https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTIFbqnebWU That’s what I am describing. Thanks for remembering the name.
Why were my queens tooting in 2 of my hives? It’s about 2 weeks since I’ve made all these splits with a mentor and my hives. The situation is thus. The original queen is off site for now until I determine if my new home grown queens are mated and the original and new hive calm down and get to business of brood and honey.
During yesterdays inspection and nuke installation (1 I ordered prior to the holy queen cell situation for my new flow hive) I was in the small nuke and saw my emerged queen, she has grown and she was tooting on the frame. I did not see another queen cell in the brood chamber. However, in my original hive a new queen was discovered and 2 more queen cells about to emerge. The new Queen in the original hive was marching all over the new queen cell and tooting as well. Tons of drones and drone cells in the hive and they are bringing in nectar and pollen. So I will see if there was a battle royal in my hive and one survives or it swarms. Were the queens tooting to all local queens in my 3 hive apiary or just within their hive.
The queens were small last week and grew in size-a lot, but I’m not sure if they are mated or about to mate and just grew fast and normally. One hive had capped brood but I’m not sure if it was residual from the original queen or the new one I saw. One had no brood or eggs but a queen.
Here is what the tooting sounded like. Do all queens toot the same day? https://youtu.be/_vfW4RQYwdc
Well I have learnt something today, tooting !!! If a day goes by and you have learnt something you are either dead or deluding yourself that you know it all… A famous saying among those that still remember to have a chuckle.
Regards
Hi Martha,
Golly, I heard this tooting several times. Different occasions.
One time, I had a mail order queen, and as I was approaching the 3 hives I had in line, one queenless, she started tooting the fear out of me.
I was probably 20 meters away from the hives and I guess she smelled the other queens. She was still tooting when I put her in, but stopped soon after she got accepted.
I have introduced other queens since, she sure has been a vocal one.
Another time I heard tooting was when my most precious local Queen Mieka (probably) emerged.
Now I guess it’s a good time to figure out why!??
I will have to leave that to the experts, I wonder that it has not been researched, I will do a google tomorrow as you have made me wonder. Midnight now, time to sleep, more hive making and painting again tomorrow. Great to have the local Men’s Shed making them for me, all I do is assemble and paint, I gota do something LOL
I think we are going to find there is a common theory but not a rock solid theory or explanation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVEyJjZKHqs
I saw in my own hive a queen tooting while crawling over one about to emerge. I wonder who won the battle royal.
Hello Martha, that is one advantage in having a queen that is marked (painted), you know the age of the queen you have in the colony and she is so much easier to see her in the hive, especially if you have eyesight like mine !!!.
Generally this only happens when they are swarming and they do not start on the same day. In a supersedure the first one out kills the rest. In an emergency it is the same. But in a swarming situation there are more queen cells and they are staggered in age. Also the workers confine those queens and only let them out one at a time. Sometimes more escape in the confusion of actually casting the swarm, but generally it’s one at a time. Since they are ready to emerge and are not allowed they pipe. Queens in a cell sound different than queens out of the cell. There is generally one out and the rest confined. The ones that are out sound like “zoot zoot zoot”. The ones in the cell sound like “quack quack quack”.
https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/honeyflow/original/2X/5/5ae4406c51ad7a5ed2cc11f1f8ec7593b0b091da.MP4Ug this hive started thriving then it was Queen cell madness. I’ve made so many splits it’s amazing that they keep creating more queens. The day after tooting the hive suddenly became active in a swarm like manner then calmed down. They exited the hive and flew around landing on the hive and it seemed were fanning it. It set off my security camera so I took a look.
Ok then I saw and heard tooting! Today I did an inspection and all queen cells are empty and each hive has 1 queen. I hope my hive is happy now and does not feel the need to swarm. I jumped from 1 hive to 4 hives. And the other splits were successful too. I hope the new queens turn out to be gentle and productive and healthy.
It seems you have jumped the last hurdle and first into the straight, maybe the swarming has fished and they get into the nectar flow, good luck, you deserve it.
Thanks to the forum and other beekeepers! Plus I learned some valuable and costly lessons and still have bees. I will do this differently next spring for certain.
But at least you say you learned lessons and that is good. I am a firm believer in being able to suspect then research for knowledge from the hive what they are up to. Often the best thing to do is to sit back and enjoy you interest. Check with a hive inspection weekly when conditions are right.
Pleased it all came good for you.
Regards
Omg the thought of more equipment kills me.
I thought it exciting! But at first I thought my ear was ringing or my audio book head set was Going wacky. But I got to see her vibrate and toot and it was loud too! Amazing!
Well, you have seen and heard something in person that I have never experienced.
I have heard “I am trapped” protests from bees when I put frames back, but never genuine tooting. I guess my swarm patrolling works.
I know watching it on YouTube would be more satisfying as my hive got so split up and all my beautiful wax brood frames got split up and what I got back was not as nice as what left. Well, tooting was cool though.