I heard piping today!

**lisalazarus** · 09-08-2011, 06:50 PM

I heard piping today on what has been my weaker hive--I've seen queen/swarm cells on the frames, took the queen excluder out and am just letting them settle it amongst themselves. I think I had a weak queen to start (new hive this year) and they have determined to replace her!

**Monkadelic** · 09-08-2011, 09:55 PM

Isn't hearing piping the coolest thing? I have heard it several times. It never fails to delight me

**Kingfisher Apiaries** · 09-09-2011, 05:36 AM

Can mated queens pip? I was looking in a breeder hive Wednesday (I know is the original queen) and I heard piping of some kind. Weirdest noise I have ever heard.

**lisalazarus** · 09-09-2011, 05:41 AM

I don't know about mated queens--I'll have to find out--it is VERY cool--I was not expecting it but knew what it was when I heard it--all my reading is paying off!! Things are coming together!

**lisalazarus** · 09-09-2011, 05:42 AM

PipingPiping describes a noise made by virgin and mated queen bees during certain times of the virgin queens' development. Fully developed virgin queens communicate through vibratory signals: "quacking" from virgin queens in their queen cells and "tooting" from queens free in the colony, collectively known as piping. A virgin queen may frequently pipe before she emerges from her cell and for a brief time afterwards. Mated queens may briefly pipe after being released in a hive.

Piping is most common when there is more than one queen in a hive. It is postulated that the piping is a form of battle cry announcing to competing queens and the workers their willingness to fight. It may also be a signal to the worker bees which queen is the most worthwhile to support.

The piping sound is a G♯ or A♮. The adult queen pipes for a two-second pulse followed by a series of quarter-second toots.[2] The queens of Africanized bees produce more vigorous and frequent bouts of piping.

**lisalazarus** · 09-09-2011, 05:45 AM

Piping are the sounds made by a mated queen or a virgin queen (an recently emerged, unmated queen). The urgent high-pitched buzzings are like a battle cry to any other queen bees in the hive. The queens who are still in queen cells will respond with short buzzing called quacking.

**Kingfisher Apiaries** · 09-10-2011, 07:28 AM

Thanks. That explains some things....

**jim lyon** · 09-10-2011, 08:02 AM

Originally Posted by Monkadelic

Isn't hearing piping the coolest thing? I have heard it several times. It never fails to delight me

Try sleeping in the same room with a bunch of them sometime, you might change your mind.

**PARKBOY** · 09-10-2011, 08:56 AM

lol!!!

**Michael B** · 09-10-2011, 06:44 PM

Now during swarm season and you hear that, get ready their just about gone. The workers harass the queen to slim her down and keep her from laying.

Good that you heard it and will recognize it later.