dead pupae

[sarah]

there are a ton of dead brood outside two of my three hives, by ton i mean at least 20 at each. they appear to me both drone and worker pupae. any ideas?

[sarah]

i just read in the disease and pests column that wishthecuttlefish had this same problem a few weeks ago and that it's possible the bees are cleaning house for the season (getting rid of extra brood). my question is: do bees even know what winter is? dont honey bees store extra honey because that's what we've selected them to do, not because they are preparing for a long cold season ahead? questions questions.

[Michael Bush]

You can discuss it from other philosophical and scientific viewpoints but yes, they do know what winter is and they spend all year preparing for it. They store honey because that's what bees do to get through times where there is no nectar (from late fall to early spring). They did not have to bred to do that. It's what honey bees do.

As for chewing out brood, one cause is mites. The mit population skyrockets in the fall and the bees chew out infested brood. They also throw out larvae of brood they can't feed if there is a dearth or they are anticipating winter soon. Mine are starting to throw out the drones and the weather has not been at all cold.

[sarah]

thanks