I think we found our queen today

Beekeeping - Basics
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Hopefully the picture posts. We did a deep dive in the hive today to see how things are going, and see if any of the hive beetles I’ve seen in the feeder seem to bee anywhere else. No hive beetles seen inside the brood box, just toons of super busy bees, and then this lady.

New at this, so imagine my excitement at finding one bee bigger than all the others ladies.

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And as a newbie, I thought it was fascinating how pretty all this new comb they are working on is.

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Well done, she is a real ripper of a queen. That new comb looks fantastic also.

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Ohhh yeah, nice queen! :blush:

Characteristic features are:

  1. Long abdomen (folded wings don’t reach down to the end of the abdomen)
  2. Shiny thorax (most workers have a hairy thorax until they age quite a bit)
  3. “Spider legs” - see how her legs splay out sideways. That is so characteristic of a queen. :wink:
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Julie,

What a nice Queen Portraiture ! Score #1 for a great find. I have 74 yrs old eyes n surgeries. I luck out once in awhile … Anymore I just search for progressive growing sized larva to tell me her Magesty is alive n well. Congrats n enjoy !

Cheers,
Gerald

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