Don't know what to make of this...

Started by spafmagic, July 30, 2019, 01:55:14 AM

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spafmagic

July 30, 2019, 01:55:14 AM
Attached are a few images of what looks like a worker that was just recently hatched from her cell, still alive and dropped out of the hive. I looked at her closely before dispatching her, and did not see any mites on it. My recent alcohol wash didn't show any mites at all.




Fishing-Nut

#1
July 30, 2019, 10:50:40 AM
Did you see the bees bring her out and drop her? Maybe they sensed something wasnt right with her, chewed her out and removed her from the colony. Probably just a hygienic behavior of sort.
Take a kid fishing !

spafmagic

#2
July 30, 2019, 02:04:33 PM
I did see them drag the poor thing out, yes. I'm hoping it's not indicative of a larger problem that's just not come to fruition yet. Should I treat my hive with a strip of Formic Pro just to be on the safe side, despite not turning up any mites in the alcohol wash?

TheHoneyPump

#3
July 30, 2019, 02:33:50 PM
Literally hundreds of bees from a hive die out every day. Many have flown themselves off and do not come back. Lots are hauled out and carried off (flown) and dropped a ways away from the hive. None of those you see.  Within the hive, the house bees keep things clean and tidy.  They will pull and toss out brood that is not developing properly due to any number of factors including; poor nutrition, temperature (chilled), pests (mites), brood diseases (many). That pulled brood is also normally helicoptered off and dropped away from the hive, where you will not see them.  If flying conditions have been poor such as cool or rainy, then they will just toss the trash and carcasses off the landing board.

Please do not stress over one bee on the ground out front.  It is the normal cycle of life of the honey bee colony.  Further, do not stress over tens or hundreds of dead bees out there as the season winds down.  It is when you see a carpeted pile, thousands, that there is something to look into.

Hope that helps!
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

BeeMaster2

#4
July 30, 2019, 07:33:51 PM
What THP said x2.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

van from Arkansas

#5
July 30, 2019, 11:47:09 PM
There is a lot to be said for a person that cares about a single bee.  I am humbled, I should have your kind of a heart.

I don?t see any threat to the hive as a whole as posted above.
Blessings
Van
I have been around bees a long time, since birth.  I am a hobbyist so my answers often reflect this fact.  I concentrate on genetics, raise my own queens by wet graft, nicot, with natural or II breeding.  I do not sell queens, I will give queens  for free but no shipping.

spafmagic

#6
July 31, 2019, 01:53:22 AM
Thanks a bunch. Yeah... I wasn't too keen testing for the mites, but bees sacrifice the few for the many. It's an unfortunate inevitability.
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