Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: What do I have here?  (Read 3055 times)

Offline Carol

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 380
  • Gender: Female
    • critters and crawlers visiting or living in my back yard
What do I have here?
« on: August 27, 2013, 07:01:05 pm »
I checked the hive today. I've seen a dozen or more SHB so changed the bottom board and hive body at the same time. Killing most of the beetles as we went. I did not see any sign of eggs or larva ...but this came up in one of the pictures....only one frame....I cropped it a couple of times for better viewing...  don't know how I missed it...must have been covered by bees until Jim had me hold it for the camera....larva?  and some capped?   It is a very small area.








I have a small window on the back of the hive and could see over a dozen SHB so as we checked each frame we put it into a clean hive body on a  clean bottom board...killing all the beetles we could. (Saw no SHB larva on the hive bottom or inside the hive body.) After everything was back together there were a lot of bees in the old hive body so I stood it on end with a corner near the new hive entrance.  A few minutes later a few bees were in the corner fanning and all the bees marched right inside...??? 

Offline millipede

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 106
  • Gender: Male
    • Bayou Bees
Re: What do I have here?
« Reply #1 on: August 27, 2013, 08:34:40 pm »
That is a baby bee.

Offline AllenF

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 8192
  • Gender: Male
Re: What do I have here?
« Reply #2 on: August 27, 2013, 09:26:49 pm »
Young bees in the making. 

Offline GSF

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 4084
  • Gender: Male
Re: What do I have here?
« Reply #3 on: August 27, 2013, 09:41:09 pm »

(I am a novice who hasn't had bees long at all)

In the 3rd picture I see some sort of (may not be the right terminology) queen, emergency, supercedure cell, or something like that. Maybe someone with some experience will be more detailed than I.

First off let me say this, I wear glasses for a reason. All of those cells looks a little funny to me. It doesn't look like "individual" cell caps. Sort of looks like they made one cap to fit all. could be the camera, could be the glasses, could be the eyes. Hopefully someone else can better explain it than I can. It may not be nothing.
When the law no longer protects you from the corrupt, but protects the corrupt from you - then you know your nation is doomed.

Offline Carol

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 380
  • Gender: Female
    • critters and crawlers visiting or living in my back yard
Re: What do I have here?
« Reply #4 on: August 27, 2013, 09:47:22 pm »
I would have thought that if there were capped cells there should have been more larva  somewhere.  I'll go back through the pictures again...but this was all I could find.

Offline Carol

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 380
  • Gender: Female
    • critters and crawlers visiting or living in my back yard
Re: What do I have here?
« Reply #5 on: August 27, 2013, 10:11:44 pm »
I found another frame that has something interesting in it.   Is it one larva?  or two...which could mean a laying worker?





Offline Wolfer

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 187
  • Gender: Male
Re: What do I have here?
« Reply #6 on: August 28, 2013, 12:05:03 am »
New queens usually start with a couple small patches. Give her a couple weeks and you will probably see a big difference.
New queens will sometimes lay two eggs in a cell until they get it figured out.

Is this the hive you posted about in another thread? If so congratulations. Woody

Offline sc-bee

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 2985
Re: What do I have here?
« Reply #7 on: August 28, 2013, 06:46:39 am »
Can't really open the second pics large enough to see much. May be an operator error on my end. I think some of the image hosters enable you to zoom the image larger, Makes looking for eggs etc easier if you have problems finding them. Your camera software may also allow this. Maybe someone on here can point you to the image server I am speaking of. I use photo bucket not sure if you can there. Site uses image shack I belive.

Yes it looks like a small patch of brood under the bees. Cant see the caps enough to see if it is worker brood or drone brood. Looks massed together (not spaced out like a laying worker does sometimes)so I am guessing worker, not sure? Try and identify brood type.  So you may have finally ended up with a queen. If it is indeed worker brood give her a little time and see how she lays. Hard to tell what the rest may look like from a small snapshot.

IMO- if you tear your hive down and re-box every time you see a dozen shb you and the bees are in for a hard road. Some even claim when you tear a hive all the way down with shb in it they go on a egg laying frenzy. Not sure? IF the bees corral the shb good if populations are relatively low the bee usually have most of the shb corralled in the top at the cover. corners etc. Pop the top and kill them there. Of course shb can be a serious issue and what works for me may not work for you.  And the hive is weak at this time.

edited- Closer look at the blurry picture and the cells do look a little raised. Also looks like an attempt at a supercedure cell. The brood cells have been there long enough to be capped and darkened. I would have hoped to see more brood than this.
« Last Edit: August 28, 2013, 11:33:34 am by sc-bee »
John 3:16

Offline 10framer

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 1701
Re: What do I have here?
« Reply #8 on: August 28, 2013, 09:59:50 am »
i agree with sc.  tearing that hive down is probably helping the beetles.  also, 12 beetles is nothing to worry about most of the time.  i also see supercedure cells in those first images.   

Offline sc-bee

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 2985
Re: What do I have here?
« Reply #9 on: August 28, 2013, 11:35:44 am »
  also, 12 beetles is nothing to worry about most of the time.   

I sometimes see 50 or more in a strong hive ans so far have no issue. Of course I did say strong hive, the outcome could be different in a weak hive as you have.
John 3:16

Offline Carol

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 380
  • Gender: Female
    • critters and crawlers visiting or living in my back yard
Re: What do I have here?
« Reply #10 on: August 28, 2013, 12:18:44 pm »
I didn't think it would be a problem putting the frames in a new deep since I was going to remove each frame to check it anyways...wont be doing that again. Wanted to get all the SHB out that I could since I am feeding them.

The photos are reduced in size to 640 for the website. I can enlarge and crop etc on my computer...

I just cant believe that I could have missed them...but possible Jim told me to change the angle for the camera and I didn't finish checking.

I saw 3 or 4 empty Queen cells and the supercedure cell  (hive swarmed twice that I know of) but did not remove them. Should I have?
Keeping fingers crossed...

Did think it was pretty neat when I put the old deep on it's side and the bees marched into the new one. Thought I would have to knock them off but they just hiked right in there. I saw a couple of fanners in that same corner...so could be why.

Woofer:  yes...this is the same hive.

Offline Wolfer

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 187
  • Gender: Male
Re: What do I have here?
« Reply #11 on: August 28, 2013, 07:56:47 pm »
After losing a couple weak hives to SHB I bought an IPK beetle trap from green beehives. It worked so well I now have them on all my hives. Shipping is bad if you buy one but gets better the more you buy.
I don't have them on my nucs and one migratory hive I use sometimes. I of course see beetles in these hives but I have not seen a live beetle this year in a hive that has one of these bottoms on it.

Twice this year I had weak queen less hives two deeps with a lot of honey. Guarded by no more than 4 frames of bees. This is a recipe for disaster if there ever was one. Yet I had no problems and saw no live beetles in these hives. Plenty of dead ones in the bottom though.

I think many people think that because they have a SBB with an oil pan under it they have the same thing. The IPK has mesh with 6 holes per inch. I've never seen a SBB with bigger than #8  ( 8 holes per inch ) some beetles probably go thru that but I bet some don't.

My hives are mostly in the shade. Just my experience, Woody

Offline Carol

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 380
  • Gender: Female
    • critters and crawlers visiting or living in my back yard
Re: What do I have here?
« Reply #12 on: August 28, 2013, 08:40:27 pm »
I didn't get them all...saw one on the hive stand and killed it....saw one today on the "porch" but it scooted inside before I could squish it.

I had read that feeding when you have SHB just makes them stronger....and the hive needed feeding. Thought I could get rid of most of them (at least 20) at this point...and by using the clean hive body and bottom board I'd get rid of eggs. Did not see any SHB larva on the bottom board.

Offline GSF

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 4084
  • Gender: Male
Re: What do I have here?
« Reply #13 on: August 28, 2013, 09:15:58 pm »
I second the trap from greenbeehive. Not only does it work extremely well they are good folks to deal with. I had a problem with mine and they ask one or two questions and said the screen must be defective, we'll send you another one. Two days later it was on my back porch.

Wolfer: They will sell/ship you only the screen and oil pan if you desire. Also they have the blueprint to build the rest on their website. Better yet - they have pictures too! yyyippeeee!!
When the law no longer protects you from the corrupt, but protects the corrupt from you - then you know your nation is doomed.