[Bee Clause]

While inspecting my hive I noticed this unusual "construction" if you will. Normally I see 1-2 small hive beetles from time to time and this time they were in this... thing. It's almost as if the bees are building a place FOR them. I don't get it. :scratch: I poked at it and a hive beetle ran out and one of the bees quickly snatched it, wrestled with it, picked it up and flew off with it in to the blueberry field. I killed the other one. The wax isn't fresh either, it's almost like propolis mixed with old dirty wax. I have to ask, has anyone seen anything like this?

 

[scorpionmain]

Looks like a bit of burr comb to me, could be a "beetle jail".
No big deal. Let it be.
They sometimes build beetle jails in an attempt to corral & contain them.
Then we go messing about the hive and break the beetles out.

 

[Sovek]

yep, beetle jail. Probably trying to entomb them alive. Bees are ruthless sometimes.

 

[Bee Clause]

That's the thing. It wasn't attached to any comb at the bottom. Any burr comb I find is towards the top and is made of fresh white wax. And throughout the hive I see these stalagmites all around. I looks like they are taking the bits from chewed up caps from brood and building this. Just bizarre looking formation that came out of a H. R. Giger drawing. I dunno, I couldn't find anything online about it either. :s

 

[Bee Clause]

Beetle jail? Huh. Sounds probable. After I dispatched the beetle, I dug out a portion of it because I saw a little white worm in it. Wax moths? These were very small worms. A tad shorter than the length of the well this -> ~ < - on your keyboard. Learn something new every day I guess.