Parasitic fly killing honey bees?

[Grandpa Jim]

Interesting article.  I had more dead bees around a light this past fall than any previous years, but no bodies to check now.

http://news.yahoo.com/zombie-fly-parasite-killing-honeybees-230200867.html

[BeeMaster2]

If I find a bunch of bees below a light, I am going to put them in a jar and see what happens.
This article was sent out today by Beesource and American Bee journal in emails that I received today.

[BjornBee]

 :lau:

What's with the promotion of beesource.
Who cares since they got it from someone else.

Got it today huh?

Heck, I had this on the PennApic Facebook page yesterday.  ;)

http://www.facebook.com/PennApicPage

Seems they are running behind the times.  :-D

[BeeMaster2]

Grandpa Jim,
What part of SE Pa are you? I grew up in Levittown Pa. My Father-in-law teaches Beekeeping in that area. My dad is the one who got him started. A swarm took off from his roof hives and landed in a holly tree right in front of his front door, just as people were arriving for a party for my daughter christening party 27 years ago.
Jim

[BeeMaster2]

:lau:

What's with the promotion of beesource.
Who cares since they got it from someone else.

Got it today huh?

Heck, I had this on the PennApic Facebook page yesterday.  ;)

http://www.facebook.com/PennApicPage


Seems they are running behind the times.  :-D

Bjorn,
Do you ever have something nice to say?  :thunder:

[BjornBee]

Any post can be read any way you want. That is up to you.

I just was curious as to why the plug for beesource on beemaster, when this subject and material was already all over the web to begin with.

I'm sure by the nature of my curiosity, that it would be natural for you to see it negatively. But actually, it was a positive for beemaster. And as a member here, I just simply think plugging beemaster is somewhat questionable. It's not my site, and I'm not a moderator. I am just a member that promotes this site, and I don't promote other sites on this one. And I always wonder why others would. Nothing inherently wrong with wondering I hope.

Nothing wrong with that. But you can file a complaint I'm sure if you take offense.

I'll make this the last comment on this subject as I'm sure this will be seen as wrong. So go ahead....plug away beesource all you want.

Have a good one!  ;)

[BeeMaster2]

Any post can be read any way you want. That is up to you.

I just was curious as to why the plug for beesource on beemaster, when this subject and material was already all over the web to begin with.

I'm sure by the nature of my curiosity, that it would be natural for you to see it negatively. But actually, it was a positive for beemaster. And as a member here, I just simply think plugging beemaster is somewhat questionable. It's not my site, and I'm not a moderator. I am just a member that promotes this site, and I don't promote other sites on this one. And I always wonder why others would. Nothing inherently wrong with wondering I hope.

Nothing wrong with that. But you can file a complaint I'm sure if you take offense.

Just stating that I had received them. I was not trying to give them a plug.
Jim

[Grandpa Jim]

Hey Jim....On another subject.....I am in Lancaster County, Mount Joy to be exact....About an hour from Levittown.
Jim

[AliciaH]

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0029639?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+plosone%2FEvolutionaryBiology+%28PLoS+ONE+Alerts%3A+Evolutionary+Biology%29

"Phorid parasitism may affect hive viability since 77% of sites sampled in the San Francisco Bay Area were infected by the fly and microarray analyses detected phorids in commercial hives in South Dakota and California's Central Valley."

What is a microarray analysis?

How do they know that bees are infected if they are leaving the hive to die?  Light trap?  77% of what total number of hives?

[rdy-b]

**How do they know that bees are infected if they are leaving the hive to die? **

thats one of the funny things about this story-the professor at sanfransico state that has brought
this to recent news -is picking up dead bees off the ground -in front of the hive and close proximity
-if this had anything to do with the die offs and CCD related events-he would not find the dead bees at all
-they would disappear -and how he found this is he took some dead bees and put them in a jar and in a few days there was fly pupae--anyone can do that and see if the parasitic fly is in there hive--RDY-B

[AliciaH]

Well, he mentions that he picked them up from under a light.  I don't remember him mentioning a hive in that case.  Or did I miss that part?

[rdy-b]

Well, he mentions that he picked them up from under a light.  I don't remember him mentioning a hive in that case.  Or did I miss that part?

chanel 7 KGO ran the story last night and they where even walking with him in a reinactment--they
have video-i will try to chase it down and post--RDY-B

[rdy-b]

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/environment&id=8489491

[AliciaH]

Thanks for the video link!  I see where the hive comes in now.  I still have so many questions, though. 

I'm not trying to imply that he doesn't know what he's doing, I'm sure he does.  It's just that the articles themselves leave a lot of gaps.  Would like a better writeup on his findings and how he did his inspections.

No disputing the whole thing's just gross, though!

[rdy-b]

 may be its a biological mistake created by the gumit- ;)  they release them to control fire ants have been
doing it for years--RDY-B

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110104.htm


http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jan11/ant0111.htm

[KD4MOJ]

WOW!! 4 threads on this pesky creature!  :-D

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

[BjornBee]

WOW!! 4 threads on this pesky creature!  :-D

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

:lau:

I saw them also. I was so close yesterday to posting a fifth thread, to keep it going, but figured somehow, someway, someone would not like that!  :-D

[Mason]

Wouldn't it be easier to just observe the dead bees under the light a few days and see if their heads fall off?

[BjornBee]

Wouldn't it be easier to just observe the dead bees under the light a few days and see if their heads fall off?

You do realize at this very moment, the following is happening.....

16 bee labs are writing grant and funding requests.

57 state agriculture departments are setting in motion studies to include collection stations, tracking, identification programs.

23 bee suppliers are hard at work building fly traps.

17 bee suppliers are testing fly attractants.

11 of them are building new formulas for some feed product that will surely help your bees fend off the flies.

6 books are in the works.

5 movies, 4 music videos, and at least 3 new bee calendars are in the works.

And the CCD golden goose is getting ready to crap out enough golden eggs to keep bee research entomologists funded for at least three years worth of studies.

So when you ask wouldn't it just be easy to "observe a few bees" misses the whole industry of research. Research finds something, then you get millions of dollars to "observe" every possible thing you can. This is a new pest for beekeeping. It equates into BIG dollars. People are falling over themselves right now. There are so many people steaming at the ears, typing at their computers seeing how much of the action they can get.

Heck I heard a new flavor of ice cream has already been created called "Zombies of the Hive" with sprinkles looking like dead bees for the top.

CACHING...CACHING!

Next year, I hear that roaches will be the new money making research item. But lets not get ahead of ourselves.  :roll: 

[luvin honey]

My question is, how do they know when the flies laid their parasitic eggs? How do they know it wasn't after the bees died from another cause?

And, even if it was pre-mortem, would a healthy bee allow other insects to land on it without a fight?