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New episode of Paris bees saga: searching for the lost queen bee!

Because of a new queen competitor, the present one must be found.


Within a matriarchal society, there must be one queen for one beehive. She must have the entire power to be listened to by the other bees. The birth of a new queen would split the swarm in two parts.

During the last visit of our beekeepers, we have noticed a royal cell, which will give rise to a new queen. This discovering led to the seek of the present queen. It’s not so easy in a swarm of 50 000 bees.

Our beekeepers made what is called “tapotage”. It consists on hitting one beehive with two sticks of wood. It aims at finding the present queen and then separating her from the remaining swarm. Thanks to this act, bees go out while the queen remains in the beehive.
Even after two following “tapotages”, we didn’t manage to find the queen.

We failed to find the queen but the spectacle of such a bees storm-cloud remains unforgettable.