Do they love her???

annette · April 26, 2007, 12:22:03 AM

I just requeened my hive today. As soon as I placed the cage into the hive, the bees immediately went to the queen cage and a high buzzing noise began. does this mean they accept her or want to kill her??

I know I have to check in about 3 days, but was wondering if there is a pattern to this.

Also, these bees were extremely listless and a few of them were placing there heads into cells when I checked on them yesterday. they certainly have enough honey and pollen to eat and we are having warm weather. Perhaps the moral was down due to not having a queen.

Thanks for the help
Annette

Sean Kelly · April 26, 2007, 06:25:41 AM

She smells different. They probably wanted to kill her. In a few days she'll smell like them and all will be good. :-)

Sean

Understudy · April 26, 2007, 07:59:16 AM

How long had the hive been without a queen?

Sincerely,
Brendhan

Scadsobees · April 26, 2007, 09:24:49 AM

If you removed the old queen and put the new queen in cage right in, then no, they don't love her, like the others said. They might be listless for a bit before they acknowledge her as their matriarch.

When you check you might have to destroy some queen cells; they might not recognize her smell and start trying to make their own. But if you destroy those, then they will probably accept the new queen. If she's not released by then you can usually tell how they like her...if they are biting the cage and still acting irritated then she needs more time in the cage...if they are happier and sticking their tongues through the holes, then they probably like her better and you can release her or at least widen a hole in the candy.

Rick

Cindi · April 26, 2007, 11:25:24 AM

Annette. The responses to your post are good.

When I read the subject of your post, I immediately was drawn to it. For some reason the word "love" is a beautiful word. I love that word love, it brings that warm, fuzzy, feeling to my soul.

Yes, the bees are sad when they don't have a queen. When they are queenless, their entire world has gone array. There is no queen pheromone to keep then cohesive and happy. This pheromone is delivered all over the hive within minutes and when it is not present, the bees are "sad". They make a very loud hum, that is not the typical happy hum of the complete being, as one whole unit.

Soon, the new queen will be accepted. That is the best hope. They will feed her, then her scent will mingle with all the other beings in this colony and she will be one with them. This thought makes me feel good, it made that lump in my throat when I felt that the bees will again have their queen to bring their home to harmony. Good luck. Have a wonderful day, great health. Cindi

annette · April 26, 2007, 01:12:21 PM

This hive swarmed in march. They had 5-6 queen cells back in March. Beginning of April all queen cells had opened up and I assumed the virgin queen had mated. But the last two checks I did of the hive, did not show any evidence of brood, either capped, eggs or larvae. The hive had eaten out much of the wax combs in the brood chamber (about 4 frames). They were listless and not foraging. I did not see any evidence of drone brood.

This was in answer to Understudy question.

Thanks for the help.
Annette

annette · April 26, 2007, 01:17:54 PM

cindy,

This morning when I visited them, they looked much more active than usual. I hope and pray they accept her.

Have a wonderful day,
Annette

Understudy · April 26, 2007, 01:23:02 PM

Next time you introduce her, spray her with some sugar water with Honey B Healthy and they won't think she is a queen. gradually as the Honey B Healthy wears off hey will be looking for a queen. Then they will accept her.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

Jerrymac · April 26, 2007, 01:31:38 PM

I don't think insects are capable of love.

annette · April 26, 2007, 02:12:23 PM

I have felt tremendous love from these bees. They are super sensitive to my vibration. When I am nervous, then they are nervous, When I am calm and feel love for them, they reciprocate. Not something that can be expressed in words. I am sure everyone has their own experiences and how they perceive things.

LET-CA · April 26, 2007, 07:56:47 PM

I think of them as a little tiny herd of cattle. Predictable in their actions, and controllable. I don't give them emotions. I just use their instincts in my favor.

Mklangelo · April 26, 2007, 08:21:42 PM

Quote from: LET-CA on April 26, 2007, 07:56:47 PM
I think of them as a little tiny herd of cattle. Predictable in their actions, and controllable. I don't give them emotions. I just use their instincts in my favor.

I think the feelings described here that people can have when tending their bees, is a good thing. If it brings you good feelings and calmness, then it's a good thing. Bees have no emotions, but we humans like to understand things on terms we are familiar with. I think it's the incredible social-intelligence of the honey bee that attracts us to these fascinating creatures!

And on the bonus side, you might even make a buck or two!!

tillie · April 26, 2007, 09:46:40 PM

I do think when I am tense, I tend to drop things, make more noise, create chaos and the bees respond accordingly.

When I go about my beekeeping business calmly without getting ruffled, I don't need the smoker and few bees seemed bothered by my presence. I do move quite slowly at those times -

so it may not be love, but I do think they like it better when we intrude quietly and calmly.

Linda T

annette · April 26, 2007, 11:20:43 PM

I just love all the beautiful responses to this subject. You are all a fine bunch of people and I am so glad I found this forum to share this exciting and unpredictable hobby.

Blessings to you all,

Annette

Cindi · April 27, 2007, 01:24:21 AM

Auroa. Is that how it is spelled? We all have this, whether we like it or not, it is part of our soul. We exude emotion: be it. happy, sad, angry, it does not matter, it is there.

If we are calm, all else is calm. If we are angry, all else is the same.

When we are proposed a new foster child into our home, with a preplacement visit, I rely heavily upon the response of our dogs. This has governed many a child that has come to share or not share our lives, and live in our home.

All beings, whether it is insect, mammal, human, have a piece of something that we do not understand. That is life, we cannot understand it all the time, it must be accepted. Best of the beautiful day to come, great health to all. Cindi

Michael Bush · April 27, 2007, 07:20:07 AM

The workers are addicted to QMP. The queen is the only supplier. If they suddenly find a new dealer, without realizing the old one is gone they will kill her. If they figure out she's the only supply they will "love" her.