Manitoba Queens
Manitoba has some really good quality queens that are able to survive the winter well and bring in a large honey crop from. We make our own queens every year, from stock that survive the winter the strong and healthy. In summer we might have queen available to sell, contact us if you are interested. If you need a source for good quality queens click the button below.
Below are a few videos of the natural behavior of queens and how they interact with the other bees in the hive.
Queen Piping
When a queen first comes out of it’s cell it will vibrate it’s wings to make a ‘piping’ sound that is a challenge to any other queen that might be in the hive. The queens will find each other and fight it out till only one survives to be the new queen of the hive. This is an impressive display to watch from start to finish.
Queen emerging from it’s cell.
In this video you can hear the queen as she uses her mandible to chew the cap of the cell off. Once she emerges from her cell she will run around in excitement.
Queen Marking
The queen can be marked using paint to identify her age or breed, depending on what the beekeeper wishes to accomplish. The queen is captured by the wings and then transferred to the other hand and held by the thorax. This part of the queen is hard and the queen is not hurt in any way when handled this way. Never hold the queen by her abdomen, you can easily harm her if you do. The queen can then be painted and held for a short period of time to allow the paint to dry, She can the be released back on the comb and go about her business.