There are a handful of these running around in at least one of my hives. I have an idea as to what she is, but want to hear from some experienced folks.
I've seen those around here ...looks like a bee but with a completely black abdomen (on top). The only thing that I could find was that it was a carpenter bee ...but now I''m not sure seeing it in your hive.
That one's expressing the Apis Mellifera Mellifera (AMM, "Black Bee," or "German Bee") color pattern. In My Opinion that simply means that an AMM drone likely got to your queen during one of her mating flights, and she already had enough "dark genes" for a few of her brood to show that color pattern. I personally think they're cool, but some worry that they can be more aggressive than most of the honey bees currently bred in the US.
I agree with robherc amm. I have seen a few in my hives, they used to sell them. But like he said I have always heard they were a little on the hot side. bees these days are all muts anyway some have more traits than others.
I had assumed that all the worker bees from a given queen would be genetically identical, but I guess it makes sense that it's not necessarily the case when the queen mates with multiple drones. My hive (mutts- local survivor stock from an open comb hive in a tree) have most of the workers with bright orange/yellow bands on the abdomen, but some are very dark with almost grey between the bands (but not as dark as the ones pictured above). I'd been wondering if the different bees had "drifted" into the hive, but maybe they're sisters after all!
As long as they all get along and make good comb & honey, right?
It's just a different colored honey bee. You get all colors sometimes... it could also be that the hair has worn off, leaving it all black. The chitin under the hair is black except in cordovan.
Looks like an Osmia, or what they call a Mason Bee. They are getting very plentiful, and they seem to be accepted in honey bee hives. However, their nests are much different. One female will lay several eggs in a hole (like behind siding, etc.) They are great pollinators too.
I call those German. I have several black bee hives like that. They were swarms though so who knows. Is there a such thing as a true bee breed anymore?
I have a hive with about 25 percent black/dark. wild swarm from the P.N.W. They are a bit more aggressive then my other bees but never go out of their way to cause trouble. Just a bit more aggressive when Im elbow deep in the hive causing my own trouble. I like them -They are hard working, early rising, swarm throwing, lil' ladies!
Thanks for the input, folks! My thought was German black bee too. Michael Bush's response was very interesting too. Never knew that.
My thought was that she was a German drifter. The queen she came from was indeed open bred right here, so maybe she got into a German drone. I dunno. I have since requeened this hive because they were a tad on the hot side.
I don't know what it is about black honey bees. I'm fascinated with them. The new queen in this hive is mostly black, and her offspring are pretty little things. I would love to have a hive or two of pure apis mellifera mellifera bees. Though, I've read that's a really bad idea.
I have a bee tree with some bees similar to that - haven't figured out what I want to do with them yet. Hot is not the word I would use. I do have a few other hives with similar bees that aren't so bad.
Those are awesome... I love black bees. I have a pet theory that a lot of what is seen as being AHB in my area is actually remnants of the old Apis Mellferia Iberiensis, or Spanish Black Bee. There are some striking similarities, and some circumstantial genetic evidence of this. They sure don't behave like the USDA says they should.
I've been told by a 3rd generation beekeeper here that the black German bee was the original bee introduced in this area. He says there are still a fair number of feral colonies especially between Nashville and Memphis in the river bottoms. He uses them in his local genetics for survival and honey producing traits.
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