[mnflemish]

I made nuc that had 3 queen cells on to start. Checked a couple days ago and could hear piping. There was one cell that was chewed up and could see white larvae mush that the bees were eating at. There was one closed queen cell and couldn't find the other so I closed it up. Two days later I open it and heard piping and the one queen cell still closed. Looked over the frames and could not find a virgin queen. I really checked for a long time checking the frames and I swear there is no virgin. Could the closed queen cell be piping and the colony choose her and destroyed the other two queen cells? I had read that the queen will pipe before hatching. Just not figuring this out myself.
Carol

 

[Buzzlightyear]

I think they can pipe in the cell. Not sure on the colony actually killing other queens. Maybe they died and they are just terring the cells down.

 

[Michael Bush]

When they pipe in the cell they sound different, more of a quack quack quack, while emerged queens ound more like zoot zoot zoot. If there are no queens loose and if they are not being confined (situations that typically happen when swarming or superseding but not in emergency) then they don't pipe at all.

 

[Phoebee]

I even have a microphone installed in one of my hives, and plan to do it with all of them, but just for learning purposes and not because I know what to do with it yet.

Right now I wouldn't know a piping queen if she played me "Amazing Grace." Can anyone recommend some online recordings or videos that give an idea of what to listen for?

This would have been handy last weekend when we were deciding that a hive that attempted to raise a queen had failed at doing so. We never saw a new queen or any signs at all of brood, but it is possible we jumped the gun and a shy virgin was in there. Piping might have revealed her.

 

[jwcarlson]

I even have a microphone installed in one of my hives, and plan to do it with all of them, but just for learning purposes and not because I know what to do with it yet.

Right now I wouldn't know a piping queen if she played me "Amazing Grace." Can anyone recommend some online recordings or videos that give an idea of what to listen for?

This would have been handy last weekend when we were deciding that a hive that attempted to raise a queen had failed at doing so. We never saw a new queen or any signs at all of brood, but it is possible we jumped the gun and a shy virgin was in there. Piping might have revealed her.

www.youtube.com "queen piping"

You'll probably have to wade through some bagpipe videos, but there's at least a few examples.

 

[maynard]

Huh. I'm glad I watched a couple of videos. I've heard piping queens before, but not seen one while she's piping. I assumed it was done with the wings, but she's actually vocalizing somehow.

Here's a cool one of the queen piping inside the cell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnbEeKGdFDo

I can't hear it until :55 in. but then it's quite clear, and the bees freeze in place.

 

[Phoebee]

I'm going over some recordings I made a couple of weeks back, with a few curious observations.

I had one microphone built-in to the back of a new brood box with a frisky new nuc installed. Most of what I heard from them seemed to be chewing noises, not the buzz I expected. Brood emerging? I tried slapping the hive, expecting to record a defensive hiss, but got nothing. Not sure what was going on, but this is a hearty new bunch, just settling in to a new home.

The second recording was made by stuffing the small black lav microphone into the entrance of a more established hive. That one features some short loud buzzes of a bee, probably in contact with the microphone, and some bumping and dragging noises as they tried to push this invading object across the bottom screen and out of the hive. It is about size of the carpenter bees who occasionally make the mistake of entering this hive. Their bodies are sometimes seen deposited without ceremony on the ground below the hive stand. I expect the were attacking it.

 

[mnflemish]

Thanks everyone for all the information. I did not hear piping according to the you tubes you folks pointed out. I had not heard piping before, only heard about it and heard something very different inside and thought it was piping. As soon as the weather clears I want to get in and check on the queen cells as I started two nucs. Again thanks for the help and advise.
Carol

 

[kilocharlie]

Carol - my bet is that there is a virgin queen in the hive stinging the other queen cells. I've just seen it too many times.