Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: apiary vicinity mating - staging post

  1. #1
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Belfast, N. Ireland
    Posts
    5,122
    Blog Entries
    94

    Default apiary vicinity mating - staging post

    I see this a lot.
    A queen mates over the apiary site than she lands somewhere with her coterie of bees from the mating flight.
    They usually form a little cluster and then return to the apidea.
    There must be some purpose to this cluster as I have seen it frequently.

    This is the one I mentioned last week.
    The video was recorded on Wednesday and she was laying on Sunday when I checked her apidea.

    See how I have them trained like collie dogs to climb into the marking cage!

    Last edited by Jon; 17-09-2014 at 01:03 PM.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Belfast, N. Ireland
    Posts
    5,122
    Blog Entries
    94

    Default

    This is what I usually come across, a little cluster with a queen in the middle
    This one was at a different apiary in July

    mating-swarm-cluster-small.jpg

  3. #3
    Senior Member busybeephilip's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Comber, N. Ireland
    Posts
    581
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    I see this a lot.

    See how I have them trained like collie dogs to climb into the marking cage!


    Well I'll be - Irish Queen Trials - brill

  4. #4
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Belfast, N. Ireland
    Posts
    5,122
    Blog Entries
    94

    Default

    I have marked about 200 queens in that cage over the summer so it likely has an interesting pheromone smell at this point.

    Here's another pic of the queen.

    queen-mating-flight-stage-small.jpg
    Last edited by Jon; 17-09-2014 at 05:37 PM.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Belfast, N. Ireland
    Posts
    5,122
    Blog Entries
    94

    Default

    Checked this one today.
    This queen now has emerging brood in her apidea and the bees are all dark.
    Definitely a useful trait if you can select for queens which mate above the apiary.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •