Late this afternoon I spent some time refilling the boardman feeders on my hives. It had been cool and very windy most of the day; and by 5:00PM the temperature was just about 50 with a very strong wind from the south west. When I finished refilling the feeders, I double checked my hives before heading for home.
On top of one of the hives, I found 5 worker bees positioned head to head in a very tight star shaped pattern. Each of the heads were touching and the star shaped pattern was very uniform. Their bodies were straight and not curdled up as they are when they die. The bees were alive but very sluggish. I'm suspecting that the strong wind and cool/cold air had taken away all of their energy. It was cloudy, so there was no warmth coming from the sun. These we the only bees I found outside of the hives.
It was odd that they chose to face each other in the manner. I don't expect it really means anything.
Has anyone seen something like this before ? :? :? :?
Regards,
Tucker
p.s. I placed them into the hive, assuming this was their home.
Topic: Strange Observation (Read 1091 times)