Old Bees, Young Bees and Middle Age Bees

[Tucker1]

Just a quick question for all you seasoned beekeepers. 

How do you distinguish a bee's age?   (i.e. If I look at the bees in my hive, how can I tell the youngsters from the those that nearing the end of their life?)

Can you tell by looking on a frame of bees, if the majority of them a young or if their "long in the tooth"?

Can you tell ?

Regards,
Tucker1

[amandrea]

I look at the wear of their wings to determine how young or old they are. Some times I think the older ones color has faded but I'm not sure.

[bassman1977]

I can tell by how fuzzy they are.  The ones with the least amount of fuzz on them are old timers.  The fuzzy ones are new.  I also noticed that the wings on the new bees are a lot more close to the body.  Like they have been squished in a cell for a while and haven't had a chance to open them up too much.  Also, the new bees seem to be a bit smaller than the old timers.

Those are my observations.

[BeeHopper]

The Oldtimers fly slower, always in the left hand lane  ;) :-*

[Michael Bush]

New emerged look like a wet baby chick.  A week old or so look like a fuzzy chick.  After that they get shiny on their back.  Old workers get frayed wings.

[Brian D. Bray]

The Oldtimers fly slower, always in the left hand lane  ;) :-*

With the left turn signal always on. 

[Tucker1]

Ya ask a straight, normal, reasonable question and you end up with all of these witty replies.  :) :) :)
Do old comedians eventually become beekeepers ?

Seriously, thanks for both kinds of replies.  :lol:

My hive should begin to expand with lots of new bees and I'd like to be able to identify them.

Thanks for the pointers. And the humorous remarks !

Regards,
Tucker1

[JP]

The Oldtimers fly slower, always in the left hand lane  ;) :-*

Although, I was taught to respect my elders, all you blue hairs, its to the right , extreme right, and when you leave the blinkers on, you confuse us and give us a headache, which was prob your intention in the first place. :-D

I like M.B.'s description, pretty funny and accurate.

Just an observation on my part, I find that in swarms there are mostly older, larger adults.


...JP