Drones?
OK, I have an odd situation. One hive that has about three times the bees as the other two, and has no honey stores to speak of. It would be the wrong hive to rob. There are bees fighting at the entrance and it seems to be big bees getting their butts kicked by my little bees. I think the hive has produced more drones than the girls want to feed and they are giving them the cold shoulder when they return from mating flights.
Here is a pic of one bee getting double teamed:
After taking the photo, I caught the bees and killed them in alcohol. I know it sounds cruel, but if I have a problem that will kill the whole hive, and the photo will help me head it off, it's a small price to pay.
Here is a pic of one bee getting double teamed:
After taking the photo, I caught the bees and killed them in alcohol. I know it sounds cruel, but if I have a problem that will kill the whole hive, and the photo will help me head it off, it's a small price to pay.
Hey Todd, not unusual for the workers to kill the drones. Did you go into the hive? The only reason I ask is because yesterday I went in and one of my hives was at least 1/4 drones! I have never seen anything like it before and I am wondering if you saw a large number of drones in your hive as well? BTW - thanks for posting the pictures of the pups - awesome!
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I'm on natural cell, and they have plugged drones around the edges of most every brood comb. There is also one comb that looks like it will only produce drones, so I'm thinking of cutting it out. I've reduced the entrance by blocking off a top entrance that I had put on every hive to increase the traffic. It seems to have helped the girls in keeping the drones out.
I'm waiting for a decent day to go in and shake things up as we've had T-storms every afternoon for a couple of weeks. The bees have been a little testy.
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