sweeping the porch

[MikeyN.C.]

Neebee here, have had nuc in 10 frame deep, 2weeks now,have been watching bees.last couple of days, in the late evening. they (workers) are on landing board,,wings at 45? angle not flapping,moving about like their sweeping the board with their tongues?? are they getting pollen dropped by incoming bees??

[BeeMaster2]

It is called wash boarding. I think they are in the cleaning mode. When you watch them closely, it looks liking they are licking the board over and over. OCD on steroids.
Jim

[sc-bee]

Yep wash boarding.... the exact reason for the behavior has not been determined. We like to think cleaning? Neat to watch.

[MikeyN.C.]

I'm hoping that means a strong hive??

[KeyLargoBees]

No scientific basis for this but might a tendancy to over clean lend itself to excessive grooming within the hive as well and in turn lead to better than average mite control?