Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Captain776 on July 15, 2017, 03:27:14 am
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Yesterday I noticed commotion near one hive and I saw fighting on the porch, first thought.....robbing and I saw about 30 dead bees in front of the hive and then wasn't sure if the Greater Banded Hornets had done it so I picked up 10 of them and they were all Drones.
Then when I watched and filmed close up........very obvious, the workers were pushing the Drones out.....but not sure why, we are not approaching cold season, lots of Larvae in the hive, plenty of room, but maybe they got over populated. This hive built comb from the bottom of the plastic frame feeder all the way down but not attached to the bottom board and it was all Drone comb and a lot of it was capped. I saw it but just let them have it because it had Brood in it. I have since removed it.
Can the workers kill Drones.........many times the worker and the Drone fall to the grass together and roll around a bit then worker flies back up to the box and the Drone either crawls on the grass or he flies up and charges the door again
The video is a little fuzzy but you can easily see the evictions taking ng place.
First 20 seconds is jumpy until I get it in the tripod
https://youtu.be/N0hH64t6I-c
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Workers can kill drones. Is there a dearth or a starvation issue? Bees will kick out drones before winter but also if they feel as though they can't feed them.
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Never having done the "Club Scene" I can however boast of being "bounced", a
bloodbath as best I am able to recall :-D
I liked the guy being launched by leg and arse into bee ether, no amount of tough
stickers saving him from the attack...made me chuckle.
Good work in film, thanks.
Bill
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Besides picking them up and flying away, usually dropped in to water if available, they can sting them, without dying, and tear wings and legs off.
Jim
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Mr. Sawdust: when you text without dying, you mean the worker bee does not die after stinging the drone? Thanks
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Yes Van, usually a very noticable event as that video shows.
Nothing at all subtle in eviction.
I have seen drones herded to the upper external reaches of a hive and
seemingly groomed, yet denied entry to the colony at night...they do not
last long out there.
You might see worker and drone locked in death struugles on the ground
near a hive. It happens the worker sinks the stinger right to the hilt and so
dies also.
Cheers.
Bill
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Besides picking them up and flying away, usually dropped in to water if available, they can sting them, without dying, and tear wings and legs off.
Jim
There was 30-40 dead on the ground, the next day I did not suit up to fight the Banded Hornets but I could see them in the grass during the day. They are so big, they are very easy to see against my Astro Turf, they picked up every single one and must have taken them back to their hive.
If they only ate the dead ones, I would be happy to have them.
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Mr. Sawdust: when you text without dying, you mean the worker bee does not die after stinging the drone? Thanks
That is correct. The barb on the stinger of worker bees is designed to get stuck in mammals, not insects.
Jim