Odd Bee and Bee behavior

bwallace23350 · March 23, 2017, 10:49:07 AM

I was 40 or 50 yards from my have watching some bees work clover and some odd wildflowers. I then noticed one crawling up a clover flower stem and notices that its wings looked beat up and broken at the end. I wondered how this bee that could not fly got to so far away from the hive. Is this the Winged Deform virus that Varroe carries?

splitrock · March 23, 2017, 12:32:26 PM

She could have just worn them to the point they didn't work anymore.

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that their wings were good for about 500 miles.

BeeMaster2 · March 23, 2017, 12:47:51 PM

As mentioned, her wings were worn out. When she left the hive she was flying on an empty stomach. She filled up on nectar, is now 1 1/2 times her weight and those tattered wings just will not lift her back up.
Hope this helps.
Jim

bwallace23350 · March 23, 2017, 12:55:16 PM

These two answers make feel lots better. Just an old work horse bee struggling. Probably should have just put it outs of its misery.

BeeMaster2 · March 23, 2017, 12:58:42 PM

She may keep trying to fly until she loses enough water weight to bee able to fly again.

Aroc · March 23, 2017, 01:52:32 PM

Deformed Wing Virus is very noticeable. The wings look tiny and shriveled.

bwallace23350 · March 23, 2017, 02:12:56 PM

Quote from: Aroc on March 23, 2017, 01:52:32 PM
Deformed Wing Virus is very noticeable. The wings look tiny and shriveled.

Oh these did not look like that. It looked like they were just battered at the end.

Michael Bush · March 23, 2017, 03:18:34 PM

Frayed wings on bees that don't have fuzz on the back of their thorax are a sign of old age. Crumpled wings on a fuzzy bee are a sign of DWV.

bwallace23350 · March 23, 2017, 03:59:27 PM

Quote from: Michael Bush on March 23, 2017, 03:18:34 PM
Frayed wings on bees that don't have fuzz on the back of their thorax are a sign of old age. Crumpled wings on a fuzzy bee are a sign of DWV.

Did not look for the fuzz but these were frayed wings not crumpled.

bwallace23350 · March 24, 2017, 05:00:57 PM

Just checked around the same spot where I saw that one bees. I saw another one with tattered wings and a hairless back end. Must be an old bee. This one's wings were a little better and it was still flying working some clover.

yes2matt · March 25, 2017, 11:22:21 AM

http://scientificbeekeeping.com/understanding-colony-buildup-and-decline-part-9b/

The whole series is fantastic, and I think this is the article where he suggests that foragers take heavier and heavier loads til they finally outdo themselves.

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