silly question: bee posture

[dragonfly]

I'm sorry to ask what seems like such a silly question (any who do not wish to answer, please refrain), but...
I have noticed that bees, usually at the top of the hive walking on the top of the frames, sometimes have an odd posture. They look like they are sticking their butts up into the air with the stinger section pointed upward. It almost has a defensive look. Am I just paying too much attention, or is this any indicator of mood and temperament? I've mostly noticed it in my Rambo hive, and not in the others.
TIA

[Michael Bush]

They are sending out the Nasonov pheromone. It's just a reassurance to other bees that "this is the place". It is not a defensive posture.

[BjornBee]

Alot of times it is the first thing you will notice that the bees do when you hive a swarm.
I will usually leave the top off for 5-10 minutes with only the inner cover on. They will do this fanning more on the inner cover opening then on the hive entrance. And alot more straglers will enter via the inner cover hole than by the entrance.

[dragonfly]

So it's just a chemical signal to other bees in the hive that marks their territory? Is it the same chemical signal that is responsible for guard bees knowing who does and does not belong? Or is the queen phermone the "smell" of the hive? I really didn't think it was defensive, because they don't act defensive in this posture. I just couldn't figure out the purpose for this behavior, although I figured there was a reason. Bees don't really appear to do many random things, lol. Thanks for the info.

[Michael Bush]

It's the pheromone that bees use to tell the others that this is where we all are. It's not peculiar to that hive. It's universal to bees. It's responsible for them getting together when theh swarm, finding their way to the new place when they swarm and field bees finding their way home when they are foraging. If they make enough of it you can smell it. It smells like "Lemon Pledge".