A LONE QUEEN FLYING ON MY PORCH

[beemaster]

This is going to sound crazy, but here goes.

A few days ago, I noticed bearding at my hive entrance, it appeared that swarming was inevitable. I have no spare hive parts other than a few deeps with no frames - so I immediately ordered medium supers with prebuilt frames and foundation (coming this week supposidly) and until then I stuck a deep between the brood and two medium supers (just to give them some space - I'll remove all burr comb they build when the new equipment comes.

Meanwhile, I see the bees are back inside and it appears swarming didn't occur, but I just walked to the porch to look out and see if the grass needed cutting - I heard a slight buzzing, thinking I had a worker, or wasp or something trapped inside the porch, but as I opened the door to let whatever it was out the door, I caught a good look and I'm positive it was a plump looking, healthy Italian Queen. It flew away before I could get the door closed and there is no swarm cluster anywhere in site.

I don't believe I'm losing it, I'm sure what I saw - what gives. any clues???

[Kathyp]

i'll hazard an uninformed guess....

when you put the box between the supers, you effectively split the hive.  the queen you saw flying was a virgin from your split.  you now have a two queen hive separated by an empty super  :-).  when you get your new stuff, you can make a whole new hive set up.

ok....my best guess   ;)

[Bob Delp]

Are you *sure* you weren't dreaming?  :-D
Bob

[Kathyp]

if i'm right, you might want to crack the top open so the upper hive can do it's thing.

[JP]

Virgin queen would be my best guess or one sexy beemaster!! Wooo weee, watch out for those queens John, they find you irresistible!!! :-D


...JP

[Scadsobees]

I don't believe I'm losing it, I'm sure what I saw - what gives. any clues???

Hmmm...was there a lion or dancing ostrich chasing it?  :-P

Other than that...you mention healthy, plump.  The virgin queens that I've seen aren't too plump, just differently shaped.  I might think that it could be a disoriented virgin, or perhaps a large, nectar filled worker bee?  I can't imagine why a plump mated queen would be out wandering by herself.

Rick

[Cindi]

John, ooh, what you saw was indeed interesting to say the least.  You didn't get a really close look at it, or did you?  Like Rick was saying, maybe it was just a fat honeybee, I know that you know what a queen looks like, I am not disagreeing with that, but maybe, just maybe.....

If it was a virgin queen, she would not look fat that is true.  And if it was your queen that was forced out of the hive, like when they swarm, she would not be fat either, they skinny up the queen for that swarm flight, she can't fly well if she is weighted down.  So, I must wonder if it really was a queen.  Maybe it was a bumblebee, hee, hee, maybe a yellowjacket, hee, hee.  Your guess is as good as mine.  But it was an interesting event, nonetheless.  Beautiful and most wonderful day in this great life we live.  Cindi

[JP]

I was reading somewhere last night that sometimes queens will do weird things, I believe it was M.B. that mentioned that ocassionally he will see a queen on the outside of a hive, a mated, marked queen, all by herself, so although what John saw was weird it might not be as far fetched as you think.


...JP

[KONASDAD]

I had a hive superced last year. I found her balled outside the hive. Later that evening  My wife exclaimed" theres a queen bee in front of Kona." I said, "Probably a drone, they are big." ( I was thinking, a queen yeah right.) So I Look. Sure enough a queen. I free released her into the hive that was superceding. Dont know if she took or not.
Congrats on your new found queen enjoy her by adding some frames into a box.

[Kathyp]

what ever happened to this hive????

[beemaster]

It was a Queen, I'm sure Cindi and others - I could have caught a longer shot and we wouldn't be having this conversation now, but I only had a second of time to see all I saw.

She was a pale ans shiney, plumb body of a mated queen - that was the weird part, it wasn't tiny like a virgin, it was full bodied, much different than a virgin, worker and don't even think drone.

[Cindi]

John, OK so that is coooooelle!!!  Beautiful day, lovin' our life.  Cindi