Stray bees

[Rex]

As I sit in the evening and watch my hives, I am seeing a few stray bees crawling on the ground around within a few meters.  The bees seem disoriented and aimless.  They don't fly (or can't).

Are these old or sick bees who have left the hive to die?

[JP]

As I sit in the evening and watch my hives, I am seeing a few stray bees crawling on the ground around within a few meters.  The bees seem disoriented and aimless.  They don't fly (or can't).

Are these old or sick bees who have left the hive to die?

Could be a sign of a problem with mites. Have you checked for them lately?


...JP

[Rex]

I will check them for mites and apply powdered sugar as a preventative measure...haven't powdered them yet since installing them.

[Brian D. Bray]

I will check them for mites and apply powdered sugar as a preventative measure...haven't powdered them yet since installing them.

If it's a new package it was probably heavily treated for mites prior to packaging.  Not so say it's impossible but mites on packaged bees usually don't become a noticable problem until the 2nd year.  Of course, a simple sugar shake just to check shouldn't hurt anything and you'll at least have peace of mind.