THIS WEEK END I SAW A STRANGE SITE (AT LEAST FOR ME). I SPOTTED THE QUEEN IN A HIVE THAT HAD ANOTHER BEE ATTACHED TO HER. IT WAS LIKE SHE WAS DRAGGING IT AROUND OR MAYBE IT WAS FIGHTING HER? ANY WAY THIS HIVE HAS DEVELOPED A WAX MOTH PROBLEM. I KNOW NOW IF I SEE WHAT LOOKS LIKE SAW DUST FALLING OUT THE BOTTOM SCREEN BOARD TO TAKE ACTION FAST. HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD THIS TYPE OF ACTION BESIDES ME. ( I'M SURE ETHEY HAVE) I HAD TO BREAK THIS HIVE DOWN AND BREAK UP HOUSE KEEPING. THEY HAD BEEN QUEENLESS FOR SO LONG, CAUSING THEM TO BECOME TO WEAK TO DEFEND AGAINST THE WAX MOTH. I'LL KNOW MORE OF WHAT TO DO NEXT TIME, I HOPE.
COLVIN
Usually if a bee is wrestling with the queen she is being balled. Maybe by only one bee, but still it sounds like she is being attacked.
Quote from: COLVIN on September 11, 2006, 09:53:24 AM
THIS WEEK END I SAW A STRANGE SITE (AT LEAST FOR ME). I SPOTTED THE QUEEN IN A HIVE THAT HAD ANOTHER BEE ATTACHED TO HER. IT WAS LIKE SHE WAS DRAGGING IT AROUND OR MAYBE IT WAS FIGHTING HER? ANY WAY THIS HIVE HAS DEVELOPED A WAX MOTH PROBLEM. I KNOW NOW IF I SEE WHAT LOOKS LIKE SAW DUST FALLING OUT THE BOTTOM SCREEN BOARD TO TAKE ACTION FAST. HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD THIS TYPE OF ACTION BESIDES ME. ( I'M SURE ETHEY HAVE) I HAD TO BREAK THIS HIVE DOWN AND BREAK UP HOUSE KEEPING. THEY HAD BEEN QUEENLESS FOR SO LONG, CAUSING THEM TO BECOME TO WEAK TO DEFEND AGAINST THE WAX MOTH. I'LL KNOW MORE OF WHAT TO DO NEXT TIME, I HOPE.
COLVIN
Colvin, I was reading old posts and came across yours and have a comment.
I saw the same sort of situation in one of my hives a while ago. I saw the queen with a dead bee hanging off her thorax. She was running around in a fever, I tried to remove the dead bee from her, I could not. The worker had obviously bitten her, died, and the mandibles were lodged in the queen thorax. I killed the queen because I did not believe that she would live very long, and requeened. All turned out OK. it was a longer story but this is the short version of it. Out of curiosity, you said the hive was queenless for a long time. Did this queen that had the bee attached to her die? Did you see her or something? Great day. Cindi
Maybe this is a sign that it is time for the Queen to go
kirko