Mystery Queen

[Ben Framed]

I make a habit of strolling through my home bee yard at least once a day. A few days ago I noticed a small ball of bees at the front entrance of one of my hives. I considered this unusual. Not being able to resist, with my finger I attempted separating this small ball. What I found was a short abdomen, unmarked queen in the middle. Whether or not she was mated I do not know. I do not think she was mated Because of her slender abdomen. There was no doubt these workers were attempting to kill her. There was a stinger hanging out of her thorax area. I placed her in a queen clip but she did not live very long. I had just went through this entire hive less than a week prior. There was a marked green queen according to my notes. I found NO queen cell, Supersedure, swarm, or otherwise. This is still a mystery to me.

[BeeMaster2]

That virgin queen may have returned to the wrong hive. This happens a lot. Queen breeders have reported finding numbered queens in a different Nuc box than they were placed in.
Jim Altmiller

[Ben Framed]

That is probably it Jim. Thanks
Phillip