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Bumble Bee

784 views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  Fuzzymiss9 
#1 ·
I made a weak nuc about a month ago from a trap out to reduce a colony in a wall's strength. It has queen cell added and is doing ok. Had top entrance with an opening 1 inch by 3/8 inch.

Opened it today to do inspection and there is a ball of bees around a dead bumble bee. It was holding on to a frame every firmly and they were tugging away to move it.

That was a tight fit for its thorax and abdomen to squeeze through a 3/8 inch gap. It was about 4 inches from the opening and on top of the frames. Guess it didn't get a welcome party and just couldn't get out fast enough to escape.
 
#2 ·
Amazing what you see during an inspection.

I once saw a half of a bumble bee (rear).

The most surprising was a rather large, barely alive hornet that was being balled on top of the frames. The bees on frames away from the balling acted just normally, like nothing unusual was going on. Glad I was not that hornet.
 
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