Black Tailed Bees ??

hrtull · July 16, 2019, 02:46:34 PM

Doing some open feeding in central Ohio and these showed up today. What type bee are they.Unable to find any info, hoping someone can ID, Thanks HRTULL

AR Beekeeper · July 16, 2019, 03:35:55 PM

That is a color variation common in what is known as "Italian" honey bees.

Oldbeavo · July 16, 2019, 06:51:55 PM

I think they are called "Black tailed Ohio bees". Rare and restricted to the local area.

The15thMember · July 16, 2019, 08:21:53 PM

Those bees look pretty hairless to me, which I think is contributing to them looking oddly colored. I saw a lot of bees like that in my hive that collapsed from varroa. The bees try to clean the mites off each and end up scraping off their hair.

hrtull · July 16, 2019, 09:16:17 PM

So , they are "Ohio Italian black tailed hairless bees" with varroa mite issues. Rare and restricted to Licking County Ohio, Good to know

Ben Framed · July 16, 2019, 09:30:06 PM

''So , they are "Ohio Italian black tailed hairless bees" with varroa mite issues. Rare and restricted to Licking County Ohio, Good to know''

I hope they are not sick, They are good looking bees just the same. let us know more as things move along?
Phillip

Donovan J · July 16, 2019, 09:57:45 PM

They could also have chronic bee paralysis virus. Both varroa and this virus will kill the colony.

hrtull · July 16, 2019, 10:42:55 PM

We have 3 hives at the golf course where I work. We placed this feeder about 100 yards from their location. The 3 hives are healthy and checked for V mites. Can the open feeding contaminate these 3 hives from the contact of these bees at this feeding station. I assume these bees are feral/non managed bees Thanks HRTULL

Donovan J · July 16, 2019, 11:36:05 PM

Quote from: hrtull on July 16, 2019, 10:42:55 PM
We have 3 hives at the golf course where I work. We placed this feeder about 100 yards from their location. The 3 hives are healthy and checked for V mites. Can the open feeding contaminate these 3 hives from the contact of these bees at this feeding station. I assume these bees are feral/non managed bees Thanks HRTULL

Yes they can. Either the varroa will climb onto another bee from the host or will wait on the feeder for a bee to come and it will climb onto the bee.

beesnweeds · July 17, 2019, 10:29:58 AM

I agree with Xerox. I associate hairless greasy looking bees with viruses. Colonies don't need a high mite load to exhibit symptoms from viruses. While mites may make bees more susceptible to illnesses they're not always the cause.

Michael Bush · July 29, 2019, 12:29:31 PM

Bees that are outdoor feeding often get sticky and lose their hair from the syrup. They are just honey bees.