Waiting for mating.....

[Obee1]

Once I followed 10 queens at same time.

I have a lovely image of you dressed in a bee suit flying off to the DCA.

 

[beeno]

I was at the hive entrance when she left.

All my mating flights have been of the queen returning. Please tell me how she left (you know what I mean).

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

All my mating flights have been of the queen returning. Please tell me how she left (you know what I mean).

It was a pure fluke (well not completely pure because obviously I knew we were in the window). I had waited on Sunday for the best weather to make my rounds, had just finished the second A/S of the year and was getting ready to wrap up, around 4:20. It was about 19C in the shade, but the entrance was in sunshine and the apiary was warmer.

I noticed a fuss around the entrance of the Q-"insurance" nuc I had on the roof of the main Q- half. So she was in a nuc, on a roof. The fuss gets louder, Nasonov fanning starts, a bunch of drones come out so I decide to stick around and sure enough, out she comes, falls flat on her back, picks herself up and flies off. A nice-looking Q, to my inexperienced eye. Fool that I am, I missed the return, which means she was back in 15 mins.

 

[beeno]

It was a pure fluke (well not completely pure because obviously I knew we were in the window). I had waited on Sunday for the best weather to make my rounds, had just finished the second A/S of the year and was getting ready to wrap up, around 4:20. It was about 19C in the shade, but the entrance was in sunshine and the apiary was warmer.

I noticed a fuss around the entrance of the Q-"insurance" nuc I had on the roof of the main Q- half. So she was in a nuc, on a roof. The fuss gets louder, Nasonov fanning starts, a bunch of drones come out so I decide to stick around and sure enough, out she comes, falls flat on her back, picks herself up and flies off. A nice-looking Q, to my inexperienced eye. Fool that I am, I missed the return, which means she was back in 15 mins.

No airs and graces there then. On one of the return flights I witnessed, she landed on the hive wall and three workers that were already sitting there pushed her in the entrance. I would sue!

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

21 now. They must all be mated by now...

 

[Jimmys Mum]

21 now. They must all be mated by now...

Yep, reckon the waiting is finally over! Another warm one tomorrow too! Hopefully in a couple of weeks we will all have lots of newly mated queens producing perfect patterns of worker brood