Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => DISEASE & PEST CONTROL => Topic started by: potomacjoe on June 15, 2005, 11:51:29 pm

Title: what on earth is wrong?
Post by: potomacjoe on June 15, 2005, 11:51:29 pm
Hi all,
We have just started beekeeping this year. We started with ten packages. (5 for me and 5 for hubby). Two of our hives are doing terrible. We cannot locate the queen, and the bees seem sick. They have a spiderweb appearance on their bottom portion of their bodies. Also, a few were observed laying on their backs on the landing boards with their legs in the air. (still alive, just moving their legs in the air.)  When turned over they seem to be dragging their back legs. The other eight hives seem to be doing terrific. Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
Title: what on earth is wrong?
Post by: Finsky on June 16, 2005, 01:13:29 am
You shoud find experienced beekeeper or desease consultant and he looks what is the matter.  Seems serious.
Title: what on earth is wrong?
Post by: Michael Bush on June 16, 2005, 02:10:41 pm
>We cannot locate the queen

How many bees are you looking through?  Are there eggs?  Larvae? Capped brood?

>They have a spiderweb appearance on their bottom portion of their bodies.

Spiderweb?  Fuzzy?  Web?  I'm nto sure I udnerstand.  New bees are always very fuzzy, but I don't understnad what you mean by spiderweb nor by "bottom portion".  Is that the ventral size (the side with legs) or the back end (the abdomen)?

>Also, a few were observed laying on their backs on the landing boards with their legs in the air. (still alive, just moving their legs in the air.)

A bees that is not moving normally is, for all practical purposes, dead, unless they are just chilled, but that takes temps below 50 F.

>When turned over they seem to be dragging their back legs.

Paralalysis?

http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/pest&disease/slide42.htm