(updated 2021-11-11)
While moving Colony 2, the front part of the Wasp Out⁽ᵃ⁾ got bent off. I replaced it today with a new one.
When we fitted the Wasp Out to the other colony's hive, they took some time to work out to go into the side. Colony 2 took to it right away. True, they had been using a Wasp Out before, but they've had no need to go around the side and over the dowel for six weeks. The lifespan of a bee is about eight weeks, and until three weeks old they work inside the hive before starting guard duty. The bees that are still alive from that time would have been wholly inside the hive when the Wasp Out was used. So is there some kind of colony memory that remembers how to get in and out?
Bees truly are mysterious.
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