Читать книгу Honey Bee Medicine for the Veterinary Practitioner - Группа авторов - Страница 119

A queen will only sting another queen – they can be safely handled with bare fingers. They should never be handled through gloves, due to the loss of delicate touch. To prevent damaging her delicate ovaries, avoid ever touching her abdomen. To pick up a queen, approach her from the rear, and gently pinch her wings together (Figure 5.34).

There is likely little reason for a vet to handle a client's queens. But you may get a call about a queen suddenly dropping dead while being handled. It is a relatively common behavior for a queen to play possum when handled, but very alarming to the novice (Figure 5.35).

Figure 5.34 Queens are typically held by both wings. If you only get one wing, release her before she wrenches around and hurts herself.

Figure 5.35 Even when gently handled, some queens may play possum. Do not let this scare you – simply return her to her bees on a frame held horizontally, and she will soon “come to.”

If a queen is disturbed, she may start “running,” causing her own workers to attack her. To prevent this, if I am going to be disturbing a colony greatly, I will often temporarily place the queen in a queen cage, returning her to the colony when I'm finished (Figure 5.36).