something new for me

[Kurt Bower]

I was out requeening a few hives yesterday and managed to lose the queen from inside her cage. Naturally she headed for the wild blue yonder and I thought I had lost my investment.
I looked around the truck hoping she would come back, but could not find her. So I waited for a few minutes doing some other things.
Hearing the cry of a queen (quite noticeable especially if she is being attacked) I went over to a hive nearby to find her in distress. I released her from the death grip of some other workers and re-caged her.
This actually happened more than once to me with the same result of the queen returning to a hive after a few minutes of flight.
I was naturally quite relieved that my investment was intact and also learned a valuable lesson.
If you should lose a queen, be patient, listen and watch!