BEE COLOR

CBEE · September 21, 2007, 10:31:23 AM

I started a pac of Italians in spring and I have noticed a lot of bees that are a 2 tone deep gold and black instead of the distinct bands lately. Is this a normal color for them or did I miss them requeening themselves and now have a mix of somekind ?

Cindi · September 21, 2007, 10:38:13 AM

CBEE. I see that in my Italian colonies too. I wonder if as the bees get older they get darker coloured abdomens. I know the baby bees are very golden in colour. Wait and see, you will hear comments from our forum friends. Have a wonderful day, best of this beauty of a life. Cindi

Robo · September 21, 2007, 10:44:40 AM

If your queen was open mated, she most likely mated with drones from different races.

Could very well be your queen was superceded, was she marked? :-P

Erik T · September 21, 2007, 11:42:02 AM

There's a lot of black bees, Russian, NWC, and Carniolan out there. This increases the chances that a virgin queen will mate with their drones and end up producing different colored workers. Hard to keep the gene pool clean. ;)

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about color.

CBEE · September 21, 2007, 03:22:49 PM

Robo..Queen was not marked and you may be right. The other thing it seems that they are not as hairy. Cindy have you noticed that on yours ? I haven't been keeping bees long enough to know all the different colors and their variations.

Robo · September 21, 2007, 03:38:32 PM

QuoteRobo..Queen was not marked and you may be right.

hairlessness is common in older bees as the hair wears off over time.

This time of year, it is also common for them to even appear shiny. Seems that robbing and fighting for nectar sources wears the hairs right off and polishes them up nicely.

CBEE · September 22, 2007, 11:10:58 AM

Thanks for the response. Yea they do actually appear shinny and are a striking contrast to the other bees. Wasn't really worried about it. Just thought it very interesting to see the color change and wonder are they now a mixed breed or is that a normal thing for Italians.

Cindi · September 22, 2007, 11:24:20 AM

CBEE. Yes, I see the "unhairy" bees too, like Rob said, as they get old, the hairs rub off. Also, when they are nearing the end of the their lives, their wings fray, that is what actually is one of the causes of death, the inability to fly anymore.

In some of my research I read that bees fly about 800 km before their life is over, be it in 3 weeks or 6 weeks, depends upon the amount that they fly. (Mark Winston -- the Biology of the Honeybee). Have a wonderful day, beauty of a life we're livin'. Cindi