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bobd2112

Workers Carrying Out Not Fully Developed Pupa

BobD2112
18 years ago

Two days ago I saw a bee walk out of the hive, fall down the landing board and start walking all around funny. Upon further examination, its wings were mostly gone.

Yesterday, I saw two more the same way and yet another today..

Also yesterday, a worker bee carried out a young, not fully formed (still white) bee and dropped it outside. I saw 2 more workers doing the the same thing today.

Is this a Varroa Mite problem?

IÂve heard wings being frayed away on older bees isnÂt uncommon, but if it is a young bee, it may be a virus caused by the Varroa Mite. Is this true?

Also, as far as the worker bees carrying out a couple (that I saw) young, not fully formed baby bees and dropping them outside, someone said this:

"If the bees are removing pupae then it could be that they're removing the infested ones. In that case, they could have a degree of resistance, which would make then extremely desirable bees!"

Would this be true? Does that mean I shouldnÂt worry, or should I give it a couple Powdered Sugar dustings anyway?

IÂm new at Beekeeping and this is a new hive. I just bought everything this year brand new and installed the bees on the 16th of last month.

If anyone can answer the above questions and give me any suggestions as well, it would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks you kindly!

Bob

Comments (8)

  • eibren
    18 years ago

    Space.com just had an article on this listed in Yahoo. The bees with the mite infestation are then less resistant to the wing disease, possibly because the infected bees are then not able to produce as much antibacterial substance to place in their honey (I wasn't sure how that computed, since I think they said the wing disease is caused by a virus). They mentioned the combo could "wipe out a colony in two weeks."

    I am a regular on the MidAtlantic Gardenweb Forum, but have always wanted to raise bees; when I heard about the mite problem I gave up that idea for awhile.

    I am now happy that I have left enough undisturbed ground around my home that I still see some tiny bees, which I assume are natives, and an occasional bumblebee. I haven't seen my bumblebee for about a week now, though, and am starting to worry. The big wasps that look like bumblebees (except their abdomens are shiny, not hairy) are so aggressive, they're giving bumblebees a bad name.

    Good luck with this; our food supply depends upon the success you and others experience in handling this, and I, for one, am very appreciative.

  • bambooo
    18 years ago

    Old bees are not so fuzzy as young ones, old bees have a greasy look.
    Threadwings on newly emerged bees is a strong sign of a severe varroa problem.

  • txbeeguy
    18 years ago

    On the surface, it does sound like symptoms of a Varroa infestation. From your description, several other things could be causing the problems you've observed but I'd still say Varroa is most likely the problem. And I'd also say you need to do the testing for Varroa (powdered sugar or ether roll, or a close visual inspection, or whatever) immediately. If this confirms the presence of Varroa, then you need to get mite strips in ASAP. If your infestation is really bad, it may be too late to stop the colony from collapsing. The only "good news" in all of this is, if it's too far along, you're no more than a couple of weeks away of the colony dieing (or absconding).
    I'm not sure when your honey flow is in NH, but you may need to plan to NOT remove honey this year if you have to put in mite strips in order to save your hive. This recommendation is based on you being a new beekeeper and having the desire to keep your bees alive.

  • John_Keith_Taylor
    18 years ago

    Bob,

    I see you are in NH. Have you had any really cool nights recently?

    I am in Georgia, but I see this often in the early spring here. The queen starts laying eggs for a rapid spring buildup. Then, you have a late season frost or a few cold nights. The bees in the hive are not able to cluster over the total area of the brood and the brood on the fringes of the cluster gets chilled. They die and are cleaned out and drug out of the hive. I see this every year in March/April in GA.

  • BobD2112
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    We did have a late spring frost about a week ago where the temps dropped into the low to mid twenties. You think this could be at least part of the problem?

  • John_Keith_Taylor
    18 years ago

    I'm almost positive that it is all of your problem. You could have a mite problem, but I wouldn't bet on that.

    Keith

  • BobD2112
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Well, a beekeeper of 13 years and owner of dozens of hives was nice enough to come over and inspect my hives today. He said for me not to worry as the girls are very healthy and thriving. He said it could have been thr frost, it could have been one of the queens mates was a relitive or a number of things, but a certain percentage of the pupa generally has some kind of problem anyway and it removed and discarded by the bees. He and I pipped open several Drone Cells and didn't see a single Varroa. I pulled a drone earlier that day and thought I saw one. Turns out it wasn't. So, I guess things are fine.

    The first deep super is almost all drawn out and ready for me to add the second supper already and I guess that means I'm doing good for a new package hive this year in New Hampshire.

    I am so releaved and happy now! Thank you SOO MUCH to everyone who responded to my posts!

    Bob

  • ccrb1
    18 years ago

    causes of dead pupating bees

    1) chilling
    2) the bees determine that something is wrong (disease, infestation) has made the pupa undesirable
    3) disease has compromised the pupa
    4) genetic, where this pupa was the result of a bad combination of genetics, such as a result of an egg whose father was a brother of the queen, is which case of full 50% of the pupae with this combination are not viable.

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