The Bee Whisperer

08/21/2025

You need to understand entombed bee pollen because it signals pesticide-contaminated stores that bees seal with propolis, an emergency quarantine linked to higher colony loss; studies show entombed pollen carries elevated pesticide residues, reduced microbes, and predicts hive collapse, so when you....

07/19/2025

https://beewhisperer360.com/bee-venom-research/

Venom from bees has been gaining attention for its potential medical benefits, especially in targeting aggressive diseases like certain breast cancers. As you explore the latest bee venom research, you'll discover how components like melittin work to destroy cancer cells without harming healthy ones...

06/19/2025

https://beewhisperer360.com/complex-social-behavior-found-in-bees-dance/

Unraveling the Dance: How Bees Communicate The Science Behind the Waggle Dance The waggle dance is a marvel of natural engineering that encodes spatial information through a precise series of movements. Each dance consists of a figure-eight pattern with a straight “waggle run” in the middle, dur...

05/29/2025

05/29/2025

https://beewhisperer360.com/how-is-honey-made/

Most people enjoy honey without knowing exactly how it is created. When you understand the process behind honey production, you gain a deeper appreciation for this natural sweetener. From the collection of nectar by bees to the intricate enzymatic transformations inside the hive, each step is vital....

05/19/2025

https://beewhisperer360.com/combining-beehives-how-to-combine-honeybee-colonies/

It's necessary to understand the proper techniques when combining honeybee colonies to ensure a healthy, strong hive. If you have weak or queenless colonies, uniting them can improve their chances of survival, especially during challenging seasons like winter. In this guide, you'll learn when and wh...

05/18/2025

https://beewhisperer360.com/bees-in-chimneys-identification-and-removal/

Over time, you might discover bees nesting in your chimney, creating both fascination and concern. Understanding how to identify these bees accurately, safely remove them, and prevent future invasions is crucial to protecting your home and family. In this guide, you'll find clear information on dist...

05/15/2025

https://beewhisperer360.com/how-to-find-your-queen-bee/

Many beekeepers, especially when starting out, find locating the queen bee a challenging task. You will quickly learn that spotting her requires patience, an understanding of her unique characteristics, and knowing where to look within the hive. This guide will walk you through practical steps and t...

05/04/2025

There's a lot to consider when managing your apiary for healthy and productive colonies. Understanding the roles and benefits of resource hives, queen castles, and nucs can greatly enhance your beekeeping success. This guide will help you learn how to utilize these tools effectively to support colon...

05/03/2025

Lessons from the Beehive
Queen Cells Virgins over mated?

Are mated queens best? Many if not most beekeepers buy queens who have already been mated. A mated queen is a guarantee the queen is at least laying. Honestly how well she was mated no one knows and when queens are cycled so fast no one really knows their temperaments until the colony is much larger in size.

Superseded queens are something that seems to be on the rise. Many beekeepers never catch the sign the original queen was superseded unless something goes wrong. Beekeepers will say this queen is 3 or 4 or more years old, but reality is it's a daughter. Beekeepers, for the most part, don't keep good records, if any, on the colony or queen. Most if they keep anything is forage and nectar flows. Having two queens in a colony is more common than beekeepers realize. When we see one queen, we simply don't look for another one. Bees can also hide queen cells very well. Life happens, and so will swarms. Unless a queen is clipped, marked, tracked, and honestly kept up with having the colony raise a new queen, is a pretty minimal transition.

Many reasons can cause a Superseded queen. Environment, forage, pests, pesticides, poor mating, to much beekeeper disturbance, and even the length of time they are held in mating nucs before being caught and caged. I believe this is one of the biggest reasons supersedures are more common, length of time

Many queen producers catch queens every 14 days. They want to cycle through as many rounds of queens as possible. They stick to a schedule. Plus, leaving a queen to long in a mating nuc will cause swarming/absconding.

A study by Rhodes J. NSW AG Honey Bee Research and Development found a large difference between queen performance and age they are caught from mating nucs.

Percentage of queens present after 14 days of Introduction
At 7 days old 15.4%
At 14 days old 47.5%
At 21 days old 85%
At 28 days old 85%
At 35 days old 90%
(Days old is caught after successful mating)

Satisfactory performance of queens after 15 weeks
At 7 days old 7.7%
At 14 days old 60%
At 21 days old 67.5%
At 28 days old 87.2%
At 35 days old 87.5%

Queens left longer laying before being caged from their mating flights last longer. My guess is a combination of stronger phermones and better development among ovaries and the egg laying system as a whole.

This is one reason I think beekeepers should consider queen cells and virgin queens more than they do.

05/01/2025

What happens if a hive becomes too crowded?

When a hive becomes too crowded, **things escalate fast** — and it’s not just a matter of “less elbow room.” It triggers **fundamental, life-or-death changes** inside the colony.

First off, overcrowding **kills efficiency**. Worker bees, once hyper-organized, start bumping into each other. Pheromone signals (the hive’s invisible communication web) get **overwhelmed and diluted**. The queen’s pheromones, which normally keep the hive calm and synchronized, no longer reach every bee. **Chaos brews quietly**.

Then comes the **biological tipping point**: **swarming**.

Swarming is not random — it’s **a survival protocol**. The bees, sensing overcrowding and poor pheromone distribution, **make a collective decision**. They start raising a *new queen* by feeding select larvae a special diet of royal jelly. Meanwhile, the reigning queen prepares to **abandon ship** — taking about **half the workers** with her to find a new home.

**Burst of complexity here**: before they leave, scout bees perform one of nature’s most incredible behaviors — a "waggle dance" — communicating the location of potential new nesting sites through precise, vibrating body movements. Yes, bees literally vote by dancing!

Meanwhile, back at the original hive, the emerging new queen has a bloody task: **find and kill any rival queens**. It’s brutal, primal, and necessary — only one queen can reign.

Now, if the hive is too crowded but **swarming is prevented** (say, in managed beekeeping setups), something worse can happen:

- **Reduced honey production** (because stress wrecks worker focus)

- **Increased disease transmission** (tight spaces = fast spread)

- **Aggression spikes** (cramped, stressed bees get mean)

- **Potential collapse** (if no queen, no order — the colony disintegrates)

Bottom line: **crowding is lethal** to a beehive if unmanaged. Nature responds to pressure with bold, sometimes violent solutions. Either the bees **split and survive**, or the hive **suffers and fails**.

Every beekeeper must **monitor colony size**, **anticipate the need for space**, and **respect the hive’s natural instincts** — or face the consequences.

Because in the world of bees, **perplexity** and **burstiness** aren't just writing styles... they're survival mechanisms.