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Offline Irwin

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Bee larvae
« on: December 15, 2008, 07:41:54 pm »
My bees are pulling out larvae. I just took a look and they pulled out 16 white undeveloped bees you could see the head and legs but no wings. Last night it got down to 28 the high today 40. Please tell me this is normal. They have a full medium of capped honey last time I checked About 2 weeks ago.
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Offline Sean Kelly

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #1 on: December 15, 2008, 07:48:18 pm »
Happened to me too.  Happened last year also but lived to be the strongest hives in my apiary.  Probably just chill brood that died in the cold snap.

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Offline sc-bee

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #2 on: December 15, 2008, 07:49:26 pm »
Maybe a little chilled brood.
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Offline JP

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #3 on: December 15, 2008, 07:59:28 pm »
Happened to me too.  Happened last year also but lived to be the strongest hives in my apiary.  Probably just chill brood that died in the cold snap.

Sean Kelly

Sounds like a reasonable explanation.


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Offline Irwin

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #4 on: December 15, 2008, 08:04:27 pm »
Thank's every one first year and scared sh--less.
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Offline josbees

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #5 on: December 15, 2008, 11:10:29 pm »
I had the same thing about 3 or 4 weeks ago,  Looked like drones, but perfectly made in white wax.  When I posted a query I was reassured that it is pretty normal.  My problem now is that I'm seeing 20 or 30 dead workers on the landing board every day.  Is that a high attrition number??  I thought that today, being in the 50s after a couple weeks of cold, I'd see some cleansing flighs, but nothing....

Offline BjornBee

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #6 on: December 16, 2008, 08:39:10 am »
josbees,
20 or 30 is no concern.

Don't let those drone larvae go to waste. Eat them raw, or fry them up. They taste good and leave hust a hint of chestnut in your mouth.  :-D
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Offline Cindi

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #7 on: December 16, 2008, 11:10:07 am »
Don't let those drone larvae go to waste. Eat them raw, or fry them up. They taste good and leave hust a hint of chestnut in your mouth.  :-D

OK, Bjornbee has snapped!!! Yich.....smiling.  Sounds like something my Husband would do, on a dare, along with the asparagus beetles and cut worms!!!  Beautiful day in this great life, health.  Cindi
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Offline JP

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #8 on: December 16, 2008, 07:56:44 pm »
Don't let those drone larvae go to waste. Eat them raw, or fry them up. They taste good and leave hust a hint of chestnut in your mouth.  :-D

OK, Bjornbee has snapped!!! Yich.....smiling.  Sounds like something my Husband would do, on a dare, along with the asparagus beetles and cut worms!!!  Beautiful day in this great life, health.  Cindi

As gross as this sounds I bet stir fried bee larvae is not as bad as you think.

Ok, now this may seem really gross but who here has tasted bee larvae? I have.


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Offline manfre

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #9 on: December 16, 2008, 08:34:01 pm »
As gross as this sounds I bet stir fried bee larvae is not as bad as you think.

Ok, now this may seem really gross but who here has tasted bee larvae? I have.


...JP

It might not be so bad with either a ginger or teriyaki sauce. I'd need water chestnuts and a few other known crunchy things in it, just in case.
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Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #10 on: December 16, 2008, 08:40:02 pm »
As gross as this sounds I bet stir fried bee larvae is not as bad as you think.

Ok, now this may seem really gross but who here has tasted bee larvae? I have.


...JP

It might not be so bad with either a ginger or teriyaki sauce. I'd need water chestnuts and a few other known crunchy things in it, just in case.

A good stir fry mix of veggies works great.  Dribble a little soy sauce over it,,,yum.
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Offline BjornBee

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #11 on: December 16, 2008, 08:42:20 pm »
JP,
I have had many of them.... :-D

And I'm serious, they have a hint of chestnut aftertaste. Very good!
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Offline Cindi

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #12 on: December 16, 2008, 10:11:12 pm »
OK, you are all sick puppies!!!!  Smiling, Cindi
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Offline JP

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #13 on: December 17, 2008, 12:10:38 am »
JP,
I have had many of them.... :-D

And I'm serious, they have a hint of chestnut aftertaste. Very good!

Do you cook them?


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Offline BjornBee

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #14 on: December 17, 2008, 08:21:53 am »
JP,
I have had many of them.... :-D

And I'm serious, they have a hint of chestnut aftertaste. Very good!

Do you cook them?


...JP

I never did cooking myself. I did see it on a cooking show. And I remember seeing something about chocolate covered bees also.

I have ate many fresh larvae and pupae from pulled drones.

Last year at two meeting, we had many "new" beekeepers taste tham for the first time. And everyone agreed, that they were good.

Think about it....your working long hours in the bee yard. Your hungry. It's lunch time. You have honey, bee larvae, propolis,..... doesn't get any better than that....  :-D
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Offline tlynn

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #15 on: December 17, 2008, 08:43:38 am »
Last time I checked the grocery store there was a great selection of meats.  I'm not concerned enough about finding protein sources to start eating my bees!  Ick! :shock:

Offline JP

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #16 on: December 17, 2008, 10:32:43 am »
Last time I checked the grocery store there was a great selection of meats.  I'm not concerned enough about finding protein sources to start eating my bees!  Ick! :shock:

There will come a day (hopefully not) where the earth is way, way beyond its carrying capacity and real estate becomes endangered, yes trees, forests, woods, etc...

This may seem a little far fetched but it is happening and has been occurring for many yrs now. Forests as you know are disappearing, animals are disappearing.

With modern advances people are living longer and longer and we keep having more babies and more babies, our precious earth can only support so much.

Alternative food sources are not a new concept, you in fact can buy cooked and I believe raw insects in some countries, I know for a fact some of the Asian ones.

So, with this information, I often come across certain insects that I wonder would make a decent alternative food source. Insects as we all know are high in protein, many are low in fat as well.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't make a habit of trying them, I'm still at the curious what that would taste like stage, but I have heard about bee larvae, particularly the pupae being an insect that apparently many people have tried, so, I tried one or two, raw, wasn't the end of the world either.

I do have my standards however, no smelly insects nor ones that ooze vial secretions, other than that, certain insects don't seem like they would be any worse to eat than a lot of the things we incorporate into our diets now.

Bon Appetite!


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Offline BeeHopper

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #17 on: December 17, 2008, 12:18:04 pm »
Good Source of Proteins, brings to mind when I was a child, I saw documentaries on the Zulus and their way of life, they eat Larvae of many insects by the millions, Cindi is right, Yich  :-X

Offline jdpro5010

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #18 on: December 17, 2008, 02:57:43 pm »
WOW, This really is going to be a long winter isn't it! :-D

Offline JP

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #19 on: December 17, 2008, 07:52:01 pm »
WOW, This really is going to be a long winter isn't it! :-D

Bee pupae roasting on an open fire...


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Offline dhood

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #20 on: December 17, 2008, 11:51:55 pm »
[Irwin said -My bees are pulling out larvae. I just took a look and they pulled out 16 white undeveloped bees you could see the head and legs but no wings. Last night it got down to 28 the high today 40. Please tell me this is normal. They have a full medium of capped honey last time I checked About 2 weeks ago.]

Most likely chilled brood as they said, but I thought I would mention that I had a hive that did that in ealy fall. I noticed them removing larva and I looked though the hive for any sign of disease. They had about 3 frames of capped brood, but were low on stores. I fed them daily, but a week or so later they absconded. I caught them when they accumulated about 10 ft in front of the hive. But when I checked the hive it was cleaned out. No brood whatsoever. I dont know if they were getting robbed out or what? But they removed the capped brood quickly before they absconded. They were set on leaving, when I put the queen in a new hive with drawn out comb and honey, they left the next day. I saw them flying back and robbing out the hive for days.

Offline Irwin

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #21 on: December 18, 2008, 09:55:52 am »
dhood thank's for the scare :-D but I think its chilled brood. At my last look they had a bunch of pollen honey and brood. The temp's have been in the mid to upper 20's at night and our high this week was 44. They are still just cleaning house few brood and bee's. Alright I had to give it a try Tuesday cleaned the entrance so I could try a fresh kill wensday when I got home from work I tasted one not bad I must say. But you have to kill a whole hive to make a dinner for one :-D
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Offline BjornBee

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #22 on: December 18, 2008, 11:12:51 am »
Alright I had to give it a try Tuesday cleaned the entrance so I could try a fresh kill wensday when I got home from work I tasted one not bad I must say. But you have to kill a whole hive to make a dinner for one :-D

I see a new show..."Man versus Wild Part 2" with survivalist Irwin!  :shock:
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Offline Cindi

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #23 on: December 18, 2008, 11:49:30 am »
Irwin, OK you made me laugh, picturing you all snuggled infront of the beehouse, pulling all the dead drones from the bees that they were trying to get rid of out their front door.  Wait til spring, put in some drone brood comb, get those full frames of drone brood -- man versus wild, coming on.  Have a wonderful and awesome day, Cindi
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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #24 on: December 18, 2008, 01:01:30 pm »
EEWWW guys!  If it gets to the point I have to eat my bees to survive I will but until then will wait to taste.  If starving it won't matter what they taste like & can cover em with honey, swallow & try not to chuck em back up!  Cindi, just got a Far Side image of Martha Stewart harvesting drone frame & running to the kitchen.."it's a good thing!". :evil:  J
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Offline Irwin

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #25 on: December 18, 2008, 09:02:51 pm »
We got plant's out here to that you can eat :-D http://www.dereilanatureinn.ca/woodlands/edible-plants/index.htm
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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #26 on: December 18, 2008, 09:50:26 pm »
Irwin, what a great site! I know bout most of the plants but was surprised at a couple!  I tried oregon grape..VERY sour!  Salmon berries taste like soap to me but thimbleberries are good!  I don't kill most of the natives when pulling or clearing just transplant. I've seen the bees all over em too. They are surprisingly pricey @ the nurserys!  J
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Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #27 on: December 18, 2008, 10:03:48 pm »
You guys are making me hungry again. 
But I'll have to wait until spring before enjoying my favorite green salad.  Mix young immature leaves of Oregon grape, salal, lambs quarter, and sour grass.  Has a nice nip to it and excellent with a good vinegarette, Italian, or 1000 Island dressing.
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Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #28 on: December 19, 2008, 08:43:45 am »
I want to see Martha Stewart cook up some drone larvae...
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Offline JP

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #29 on: December 19, 2008, 03:04:34 pm »
I want to see Martha Stewart cook up some drone larvae...

[/quoteG

Yeah, I think we found the main cause of CCD, beekeepers are eating their bees! The colonies cannot replace those that are lost because we are eating their offspring. We raise them, steal their honey and eat their children!

Tree huggers beware, you may be next!


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Offline bailey

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #30 on: December 19, 2008, 07:18:00 pm »
jp you are having too much fun with this thread! :evil:

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Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Bee larvae
« Reply #31 on: December 19, 2008, 08:39:43 pm »
jp you are having too much fun with this thread! :evil:

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