soon as I smoke them they start fanning at the front of the hive and again on top of the frames, first time I saw this I thought Q- but just very house proud bees I suspect

 

[user 6228]

We use it as an indication of whether we have overstayed our inspection time. With our bees, if we can achieve what we want to see/do with none or one nasenoving we have been quick and gentle...
Its a general rallying call, and since the bees solution to anything is apply more bees the root cause could be anything or nothing.