Doing some open feeding in central Ohio and these showed up today. What type bee are they.Unable to find any info, hoping someone can ID, Thanks HRTULL
That is a color variation common in what is known as "Italian" honey bees.
I think they are called "Black tailed Ohio bees". Rare and restricted to the local area.
Those bees look pretty hairless to me, which I think is contributing to them looking oddly colored. I saw a lot of bees like that in my hive that collapsed from varroa. The bees try to clean the mites off each and end up scraping off their hair.
So , they are "Ohio Italian black tailed hairless bees" with varroa mite issues. Rare and restricted to Licking County Ohio, Good to know
''So , they are "Ohio Italian black tailed hairless bees" with varroa mite issues. Rare and restricted to Licking County Ohio, Good to know''
:grin: :grin: :grin: I hope they are not sick, They are good looking bees just the same. let us know more as things move along?
Phillip
They could also have chronic bee paralysis virus. Both varroa and this virus will kill the colony.
We have 3 hives at the golf course where I work. We placed this feeder about 100 yards from their location. The 3 hives are healthy and checked for V mites. Can the open feeding contaminate these 3 hives from the contact of these bees at this feeding station. I assume these bees are feral/non managed bees Thanks HRTULL
Quote from: hrtull on July 16, 2019, 10:42:55 PM
We have 3 hives at the golf course where I work. We placed this feeder about 100 yards from their location. The 3 hives are healthy and checked for V mites. Can the open feeding contaminate these 3 hives from the contact of these bees at this feeding station. I assume these bees are feral/non managed bees Thanks HRTULL
Yes they can. Either the varroa will climb onto another bee from the host or will wait on the feeder for a bee to come and it will climb onto the bee.
I agree with Xerox. I associate hairless greasy looking bees with viruses. Colonies don't need a high mite load to exhibit symptoms from viruses. While mites may make bees more susceptible to illnesses they're not always the cause.
Bees that are outdoor feeding often get sticky and lose their hair from the syrup. They are just honey bees.