Two Hives in Topsfield

[Arl]

I am a retird rn, reside with my husband and am very happy to be joining a group who keeps and values bees for any number of reasons. i love that they pollinate the fruits, berries, veggies and flowers in our back yard. i love, sometimes, to sit and watch them with the sun at my back. they are wondrous and beautiful. and the honey great also.. my other interests include gardening, travel, and reading. my husband also loves to garden and works in the yard every day yearround. unfortunately due to visual deficit, he cannot help with the bees but very much appreciates them.

i do have a question. i have read that the queen is fertilized by drones while in flight. does she leave the hive? obviousy she must if the first statement is true. what about the bees left in the hive? wouldn't they have problems if the queen left the hive? what am i missing? how often would she leave?

[tsmullins]

i have read that the queen is fertilized by drones while in flight. does she leave the hive? obviousy she must if the first statement is true. what about the bees left in the hive? wouldn't they have problems if the queen left the hive? what am i missing? how often would she leave?

Welcome aboard,

1. Yes, queens do typically mate in flight. Unless she is artificially inseminated.
2. The bees in the hive will be fine while the queen is on her virgin flight.
3. The queen only leaves the hive for her virgin flight, and during swarms. Typically, the old queen leaves during a swarm.

You can also post your questions in the 101 forum.

Hope this helps,
Shane

[stripstrike]

Welcome to the forum Arl. Virgin queens leave the hive a few days to a week or so after they hatch. First is typically an orientation flight and then they go out to find drones. From what I've read they mate with an average of 14 drones, although not necessarily on the same day. The bees left behind during her mating flight don't freak out or threaten to go on strike, they just wait for her return. The only other time (typically) a mated queen leaves the hive is with a primary swarm, so essentially she gets mated for life very early on and lives out her days with that colony, unless she leads a swarm.

Should a queen not return from a mating flight the bees will attempt to rear a new queen if they have larvae of the right age to chose from. If they don't the beekeeper can introduce a frame of eggs and young larvae from another hive for them to work with.

Good question, keep 'em coming.

Ken

[AmericasBeekeeper]

Welcome Arl!