View Full Version : does this sound like t-mites?
buford
12-27-2005, 01:47 PM
i've had a couple days up in the 50's and at days end there are several bees that decided not to re-enter the hive.
they don't look abnormal (crumpled wings or k-wing) they just "froze" doing whatever they were doing on the ground. it's just that there are quite a few of them.
Kieck
12-27-2005, 01:55 PM
Depending on how cold it is late in the day there, the bees really may have "frozen," or at least been too cold to keep moving. I would guess they're leaving the hive while the temperatures are nice, then getting caught out in the cold later in the days when the temperatures drop.
Michael Bush
12-27-2005, 02:19 PM
That's just normal.
buford
12-28-2005, 11:47 AM
thanks. smile.gif
A good diagnosis of a t-mite dead colony, is a very loose scattered dead cluster. Bees infested with t-mites tend not to be able to cluster properly, nor create heat the same as an uneffected colony.
Bees flying out of the enterence is normal, but I have noticed sick colonies continously vacate the hive, leaving a pile of dead just infrount. Not a pritty sight, but follows my theory of only dieing or sick bees will leave the hive on sunny cool winter days.