Different bee in hive

**charles adams** · 09-08-2011, 01:53 PM

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5164330...in/photostream
I noticed this new patterned bee bringing pollen into the hive today. I've seen the Queen and the others in the colony and none of them have a big a black section on their thorax is this a different species or just an older bee than the rest?

**dixiebooks** · 09-08-2011, 02:29 PM

I've seen quite a few of these around one of my apiaries. I'd like the answer, as well. I've wondered what strain this is. -james

**waynesgarden** · 09-08-2011, 05:02 PM

Different drone genetics. An open-mated queen mates with more than a dozen different drones that could be of many different races. You should be seeing traits of all those races, not just the queen's (unless she was instrumentally inseminated at a bee breeding operation.)

I generally see waves of differently colored or sized bees hatching out rather than a uniform mix of traits.

Wayne

**Michael Bush** · 09-08-2011, 07:25 PM

There is the genetic issue, but then the color of a bee is mostly due to the hair. The hair gets pulled on robbers so they are dark. My guess is you have a robber there. But it also wears off (but usually not completely) as they get older.

**waynesgarden** · 09-08-2011, 07:36 PM

Originally Posted by Michael Bush

....My guess is you have a robber there.....

Ah, but do robbers often bring pollen to the feast?

Wayne

**Michael Bush** · 09-08-2011, 09:31 PM

Probably not. Sorry my slow connection I seldom look at pictures.

**stoffel64** · 09-08-2011, 10:45 PM

But these bees could be robbers, coming home from a raid.

**Joseph Clemens** · 09-08-2011, 11:04 PM

All I see are a few older bees with some of their hair missing.

**Riskybizz** · 09-09-2011, 08:39 AM

Looks like a single banded bee to me. I see quite a few of these in my yards. Years ago we purchased a lot of Italian queens from Homer Park. As I recall, a lot of the workers were single banded and had that look. Ooops..just gave my age away there I think..

**rlsiv** · 09-09-2011, 09:19 AM

Those "odd" colored bees are called "red-headed step children" around here. Just a variety of genetics.
Its funny how sometimes I can spend ten minutes looking for a queen that should stand out easily, but quickly notice some of the more unique colorations of a few workers within my hives.

**charles adams** · 09-09-2011, 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by rlsiv

Those "odd" colored bees are called "red-headed step children" around here. Just a variety of genetics.
Its funny how sometimes I can spend ten minutes looking for a queen that should stand out easily, but quickly notice some of the more unique colorations of a few workers within my hives.

Mutts was tring to figure out how to tell the different straines of bees but with these being wild I just wondered. hopefully one day I'll find swarm of Sunkist! (I wish)

**Konrad** · 09-09-2011, 03:23 PM

This one looks the same and is from my Italians X Carniolan's..

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c9...G_4634_1_1.jpg

**charles adams** · 09-09-2011, 05:17 PM

the one good thing is I'm surprized how docile they are and readily accepted going in to the TBH. They are busy,busy fixing the damage from the move sealing cracks,gaps in the wood and basicly told me I don't know anything I had an eastern openning for them to enter the hive but they wanted a western and found a way out as they sealed the other openning.

**wcubed** · 09-09-2011, 09:28 PM

20 years ago, we had some professional robbers in the area with that coloration, except that the forward abdomen was a bright orange. I called them orange asses. If there was any robbing going on, they were involved in numbers. Obviously, there was a colony with that coloration somewhere.

I wanted to find a colony like that for cleanup on a cutout but never did. Did see a drone visiting one of my colonies, but that was no help. Havn't seen an orange a in many years.
Walt