buzzzzzzzzzz new adventure

[addy1]

sad sad day. The hive was robbed, we closed them down, covered with a sheet , moved the bees 75 yards away. Did all we could to protect them and save them.

We have checked them a few times they appeared to be making it. But this am we went into the hive to see how they were doing. The bottom screen board was covered with dead bees, there was only a handful of live bees living on a tiny piece of frame. The rest of the frames were covered with larvae.........hive beetle larvae.........gross, slimy, destroyed cells, nectar, honey, brood. They took over as the bees died off. We destroyed the comb covered with larvae, put any comb worth saving, no larvae or slime, in the freezer to kill any eggs off. I use the comb to melt down and cover new foundation with the wax.

Here are a few sad pictures of the bees, we feel so bad. But in the process we have learned more about caring for them.

You can see the larvae, the small white worm looking things. The shiny look is the slimy mess they leave behind, nothing to do but destroy the comb. In one week they took over, the bee numbers decreased so much they could not fight them off anymore. A strong hive will keep them controlled. Down here hive beetles are a real threat.

 

[sissy]

Addy do you watch this old house the guy is from your area and does bee hives for people and he talked about hive die out .It was just on again this past saturday .on ask this old house .He talked about environmental issues causing it to newer bee hives .He showed how the queen bee is in cased in a candy thing and that the worker bees eat through it to release her and that's how they get to know her .

 

[Nepen]

so sorry Addy. so these beetles have been in the hive for a week and now just killed all the bees? what caused all the combs to fall off?

 

[j.w]

Very sorry to hear this addy after all the work you put into this. It is very sad. You did your best

 

[addy1]

so sorry Addy. so these beetles have been in the hive for a week and now just killed all the bees? what caused all the combs to fall off?

No the robbers killed the bees, during the battle. We did not open the hive completely to see the layer of dead bees on the bottom, we were trying to let them calm down and recover. Every time you go into a hive it sets the hive back by 2-3 days. This was a small hive of bees we took out of the wall, there were not enough to withstand an all out attack. A lot of the workers were killed during the battle. That decreases the number of bees that are taking care of the comb. Which in turn allows the hive beetles to move in. If you have a strong hive the bees chase the beetles out of the hive or trap them in sticky stuff.
Once the number of bees decreased the beetles moved in, we only saw one beetle, but she can lay 1000 eggs, not sure how many at one time. So the beetle went around and laid eggs in the brood comb, the nectar the honey, those eggs hatch and make a gross slimy mess. Hive beetles are a real problem down here. We do not have that big of an issue at home with them.

"The adult female beetles will lay egg masses in cracks and crevices around the hive, or directly on pollen and brood combs. Beetles may puncture the capping or wall of a brood cell and deposit eggs inside of it. A single female beetle can produce over 1000 eggs in her lifetime. Beetle eggs are similar in shape to those of honey bees, but approximately 2/3 the size. Eggs generally hatch in 2-4 days, and the larvae immediately begin to feed on pollen, honey, and bee brood. In 7-10 days, beetles complete their larval development and will exit the hive to pupate in the soil. The majority of larvae remain within about 180 cm (6’) of the hive they exit, but can crawl much longer distances if needed. Larvae will burrow up to 10 cm (4”) into the soil, where they remain 3-6 weeks to complete pupation. Within 1-2 days of emerging from the soil, adult beetles will seek out a host bee colony, which they locate by odors (Fig. 3)."

We cut out the comb and tossed it into a bag to kill the larvae and to throw it away.

We are sad, tried our best with this hive, but also it was a good learning curve, bee removal, hive beetle attack, robbing attack.

 

[addy1]

Addy do you watch this old house the guy is from your area and does bee hives for people and he talked about hive die out .It was just on again this past saturday .on ask this old house .He talked about environmental issues causing it to newer bee hives .He showed how the queen bee is in cased in a candy thing and that the worker bees eat through it to release her and that's how they get to know her .

I have not seen it Sissy, hive die out is a problem, a lot of times it happens if someone sprays a bad pesticide on one of their food sources.
The queen in candy is for when you need to replace your queen, they say to do it every 2 years, some do it every year.

 

[Nepen]

I'm sorry Addy. Not a good thing to happen, especially on Christmas eve what will happen with the bees that survive?

 

[addy1]

The few that were alive, will either find a new hive or just slowly die off Their life span is 6 weeks.

 

[Nepen]

Ohhh so sad.

 

[addy1]

They are like our pond fish, we are in charge of their health and well being. Sometimes no matter what you do it does not work. You do feel bad for those little stinging critters, they lost their home, their queen, their function. Each bee at certain times in their life has a specific job to do, losing their hive they lost their function and home.

 

[sissy]

I just saw a indoor koi pond on you tube from the Maryland area it says Haywood/koi pond of arte and nicole lembke

 

[j.w]

So sad addy
Maybe a few will go on to find a place to live out there remaining time in a new hive.

 

[addy1]

But the good news is I see all sorts of bees flying around at home. It is a toasty 50, they leave the hive anytime it is not raining, above 49 or so to do elimination flights.

The few that were left will circle until they find a hive. There is a bee keeper around 1 mile from here, with a bunch of hives. They will most likely head there. It may have even been his bees doing the robbing.

 

[j.w]

Oh no if you can't beat um then join um kind of a deal
Glad the ones back home are doing fine.

 

[j.w]

I don't know about this idea and they don't go into any details yet but would be neat if it really worked. They say to check their site for more info: http://www.honeyflow.com/