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Author Topic: Confusing pollen mark on worker  (Read 3203 times)

Offline eivindm

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Confusing pollen mark on worker
« on: August 07, 2008, 07:57:31 am »
I was looking for my queen the other day.  I thought I had found her with her yellow mark on her back, but she was really to small to be a queen.  I thought it might be pollen, so I tried to gently scratch it off, but it wouldn't come off, although it surely was pollen.  I later found the queen. Her mark has got smaller this summer.  Not as large as it was in the spring.

Here is a comaparisment of the two:

(click to enlarge)

I laughed of the thought of having a lot of bees with the same spot on the back in the hive.  It would be fun to find the queen then :-)

I found a bee with almost the exact same spot in my other hive aswell :-)

Offline annette

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Re: Confusing pollen mark on worker
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2008, 04:55:48 pm »
They are playing a joke on you. Yes it would be hilarious if all the workers decided to put on a yellow mark.

Annette

Offline Frantz

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Re: Confusing pollen mark on worker
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2008, 09:53:29 pm »
Wow, I know that these ladies are smart and all, but that is a little spooky. Next thing they are going to dress up in a bee suit and veil to make us think that we have already checked the bees and we will turn around and go home.
F
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Offline SgtMaj

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Re: Confusing pollen mark on worker
« Reply #3 on: August 08, 2008, 04:06:31 am »
Worker #30673, just because you can dress like the queen doesn't mean you get to lay around the hive and do nothing all day.  Now get back to work!   :-D

Offline suprstakr

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Re: Confusing pollen mark on worker
« Reply #4 on: August 08, 2008, 09:20:29 am »
Your mark is probably from the orchid family , they leave the polen on top of the insect.

Offline Scadsobees

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Re: Confusing pollen mark on worker
« Reply #5 on: August 08, 2008, 02:31:05 pm »
I've noticed too that Liatris leaves a mark similar to that on the back, maybe not quite so yellow.  None of my queens have been foraging on liatris, so I don't have to worry about matching marks.  ;)
Rick

Offline octagon

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Re: Confusing pollen mark on worker
« Reply #6 on: August 18, 2008, 11:44:36 am »
I have many bees comming into one of the hives with yellow-white stuff on thier backs that looks like pollen.