That rustling sound

[gavin]

What are the bees thinking when you pull a frame and you hear that rustling of paper noise? Irritation? Something else? I've heard it off and on but never been able to associate it with anything in particular.

I heard it tonight in the colony of a new beginner on the way home (a colony with a replacement virgin freshly hatched) and in a couple of mine (same state and also with a 1 year old laying queen). Another colony with a newly laying queen was quiet, as was another colony with a new layer but this last one, mild when opened last Saturday and only on about 3 frames, went on a stinging frenzy. Hence the fat hand and slow typing, and ... well .... itchy thighs. I've never seen a small nuc go on the attack like that and I was quite unprepared for the onslaught on my thin vinyl gloves and single layer of jeans.

It wasn't a good evening for beekeeping as the rain clouds had recently moved on and a windy few days had kept the opportunities for foraging short.

G.

[Jimbo]

I have never heard the noise you described but I think the noise the bees make when they are in a polysyrene apidea is amazing. My wife thought it sounds like thousands of little bee feet marching.
This week has not been good for opening hives. I started moving my 5 frame nucs to full size hives as they were bursting with bees. The first was on Wed night when I opened the nuc in the rain. The girls were having none of it. I was covered in bees and lucky I had my thick gloves on as they picked up hundreds of stings. I closed up and got out. Thursday was not much better. Wet night but the nuc was a bit more gentle, however the hive from Wed night thought they would have another go at me. I will need to check this one on a good day incase it is an agressive queen. Tonight the nuc was nice and gentle.

Jimbo

[Stromnessbees]

I noticed unusual sounds when I united a queenless colony with another colony (newspaper method):

I could only hear it when I put my ear on the broodbox. It was a drawn-out 'Drrrrrrrrrrr', like when you hold a piece of plastic into the spokes of a turning wheel.
The following day all was quiet again.

Any ideas?

Doris

[gavin]

Doris! We've missed you ....

Was that different from the queenless moan or queenless roar?

If anyone has any sound files of such things do let me know and I'll upload them to the web site and provide a link.

G.

[gavin]

There's a similar rustling noise here at about 1'48'' though I don't know if it is a real soundtrack or just something added by the film-makers.



That was what I wondered at the time - whether they were getting ready to attack me! They didn't, not these ones.

[gavin]

And in Apis dorsata here around 2' 25'' in ...



Always worth paying attention when David Attenborough is narrating. I wonder if any of us have moths raiding our colonies in a similar way?