Has anyone heard honey bees sound as though they are singing or chirping? If so, what does this mean? Do they have other verbal sounding communication or is it all the for the same purpose? I thought I read a post that mentioned it meant a queenless hive. At the time of this singing, I was unable to find one yet there was evidence a queen been active recently. This one hive did have some queen cells, I left two capped cells to let them sort it out, and they did. Every colony I have are currently queen right.
I still wonder what the singing was about?
Queens chirp, even from within their cells at each other. :) It's an intriguing sound.
Very cool!
My queenless hive sounded more like a roar. Very obviously not happy.
Ah, that sounds more like the warble that bees do sometimes. An article on that here: http://is.gd/c95i1 (http://is.gd/c95i1)
Thanks!
I had a hive swarm and return back to the same hive. I herd chirpping and thought a tree frog was under the hive. After a hive inspection I found two empty queen cells, one on the bottom of a frame and the other on the bottom side off the bottom deep
In a Nova movie about honey bees, they talk about the queen chirpping when they are fighting.
Not sure about it all, but if I hear that sound again I will have some idea of the sound coming from the bee's.
Dennis
I have heard newly emerged queens piping, a high pitched rhythmic kind of thing. I think they are itching for a fight. Letting the other queen or queens know were she is.
David
hmm, this seems difficult to describe, I've been searching for audio sounds and videos of something, I haven't found a anything. It's not a queen piping, hissing, humming and so on. It sounded more like the bees in the hive were chirping an organized, orchestrated song, I was on my second pass through the frames, had heard it, paying no attention to it then it struck me. I looked inside but couldn't figure out what it was about. It wasn't constant it would stop and start.
The link about the warble describes some of the same behavior best. Maybe I ought to look for a swarm that took off in the area. That crossed my mind when I first heard it but I wasn't sure. Why would a 5 frame nuc installed in a 10 frame deep, 3 weeks old swarm so soon? Perhaps it was the pierco frames around the wood frames or some other reason.
Queen Piping. Issuing a challenge to a Rival Queen.
Here's a video - the piping starts at about 00:12
Beekeeping - Virgin queen honey bee pipping (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_KihPy-s98&feature=related#)
unfortunately, that doesn't sound like what I heard. if this was what it was, there would have been a lot of virgins queens on the frames at once unless some of the workers, nurse bees etc joined in the with the verbals. if and when heard again I'll try capture the sound some how. hmm maybe it's my imagination working over time.
I've read that it is the queens chirping challenges at each other, and that it can also be when a mature queen is being frustrated/ prevented by the bees from going after a virgin queen they plan to swarm with, leaving the old queen behind (I guess if she is clipped or otherwise unable to leave with them?), but I have never heard it. Will listen to the clip :)
The other year I picked up some queens from a local commercial keeper. He had a box full of queens(I think it is called a battery box) with queens in cages and attendant bees running free in the box. When you closed the lid, it was like a chorus of singing queens ....very cool. Maybe someone with a box-o-queens could make a Christmas CD , than I would not have to listen to those singing cats any more!!!!
Jim
I thought it was cool too and amazing .. a CD, I wonder? I didn't have anything to record with me at the time but will If and when heard again or maybe some else will produce one? The last time I opened this hive a queen was in and laying, she appeared like she had recently started. They're due for a check tomorrow but I don't think they'll be singing this time around. They weren't on the last check anyway. So it sounds like I missed a queen(s) when looking, I'm sort of surprised but it's possible.
edit: I'm leaving some details out
This starter hive had rejected a caged queen, capped some queen cells, chirped and requeened them selves in 4 and a half weeks. They were taking dry mega bee so I sprinkled some on top of the frames, when I did, several moved out the front entrance and bearded. 3 days later I discovered they were queenless. They went queenless for 3 and half weeks and the new queen as mentioned above arrived naturally. Chirping hasn't been heard for roughly seven weeks.
wd,
Sounds like you've already checked the piping queen sound, but I have in a video I shot about 3 years ago where there is also the sound of the "chirping" queen inside a cell on the same frame. Just thought I'd throw this in. The sound of the piping starts earlier, but the video of the piping and chriping starts around 6:40.
Arvin
http://www.youtube.com/user/acbees#p/a/f/0/VBlI1sgczVY (http://www.youtube.com/user/acbees#p/a/f/0/VBlI1sgczVY)
much appreciated, thank you!
I love your video! I remember watching it some time last year when I was just getting into the buzz -- Great video, great sounds!! Thanks for posting it :)
Quote from: acbs on May 16, 2010, 11:47:42 AM
wd,
Sounds like you've already checked the piping queen sound, but I have in a video I shot about 3 years ago where there is also the sound of the "chirping" queen inside a cell on the same frame. Just thought I'd throw this in. The sound of the piping starts earlier, but the video of the piping and chriping starts around 6:40.
Arvin
http://www.youtube.com/user/acbees#p/a/f/0/VBlI1sgczVY (http://www.youtube.com/user/acbees#p/a/f/0/VBlI1sgczVY)
Cheryl and wd,
You're very welcome, glad you enjoyed it!
Arvin