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Author Topic: QUEEN MARKING  (Read 3485 times)

Offline COLVIN

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QUEEN MARKING
« on: June 07, 2006, 03:00:20 pm »
I HOPE I HAVEN'T SCREWED UP AGAIN BUT IS IT OK TO MARK A NEW QUEEN BEFORE THE MATING FLIGHT? I CAUGHT MY NEWBIE YESTERDAY AND MARKED HER. HOPE IT'S OK. IF NOT SHES MARKED ANYWAY. DIDN'T ONE TIME STOP TO THINK THIS MAY CAUSE PROBLEMS FLYING OR MATING. DON'T KNOW.   COLVIN
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Offline Brian D. Bray

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QUEEN MARKING
« Reply #1 on: June 08, 2006, 01:12:22 am »
Well, at least you'll know when she starts laying that it's the same queen.
I don't see a down side of marking before mating or after mating.
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Offline Summerbee

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QUEEN MARKING
« Reply #2 on: June 08, 2006, 11:02:06 am »
As long as you didn' t get her wings stuck, shouldn't matter.
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Offline Apis629

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QUEEN MARKING
« Reply #3 on: June 08, 2006, 04:30:26 pm »
Also, DON'T clip her wings.  Some recent research in Germany, by a professor who glued on small sensors that send out a radio signal showing him where his queens are, made a discovery that blew the book wide open.  His 3 YEAR OLD queens were having mating flights!  I now, realizing the error of my ways, don't clip.  As for marking, if you did it correcly and applied only a small drop/dropplet of paint to the top of the thorax, she should perform just fine.  (Yes, I realize I got a little off topic.)

Offline Brian D. Bray

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QUEEN MARKING
« Reply #4 on: June 08, 2006, 10:40:16 pm »
3 year old queens on a mating flight?  It makes sense, back in the dark ages (the 60's) before requeening became such a ritual I would go as long as 5 years without re-queening, catching the swarm via the artificial thunder routine.  Mating flights would explain why the queens were still functional after that length of time.  
It sure flies in the face of conventional wisdom.
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Offline Brian D. Bray

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QUEEN MARKING
« Reply #5 on: June 08, 2006, 10:40:25 pm »
3 year old queens on a mating flight?  It makes sense, back in the dark ages (the 60's) before requeening became such a ritual I would go as long as 5 years without re-queening, catching the swarm via the artificial thunder routine.  Mating flights would explain why the queens were still functional after that length of time.  
It sure flies in the face of conventional wisdom.
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Offline mat

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QUEEN MARKING
« Reply #6 on: June 09, 2006, 08:33:16 am »
This is very interesting discovery. Is there any source in the internet to read about? But although she may be laing  her pheromon level will go down anyway.
mat

Offline Finsky

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QUEEN MARKING
« Reply #7 on: June 09, 2006, 08:58:24 am »
Quote from: Apis629
 His 3 YEAR OLD queens were having mating flights!  I now, realizing the error of my ways, don't clip.


OH BOY!

Even if that granmom goes to mating flight there is no reason to keep 3 years old queen.

We all has queens which have not been made mating flight and they cannot do it any more if they are too old. If queen is over 4 weeks old,  succesfull mating flight is very random in that age. Many queen have born during winter and they cannot do mating flight.

Insemination can be done after a while, but ....

Offline Finsky

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QUEEN MARKING
« Reply #8 on: June 09, 2006, 09:04:24 am »
Here understudy write about insemination:
http://www.beemaster.com/beebbs/viewtopic.php?t=4439

"You must also check the queen about 3 weeks after laying commenced. You need to examine the capped brood to determine if the queen is laying worker brrod. If the cell caps are significantly raised you have a drone layer queen which means the insemination was unsuccessful and she needs to be replaced. "

He does not write that insemination will be repeated.

Offline Apis629

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QUEEN MARKING
« Reply #9 on: June 10, 2006, 12:25:18 pm »
Obviously it's a rare occurance if out of all this monitoring only a few have been found.  Surely if it were common it wouldn't "fly in the face of the books" if I may barrow a quote.

Offline Brian D. Bray

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QUEEN MARKING
« Reply #10 on: June 11, 2006, 01:59:23 am »
Apis629,

I believe the reason it's not found in books is: Who keeps queens that long anymore?
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Offline Apis629

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QUEEN MARKING
« Reply #11 on: June 11, 2006, 11:41:04 am »
Better Question: Who's queens even LIVE that long without being superceaded or swarming away.  Mine last abou 6-8 months before superceadure.

Offline Michael Bush

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QUEEN MARKING
« Reply #12 on: June 11, 2006, 01:16:54 pm »
>Also, DON'T clip her wings. Some recent research in Germany, by a professor who glued on small sensors that send out a radio signal showing him where his queens are, made a discovery that blew the book wide open. His 3 YEAR OLD queens were having mating flights!

I would love to see the research on this.  It is contrary to what I understand.

>Better Question: Who's queens even LIVE that long without being superceaded or swarming away. Mine last abou 6-8 months before superceadure.

Most of my queens are three years old.  A few are four.  Some are two.  When I get a good mother queen, I hate to part with her and as long as they are laying well I keep them.  Most of them lay way for about three years and then they get superceded.  With the chemicals that are in all of the foundation wax now, the estimate I heard from Nancy Ostiguy was that currently the average queen is superceded three times a year.

Jay Smith (famous queen rearer) in his book "Better Queens" on page 18 says "In Indiana we had a queen we named Alice which lived to the ripe old age of eight years and two months and did excellent work in her seventh year. There can be no doubt about the authenticity of this statment. We sold her to John Chapel of Oakland City, Indiana, and she was the only queen in his yard with wings clipped. This, however is a rare exception. At the time I was experimenting with artificual combs with wooden cells in which the queen laid."

I would point out that Jay says: "This, however is a rare exception."  Also note that seven year old Alice was clipped.

I think three years has always been pretty typical of the useful life of a queen.
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