What's going on here?
Yesterday was very warm and the bees were busy. One colony had lots of bees in small clumps stretching back from the hive entrance, some on the back of the roof, some on the ground beside and behind the hive, more or less in the approach line to the apiary. Lots of frantic abdomen-cleaning. We took a couple of videos but I'm not sure if it's possible to attach them. Advice welcome. I've had a look at the sample bees and can't see anything obvious.
Possibilities would include poisoning, trachael mite, nosema or starvation all of which can produce little clumps of bees huddled together. on or around the hive.
Have you looked in to check the level of stores. I see this in my apideas if they run out of food.
If bees are poisoned you often see the tongue sticking out but that is unlikely at this time of year.
Definitely not starvation; they're a big colony choc-a-bloc with stores and getting their winter feed to top up. They were given all brand new foundation when they arrived as a swarm in May, built up amazingly, and gave us a very heavy super of honey. Hardly any K wings. I do wonder about poisoning - not agricultural but Rentokil. A colony was poisoned in the school years ago (I lost 2 colonies as a result because they went robbing - same poison found in them as used at the school) and building work there may have opened up the entrance to the powdered stores (but in the original case we had lots of disoriented bees flying around and this isn't happening this time). Perhaps they've been feeding on flowers in tubs treated against vine weevil (the poison has a warning that it's dangerous to bees) somewhere. Probably nosema, then ... they're being tested for that just now anyway but I'm sending a sample from the clumped bees for analysis on Monday. Saw this happening on the same colony a few weeks ago, too, but only on good flying days.
Trog, sent you a pm re getting video up.
The blighters weren't so ill they couldn't sting - as one did when I went to pick up a pile of cut grass, not realising they were even falling that far away from the hive! My wrist is not a pretty sight
Hi Trog
Are there lots of dead bees on the floor ?
I would haul out the entrance and rake the floor out to see if there are
I'll give it a go when I can get gloves back on over my wrist! What would that indicate? I'm going to send off a sample to SASA on Monday.
That your wrists have swollen?! Sorry ... couldn't resist.Originally Posted by Trog
Are you up to wrenching off the head together with the first thoracic segment? A hand lens - or good eyesight - might tell you if you have the signs of acarine which, as has been said, is one reason for such die-offs. I know a man who does it with a thumbnail. I think that k-wing symptoms are optional with acarine, and its presence isn't diagnostic anyway.
G.
Back in the 1970s my father used to help out a local beekeeper, one of the gentry class of beekeepers, you know the type, and he got a phone call to ask his advice about a hive which had produced all these 'mini swarms' all around the hive. It turned out to be a severe case of acarine. Groups of up to a couple of hundred bees were clumped together and climbing up stalks of grass in front of the hive. He told the story recently which is why it sticks in my mind. Obviously I can hardly remember the 1970s same problem as DR.
Last edited by Jon; 29-09-2011 at 10:19 PM.
If I raked the floor and not many dead bees were there I wouldn't worry too much (I would still worry a bit)
But if the floor is covered in dead bees then something bad is happening because the bees should be keeping the floor clear at this time of year and then I would worry a lot
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