Will nurse bees forage if they have to ?

[JCD]

I've been thinking again.....my small cast arrived mid/late April - maybe 500 bees. We are nearly two months on now, so I assume that those 500 have all passed on. The queen, I'm sure, was out mating on the 12th May (lemon smell and lots of fanning and buzzing from the bees outside the box) so I expected eggs by the 15th, and emerging brood from approx the 8th June onwards. So I surely must have only nurse bees at the moment, it being the 18th June. So who is doing the foraging ? Several of the bees are bringing in pollen, and have been all along albeit slowly. If it is necessary for the colony, will the nurse bees go out foraging earlier than normal, at maybe only a week old ?

 

[buzz lightyear]

I wouldn't be so sure of your dates, queens can take a while to start to lay, and there are a few ifs ands and buts before that. Have you any worker eggs? Thats to say, 1 per cell. Lava and capped?
The first questions you must be asking is:
Is there a queen present?
Is she mated and laying?

Before you think about the fine points of worker bee function.
Good luck with the cast, they can product good queens.
Buzz

 

[huntsman666]

Field bees last much longer when there's a need.

Give everything more time.

 

[Tom Bick]

I was once told that when needed say a big nectar flow nurse bees can be promoted to foraging, but this can have a negative effect on the hive with the brood been neglected and the hive can suffer.
I don’t know if this is the case or how common it is, I suspect not so but then how can you tell.

(I await the copy and paste brigade to dissect lol)

 

[kazmcc]

I thought there was a progression of jobs before they forage? Isn't guard bee the last job they do before foraging?

 

[Tom Bick]

Yes you are right Kaz they do have a progression of work as you say.

I am only passing on what I was told by a very experienced beekeeper and does not apply in normal situations.

 

[kazmcc]

Sorry, I wasn't questioning what anyone had written, I was just making sure I had gotten it right. Is it because their stings mature, once mature they become guard bees, then move on to foragers? I read stuff then it goes missing in my mind until someone writes something that reminds me lol

Bees. Confusing little beggars. Who'd have 'em hey?

 

[JCD]

"I wouldn't be so sure of your dates, queens can take a while to start to lay, and there are a few ifs ands and buts before that. Have you any worker eggs? Thats to say, 1 per cell. Lava and capped?
The first questions you must be asking is:
Is there a queen present?
Is she mated and laying?"

The queen is present, and laying, and has been all along matching exactly my dates as above.

 

[Black Comb]

AS I understand it (correct me if I'm wrong), bees can "go backwards" but not "forwards."

So a young nurse bee cannot suddenly become a forager but a forager can become a nurse bee if necessary.

 

[oliver90owner]

when needed say a big nectar flow nurse bees can be promoted to foraging

Think about it. That nectar, once foraged by the foragers, needs processing. Processing is house bee work. For an expanding colony there will be a heavy demand for house bees servicing brood. Something would have to be compromised if both duties exceeded the bees available.

Same thing likely arises with the brigade that insist on feeding nucs with loads of unecessary sugar syrup.

I don’t know if this is the case or how common it is

I would suspect that any time there are insufficient bees and a good flow, something is lost. The bees will always seem to be playing catch-up if not expanded sufficiently for the OSR. I reckon beekeepers then blame the OSR for a small crop, especially when the flow stops and the colony expansion finally exceeds needs, resulting in a rash of swarming bees shortly after.

RAB