Think I made a mistake

[alfazer]

I have 5 hives on the ling heather at the moment. All queens b.2017. I mark and clip them just when I happen to see them.

PART1
Today I spotted the queen in hive 1 that had dodged me all summer so I catch her. I dont handle them, but rather trap them with one of those clear plastic tubes, shaped like a smoker's pipe. Them I drop them into a plunger type marking device ( the clear plastic type with the yellow sponge, sold by T). I'm fairly well practiced having done about 15 or more in the past. But today, after mark and clip, as I begun to release her she didn't move, like she had died on the spot, or fallen asleep. The plunger stops at just the right gap to hold her without crushing too hard against the sponge so i don't 'think' I crushed her.
I tipped her out on top of a frame and immediately a bunch of workers gathered around to make a fuss, lick, do CPR, or whatever. After a few seconds the big girl started to move her legs and come to life, then they pulled her down in between the frames and disappeared. So I assembled the hive and left them to it, wondering if she would be ok.
PART 2
Moved along to inspect hive 3 and found about 8 queen cells, top, middle, and one on the bottom of the frames. Saw the queen (marked and clipped) and eggs/brood in all stages.
I'm not used to seeing swarm preps in late August but maybe it's because I have a strong colony packed into a single national with one super, hoping for success at the heather. Or would it be supercedure? Either way, i took a frame with a QC and popped it into hive 1, thinking it might give them a head start if the sleepy/injured queen didn't come good.
I left all the other cells untouched, but maybe I should go back tomorrow and break them down except one? Its only 3 miles from home.

So any observations welcome please.
Can a queen act dead during marking and then be okay?
What do you think is the reason for the QCs in box 3?

Sorry for long post, thanks for any advice.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Can a queen act dead during marking and then be okay?

Yes, kind of shock.

 

[eddyh]

I have noticed the same reaction when marking a queen and the weather has turned a bit nippy,they become a bit lethargic but once down between the frames they are usually ok.

 

[Millet]

I Marked my first Queen last week and i was 50/50 if i was too rough with her even though i treated her like a piece of glass she went wobbly and did not move as quick after marking, i checked today and she is fine.

 

[Swarm]

Marked one yesterday that could really shift. when released she was gone in seconds.

 

[alfazer]

Gives me some confidence for her recovery.

By the way, this is my first time having bees forage the heather. When I open a hive the aroma is beautiful....such a strong scent. Fingers crossed for some honey.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Heather is my favourite honey.
I always buy a few jars at Conwy Honey Fair and hide them away

 

[user 15607]

I used to use a plunger but now just pick her up by the wings and hold her by the legs, while the paint dries i'll let her have a walk around on my hand, a good way to see she's ok before letting back into the hive.

 

[enrico]

Queens can and will play dead, had a few new beekeepers panicking, they do come back to life and continue as normal
E

 

[Finman]

Queens can and will play dead, had a few new beekeepers panicking, they do come back to life and continue as normal
E

Never seen that. What I have seen, they run away and try to hidden.

Queens will play dead... Never.

 

[pargyle]

Never seen that. What I have seen, they run away and try to hidden.

Queens will play dead... Never.

Clearly Finnish bees are more robust than British bees ... I don't mark my queens but I've seen queens just freeze after marking or clipping when other people have been doing it - very common. I don't think they play dead - it's a sort of faint from the shock. They come round very quickly.

I've just noticed the second part of the OP's initial post ... swarming this late in the season is unusual but not unheard of. In the circumstances you describe I'd have been inclined to do an AS ... if the box is as full as you say it's almost certainly the reason they decided to swarm - more so if they have lots of forage. Whether there was any chance of a new queen getting mated at this stage of the game I doubt it .. but, an AS would stop them swarming which is the last thing you want - once the AS has been done you have lots of choices in a couple of weeks - if you get a viable queen you could overwinter her with some bees in a Nuc and you have a nuc to sell next spring. Or you could combine the colonies back together - perhaps on a temporary basis with brood and a half but put the super under the brood box - then in Spring remove the super and go to double brood if that's the way you want to go.

Last thing you want is half your bees along with a good queen to bugger off at this time of the season as that definitely REDUCES you options !!

 

[alfazer]

Clearly Finnish bees are more robust than British bees ... I don't mark my queens but I've seen queens just freeze after marking or clipping when other people have been doing it - very common. I don't think they play dead - it's a sort of faint from the shock. They come round very quickly.

I've just noticed the second part of the OP's initial post ... swarming this late in the season is unusual but not unheard of. In the circumstances you describe I'd have been inclined to do an AS ... if the box is as full as you say it's almost certainly the reason they decided to swarm - more so if they have lots of forage. Whether there was any chance of a new queen getting mated at this stage of the game I doubt it .. but, an AS would stop them swarming which is the last thing you want - once the AS has been done you have lots of choices in a couple of weeks - if you get a viable queen you could overwinter her with some bees in a Nuc and you have a nuc to sell next spring. Or you could combine the colonies back together - perhaps on a temporary basis with brood and a half but put the super under the brood box - then in Spring remove the super and go to double brood if that's the way you want to go.

Last thing you want is half your bees along with a good queen to bugger off at this time of the season as that definitely REDUCES you options !!

Great minds think alike......I went back yesterday and did an AS!

I doubt if a mated queen will result at this time of year as my queens always take a long time to get mated and laying in May/June/July never mind late August. My intention would be to unite again rather than make increase.

 

[enrico]

Never seen that. What I have seen, they run away and try to hidden.

Queens will play dead... Never.

So....because you haven't seen it, it could not possibly be true, well...... I have seen it, therefore it must be true.

 

[alfazer]

This reminds me of a local story I'd heard about the sight of a whitrit's (stoat's) funeral. The whitrits walk upright with their dearly deceased carried on their shoulders, followed by the other mourners.
I never believed such a thing could exist, but now the Internet tells me it could be true, even though I never believed.

 

[Into the lions den]

Never seen that. What I have seen, they run away and try to hidden.

Queens will play dead... Never.

Actually they do...no whether it is 'play dead' or some kind of shock...does not matter. Often the first thing you see is one antenna start to move or the abdomen start to twitch. Unless you have actually injured her by crushing they come back and resume their role very quickly.

Whilst not especially common its thing we see several times each year. The inexperienced think they have killed her and can even have discarded the 'corpse' but give her a chance. Unless you can see physical damage then 90% will recover.

 

[sahtlinurk]

Marked and clipped one of my queens yesterday. didnt do anything different from normal as handling her but when she was released back they immediately balled and become very aggressive towards her... first time this happening.

Lauri