# Find the queen



## G3farms (Jun 13, 2009)

Just a couple of pics to let the new bees to look for the queen.

Please post up your pics of a frame with the queen on it, just don't zoom in or put her front and center..........hide and seek style is more fun.


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## gator75 (Apr 21, 2021)

Other people's are always easy to find. I could put mine up there with 4 other bees and she'd be invisible to me.


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## John Davis (Apr 29, 2014)

Here's an easy one, freshly emerged virgin, just marked.
An f1 daughter from a VP Spartan breeder queen.


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## Newbeek2021 (May 13, 2021)

Oh wow, very dark!


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## bakerjw (Jun 7, 2021)

There is nothing like the thrill of finding a queen for the first time. After my swarm graced me with their presence, I let them be for a few weeks to get established. We started pulling frames and learning to spot different kinds of comb, workers and drones. Eventually, I got to a frame and clear as day... There was the queen!



http://www.bakerjw.org/PhotoGallery/_data/i/galleries/Home_Wildlife/Bees/Hive_Number_1/20210607/IMG_2439-la.JPG


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

G3farms said:


> Just a couple of pics to let the new bees to look for the queen.


Easy.
I wish I had this easy!
LOL

Need to go back to a dam* nuc and look again.
Only two frames too and she is 99% there but is very good at hiding (should be recently mated).

But I had a really "easy" case was just 2 days ago.
Returned home after two weeks being away - found a mating nuc with a queen and a single bee.
That is right.
A queen and a bee in the entire box.
Hopefully, she is mated - to be found out.
She was very hard to find - a queen alone running about a box looking for food (clearly all robbed out while I was away).
One is not normally looking through empty frames looking for a sole queen running about all alone - so that was a hard one (just because it was not expected).


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## bakerjw (Jun 7, 2021)

This is why I learned the hard way to mark the queen early on in the process.


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

G3farms., Here is an easy one. Not on a frame, but marching into a hive.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

fieldsofnaturalhoney said:


> G3farms., Here is an easy one. Not on a frame, but marching into a hive.


This is a good one.
I like dark queens, just aesthetically.


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## plantman (May 30, 2020)

One of mine after a rob [email protected][email protected]$#$ hornets


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## juliehoneybee (Sep 4, 2014)

gator75 said:


> Other people's are always easy to find. I could put mine up there with 4 other bees and she'd be invisible to me.


This is A LOT more fun than trying to find her in a cranky hive when I'm fully suited up in 90+degree weather. Thanks for a fun activity 😄


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## gator75 (Apr 21, 2021)

Here's a hard one. The only one I've ever seen. Small swarm I caught in July. She's gone. Hive robbed out. Bees disappeared. I only saw her because there was one frame of bees total. Even I can find one with those odds.


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

Here is an easy one


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

Here's an easy one... or is it a hard one POSING as an easy one... hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

fieldsofnaturalhoney said:


> G3farms., Here is an easy one. Not on a frame, but marching into a hive.


Swarm capture? She looks like she's been through some 'stuff'.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

jwcarlson said:


> Here's an easy one...


I see you started on the designs already.
OK. LOL


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

gator75 said:


> Here's a hard one. The only one I've ever seen. Small swarm I caught in July. She's gone. Hive robbed out. Bees disappeared. I only saw her because there was one frame of bees total. Even I can find one with those odds.


I am terrible at Q finding, IMO (unless people brag too much undeservedly).

So far marked 4 out of 6 recent queens.
Of the remaining 2 - one is in one-frame thing and I STILL was unable to find her for the life of me.
The darn thing must be hiding in some dark corner - these cases to happen (me trying to whitewash my Q-finding skills).
OR maybe she truly is not there. Need to check.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

GregV said:


> A queen and a bee in the entire box.
> Hopefully, she is mated - to be found out.
> She was very hard to find - a queen alone running about a box looking for food (clearly all robbed out while I was away).


Too bad but upon placing this mysterious queen with some young bees (so to build up a new colony) - she went missing anyway after a day.
I dunno about this queen business.
At least I did not purchase any of these and can afford to waste some.


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

GregV said:


> I am terrible at Q finding, IMO (unless people brag too much undeservedly).
> 
> So far marked 4 out of 6 recent queens.
> Of the remaining 2 - one is in one-frame thing and I STILL was unable to find her for the life of me.
> ...


They disappear sometimes in my 2 deep frame mating nucs. I think that's one of the drawbacks. It's uncommon, for sure. But it happens. 
They'll absolutely emerge, mate, lay the place up and then just... not be there when I check. And no queen cups or cells started. It's like she just gives up because it's too small? Don't know.

I'll shake the whole nuc out (which is a royal pain in a 4-compartment queen castle).


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

jwcarlson said:


> Swarm capture? She looks like she's been through some 'stuff'.


Yes, first one of this season, and it was massive, but other than a little tattering on her wings, I thought she looked pretty good In the first picture her legs are all laid out on her court. Here is another of the same Q


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

Here is one that you will need your glasses for?😁


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

GregV said:


> I see you started on the designs already.
> OK. LOL


So you saw the Distressed, but did you catch the Minimalist as well? :O

Actually, you can't really tell it's a Minimalist, you'll have to trust me.


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## Newbeek2021 (May 13, 2021)

jwcarlson said:


> Here's an easy one... or is it a hard one POSING as an easy one... hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm


New & improved design!


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

jwcarlson said:


> So you saw the Distressed, but did you catch the Minimalist as well? :O
> 
> Actually, you can't really tell it's a Minimalist, you'll have to trust me.


Oh crud.
I stopped looking too soon.
Found one and done.
Typical!

Should know better as last year (no picture of this) I had a classic case of one queen circling the other on the same exact comb.
One of the two to never be seen again (the worse one).


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

jwcarlson said:


> They disappear sometimes in my 2 deep frame mating nucs. I think that's one of the drawbacks. It's uncommon, for sure. But it happens.
> They'll absolutely emerge, mate, lay the place up and then just... not be there when I check. And no queen cups or cells started. It's like she just gives up because it's too small? Don't know.
> 
> I'll shake the whole nuc out (which is a royal pain in a 4-compartment queen castle).


I want to think that the queens fly out of the nest much more often than it is alleged.
The young, care-free queens - to be sure.
No brains to be seen.
Pretty normal with the hormone-full, flip-floppy teenagers (takes a while before they behave like more stable mid-life individuals and finally stay put).


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## GFWestTexas (Jul 10, 2021)

fieldsofnaturalhoney said:


> Here is one that you will need your glasses for?😁
> View attachment 65108


Oh, my I think she may glow in the dark!🤣


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## gator75 (Apr 21, 2021)

Can anyone tell genetics by these photos? Like what strain they are?

I assume these are almost all mutts as they are mostly backyard multigenerational?


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## Newbeek2021 (May 13, 2021)

GFWestTexas said:


> Oh, my I think she may glow in the dark!


Which begs the question....
Could you mark a queen with something that would be visible by black light? 
Just saying


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## GFWestTexas (Jul 10, 2021)

Newbeek2021 said:


> Which begs the question....
> Could you mark a queen with something that would be visible by black light?
> Just saying


Yes, Yes you can.


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

Newbeek2021 said:


> Which begs the question....
> Could you mark a queen with something that would be visible by black light?
> Just saying


You bring the black light, I'll bring my socks and Crocs.


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## Newbeek2021 (May 13, 2021)

I am NOT going out in public with you like that......

Unless you have a set for me too


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## G3farms (Jun 13, 2009)

double post


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## G3farms (Jun 13, 2009)

Just finished putting on the first round of apiguard and took a few pics of the queens.
Took a while to dose 27 hives with the temps at 85 and humidity high enough to swim in.

A few more to look for


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## Ranger N (Sep 23, 2020)

Here are a couple of my home grown queens from this spring. The dark banded one is probably my favorite and I am going to raise some daughters from her this next spring if she gets through the winter. Enjoy…


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## bakerjw (Jun 7, 2021)

I did a hive inspection yesterday and this is what I found...Almost all frames in the lower deep were covered like this...


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## G3farms (Jun 13, 2009)

I marked this one, hard to find. She came from a cut out.


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## elmer_fud (Apr 21, 2018)

I still have one queen that I can not find, she is somewhere on one of the 50 frames in here hive, but I have searched and could not find her. I find eggs and larve, so I know whe is hiding in there somewhere.
I also have one queen that seems to like to run onto the bottom board. I have found her there a few times.

Most of my queens are marked, so I think adding pics of them is not of much bennefit.


edit: how about a 2fer pic (hive with 2 failing queens in the spring)


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

Ranger N said:


> Here are a couple of my home grown queens from this spring. The dark banded one is probably my favorite and I am going to raise some daughters from her this next spring if she gets through the winter. Enjoy…


That tiger stripe one! Love it! I have striped ones (really have ones of all colors) but they don't seem that boldly striped. Looks like someone painted them on.


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## gator75 (Apr 21, 2021)

2 for 2 on both my august splits! First two attempts as well. Both laying inside 23 days. This bee stuff is easy. 😆

She's not super obvious in this shot. On the run.









Close up of the young mom.


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

Someone was missing their Queen on this one. It is a swarm that I ramped up to the entrance of two hive bodies.


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## G3farms (Jun 13, 2009)

Not the best pic, I saw a couple that could be possibilities.

Does anybody else see her???


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## gator75 (Apr 21, 2021)

I assume it's the one with the big white dot?


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## G3farms (Jun 13, 2009)

That's it .......... make fun of the old guy!

I finally found the little gal!!


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## G3farms (Jun 13, 2009)

Went through two hives today, could not stand it any longer.


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## Gino45 (Apr 6, 2012)

G3farms said:


> Went through two hives today, could not stand it any longer.
> 
> View attachment 67621
> View attachment 67622
> ...


After the first two pictures, I was going to say, just look for the dark bee. But that didn't work for the next pictures. What I find it that the bees are getting better at hiding the queen. That is to say, I seem to have more trouble finding the queen these days than I used to have. Maybe that's why I try to look for queens only when necessary. What I do look for is new eggs and young larvae in abundance.


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## Tina Diane (Nov 1, 2019)

G3farms said:


> Just a couple of pics to let the new bees to look for the queen.
> 
> Please post up your pics of a frame with the queen on it, just don't zoom in or put her front and center..........hide and seek style is more fun.
> 
> ...


The first 2 were easy! LOL...number 3 not so easy! Thanks for sharing these!


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## Tumbleweed (Mar 17, 2021)

Here’s a gimme


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## thill (Nov 30, 2020)

Pics 3 and 4 have lighter colored queens, which throws you off for a second.


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