I just can't find my queen. I keep looking. I figured I'd take pictures... so I don't have bother the bees too much... And have still failed to identify her. I googled what they look like.. and that made identifying even harder for me :( My queen was NOT marked... and I will never ever buy bees that don't have a marked queen again.
Here's the link to my photos that I took.. If you can help me locate her.. I'd be eternally grateful. If not.. Enjoy the pictures :)
Thanks in advance for any help!
http://candiebearbees.weebly.com/blog/after-a-week-i-still-cant-locate-my-queen
When I go into my hives I very seldom look for the queen.
I look at the capped brood, uncapped brood and eggs then I know she's doing her job.
But if you have a large population of bees like now then you'll drive yourself crazy trying to find her.
She'll run, hide and do about anything else to keep from being in the light.
first of all, why are you looking for her? did you see eggs and larvae? if so, she's there. what else do you need to know? :wink:
I believe I see some, although the shots are not straight into the cells. did not see her.
Quote from: kathyp on April 17, 2015, 08:15:05 PM
first of all, why are you looking for her? did you see eggs and larvae? if so, she's there. what else do you need to know? :wink:
I believe I see some, although the shots are not straight into the cells. did not see her.
Im scared of crushing her or hurting her. There's no cappings yet. tomorrow they'll have been in there for a week. I do see some cells with pollen, and some have a wet substance in them...Im happy with the progress they've made :) like I said.. just afraid of hurting the queen.
Quote from: capt44 on April 17, 2015, 08:06:12 PM
When I go into my hives I very seldom look for the queen.
I look at the capped brood, uncapped brood and eggs then I know she's doing her job.
But if you have a large population of bees like now then you'll drive yourself crazy trying to find her.
She'll run, hide and do about anything else to keep from being in the light.
there's none of that yet. I was thinking of trying again tomorrow during the day time.. when most of the drones and foragers are out...
You would not have capped brood in a week. Take out the second frame from one side, move the next two or three frames over into the vacant space. Take a frame out from the center that has the most bees on it. look into the cells and see if you see a little white speck in the bottom of the cell. Smaller than a small grain of rice. The eggs should be easy to see on your black foundation.
If you have a laying queen that has been laying for more than 4 days there should be little white "grubs" which would be larvae in the bottom of the cells.
Not sure but the bee on the frame in the center row, second frame from the bottom, on the top bar in the upper right hand corner looks like it could be a young queen that has not developed a large abdomen yet.
The main reason for marking is to keep up with their age. Once you get to knowing how to look for and finding her it will be different. Don't look to hard at a given spot. Use the scanning method. hope this helps d2
Come on guys and Gal, Why does she want to see the queen. I suspect a newbee here and didn't we all want to see her Majesty when we started. I imagine even you Ms. Kathy :wink:
Be patient let her lay. And even if you don't see her you will see the results :happy:
Quote from: don2 on April 17, 2015, 10:00:32 PM
You would not have capped brood in a week. Take out the second frame from one side, move the next two or three frames over into the vacant space. Take a frame out from the center that has the most bees on it. look into the cells and see if you see a little white speck in the bottom of the cell. Smaller than a small grain of rice. The eggs should be easy to see on your black foundation.
If you have a laying queen that has been laying for more than 4 days there should be little white "grubs" which would be larvae in the bottom of the cells.
Not sure but the bee on the frame in the center row, second frame from the bottom, on the top bar in the upper right hand corner looks like it could be a young queen that has not developed a large abdomen yet.
The main reason for marking is to keep up with their age. Once you get to knowing how to look for and finding her it will be different. Don't look to hard at a given spot. Use the scanning method. hope this helps d2
thank you!!!!!
Quote from: sc-bee on April 17, 2015, 11:03:58 PM
Come on guys and Gal, Why does she want to see the queen. I suspect a newbee here and didn't we all want to see her Majesty when we started. I imagine even you Ms. Kathy :wink:
yes. I'm new at this. I've been doing it for 5 days.....
Yes I can under stand that too. But isn't too much of a good thing sometimes bad.
I would say do not continue to open up the hive too often, when you do, don't take all the frames out at once. If there is young brood we know this is not good. It only takes a few minutes to chill brood to the critical point.I would limit my inspections to at least every 5 days. when you first hive a package, after you have checked in 2 or 3 days to make sure the queen is released I would not look in again for 10. If you start with a hive that was supposed to be established then there should have been capped brood when it was purchased. By the second year you should be able to tell a lot about a colony just by looking at the entrance. d2
Another tip, the more you go into the hive the bigger chance you have of mashing the queen, or at the least injuring her to the point that the bees would supersede her with new queen.
QuoteAnother tip, the more you go into the hive the bigger chance you have of mashing the queen, or at the least injuring her to the point that the bees would supersede her with new queen.
that.
and that's why I asked. :grin:
If you are only going back and back to find the queen, you do run the risk of damaging her, or setting back the hive. sure, it's good to see her, but if your goal is to determine that you have a laying queen, you don't need to see her for that info.
Wasn't trying to put her down, just maybe slow her down.. :wink:
Thanks Kathyp
> I was thinking of trying again tomorrow during the day time.. when most of the drones and foragers are out...
This part just failed to register........ :oops: Yep too much is not a good thing..
To all,oh I understand and agree. And Ms. Kathy I know you would not put her down... And I agree once a week is enough and give them some time to get established. Just was saying we all were impatient at one time. I remember very well. And I always wanted to see that queen but if I didn't, I forced myself to wait another week!
Takes a while for a newbee to be satisfied with just seeing signs of the queen. And then all that pristine wax and the different colors of pollen are ahead toooo.... hang in there candie. It will all come in due time :wink:
Hang in there candie! Discipline yourself "not" to go in the hives for a few days. It's tough, I know because summer before last I was in the same place you're at. I wanted to go in about every two days. My queen was marked though. I bought me some jewelers visors from ebay for around $15(I think). They really help you to find eggs. If I find eggs, I move one to the next hive. Right now since I've had so many swarms if I don't see eggs I will try to spot the queen.
Good Luck, and I know you're going to enjoy this hobby. These folks on here were such a great help to me in my first year. If there is in fact a smart mouth the moderators will know who they are and will correct or silence them. Written communications is the hardest way to communicate. Without hearing the tone of voice or seeing a smile you don't know if one is joking or bashing.
Quote from: GSF on April 18, 2015, 08:08:52 AM
Hang in there candie! Discipline yourself "not" to go in the hives for a few days. It's tough, I know because summer before last I was in the same place you're at. I wanted to go in about every two days. My queen was marked though. I bought me some jewelers visors from ebay for around $15(I think). They really help you to find eggs. If I find eggs, I move one to the next hive. Right now since I've had so many swarms if I don't see eggs I will try to spot the queen.
Good Luck, and I know you're going to enjoy this hobby. These folks on here were such a great help to me in my first year. If there is in fact a smart mouth the moderators will know who they are and will correct or silence them. Written communications is the hardest way to communicate. Without hearing the tone of voice or seeing a smile you don't know if one is joking or bashing.
Thank you! :)
DO NOT open the hive before you have had them 2 weeks. You have opened them too many times already.
Check for queen release 4 to7 days after install. Check for open brood 2 weeks after install. Check 2 to 3 times maximum permonth for the rest of the summer. Less is better.
Candi,
Remember you probably got 10,000+ bees in your package. You have a one in 10,000 chance of mashing the queen, so don't worry about it. And the odds only get greater as the population in the hive increases. Yes, you might crush her, but if she has already laid eggs the girls will just make a new queen from the eggs she left behind. So don't sweat it.
Leave them alone for a while and let the bees be bees. They know how to take care of themselves. Open them back up in a couple of weeks and you most likely will see capped brood, larva, eggs....and maybe even a queen.
A TIP: I always carry a queen clip and a marking pen in my bee jacket so if I do spot a queen, I can mark her right then and make her easier to spot in the future.
Candi,
If it makes you feel any better, we didn't see our queens our entire first year.
Some how they survived us and now we have 10 hives.
Good luck, enjoy your bees.
Let us know when you find her, but don't look too hard. It's not that important.
J
On of the members on here actually looked through my pictures and suggested who they thought The queen was. After looking at the one they suggested .. I'm pretty sure that's my queen :) and that made me happy! Thanks Saxton & jvalentour
which picture? it's always good for us to brush up on "spot the queen" :-D
Kathyp, the middle row, second pic from the bottom. right top of the frame. looks like a young queen that hasn't developed a large abdomen. I am judging this bee by her slim tapered abdomen. d2
could be, but I also enlarged that pic, and in the empty black cells are eggs. try right click and open in a new tab. tell me if you see them :-D
I did see what looked like some eggs in more than one frame, if it was not a light reflection.d2
since you spot the queen and I spot the eggs on the same frame.....
:cool:
Candiebears, be patient. give them a few days before you go in the hive again. By then if these are eggs Kathyp and I saw then you should be able to see the larvae. They grow fast once hatched. I would wager when you do see the queen you probably will
not be looking for her. d2
Those young queens are also good about running and hiding.
You definitely have single eggs at the bottom of the cells in a couple of the photos. Close them up for a while and relax! :)
Quote from: kathyp on April 19, 2015, 10:55:01 AM
which picture? it's always good for us to brush up on "spot the queen" :-D
In the list of pictures it's in the middle column, second to the bottom. It's the bee in the top right of the photo on the frame. :)
Quote from: L Daxon on April 18, 2015, 11:28:39 PM
Candi,
Remember you probably got 10,000+ bees in your package. You have a one in 10,000 chance of mashing the queen, so don't worry about it. And the odds only get greater as the population in the hive increases. Yes, you might crush her, but if she has already laid eggs the girls will just make a new queen from the eggs she left behind. So don't sweat it.
Leave them alone for a while and let the bees be bees. They know how to take care of themselves. Open them back up in a couple of weeks and you most likely will see capped brood, larva, eggs....and maybe even a queen.
A TIP: I always carry a queen clip and a marking pen in my bee jacket so if I do spot a queen, I can mark her right then and make her easier to spot in the future.
How does a queen clip not hurt her?
Candie, I think you have clipping the queen confused with a queen clip. Clipping the queen is sniping her wings. A queen clip is similar to a hair clip made to catch and confine the queen.
(http://i59.tinypic.com/2l8bvgj.jpg)
Quote from: sc-bee on April 20, 2015, 11:58:50 AM
Candie, I think you have clipping the queen confused with a queen clip. Clipping the queen is sniping her wings. A queen clip is similar to a hair clip made to catch and confine the queen.
(http://i59.tinypic.com/2l8bvgj.jpg)
lol... no I meant the actual clip. I was just wondering, because they look like the hair clips (which I speak from experience are vicious...lol) I was just wondering how it doesn't hurt her.
it's like a little cage. she goes in it. it does not go on her.
lot of good advice here --also i find it best to listen to the sound of the hive
there are diferant sounds a queenlees hive makes (its a low soft mourning sound-the best discrption i have
is that it is a sond of sorou )so when you learn to identify what the hive is saying-then it is your chance as
a keeper of the hive to find the opition -or no option -of intervention--RDY-B
Quote from: Candiebears on April 20, 2015, 01:05:46 PM
Quote from: sc-bee on April 20, 2015, 11:58:50 AM
Candie, I think you have clipping the queen confused with a queen clip. Clipping the queen is sniping her wings. A queen clip is similar to a hair clip made to catch and confine the queen.
(http://i59.tinypic.com/2l8bvgj.jpg)
lol... no I meant the actual clip. I was just wondering, because they look like the hair clips (which I speak from experience are vicious...lol) I was just wondering how it doesn't hurt her.
Yea those real metal hair clips were vicious. Look at the picture of the queen clip, you can see the jaws rest on a flange area. Like Kathy said it just creates a compartment.
Quote from: rdy-b on April 21, 2015, 04:14:18 AM
lot of good advice here --also i find it best to listen to the sound of the hive
there are diferant sounds a queenlees hive makes (its a low soft mourning sound-the best discrption i have
is that it is a sond of sorou )so when you learn to identify what the hive is saying-then it is your chance as
a keeper of the hive to find the opition -or no option -of intervention--RDY-B
Thank you!
I checked today... And my queen is laying. There are also some yellowish capped cells. Not sure what those are! But just happy to know my queen is there and doing her job!
Also I only went in the hive to see if she was laying. Checked one frame then closed them back up!
That is how you should do it. Have a purpose for going into the hive. Once that purpose is met, close up. During the first year is the time to learn all the do's and don'ts. You will get to the point you can tell what is going on just by listening and watching the entrance. This last part is best diagnosed when you have more than one colony. Give's you something to compare with. d2
An example of how you can tell something is going on inside is seeing undeveloped larvae on the landing or bottom board if there is no landing. #1 Brood got chilled to the point that they died. #2 The colony is almost out of stores. #3 There are some sick or deformed brood. The workers can detect when brood is sick or deformed. I don't think I have to say where the chilled brood comes from, but I will. If you open the hive when it is cool and keep it open too long or take a frame of brood out to inspect it and keep it out too long, specially if you have a breeze and the temp is anywhere below 70/75 degrees. Happy bee keeping. d2
""Have a purpose for going into the hive.
That line should be in capital letters and bold print. It is as important as about anything you can say about beekeeping to a newbee.
Thank You, Don.
Quote from: Candiebears on April 26, 2015, 04:04:40 PM
Also I only went in the hive to see if she was laying. Checked one frame then closed them back up!
:wink: Atta Girl. G