Until Linda starting keeping bees, I didn't know that the Queens can vocalise. They make two sounds: a 'quack' that is reminiscent of Jimmy Carr's laugh and a toot like a toy trumpet. You can hear them both on the video below, taken just before one Queen exited the hive with a swarm of followers.
I should imagine that the similar 'toot' of a Death's Head Moth is an attempt to emulate a queen's call to encourage the other bees to tolerate and feed it.
Sunday, 30 May 2021
Tooting and quacking! Queen bees chatting...
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