Mites and Bees

[Summerbee]

I have noticed that the bees in my hive that were deformed by mites in their cells wander around the front of the grass.  I don't have a big mite problem; you don't see them all of the time - maybe one or two if you look really closely at the grass.  Anyway, they are down there because their wings are all crinkled and mutilated and they clearly can't fly.

Out of curiosity, I wondered - are these bees drug out of the hive as soon as the leave the cell, because the other bees can sense they're mutilated; OR do they carry on normal nursing functions in the hive, and then when they go to forage just drop kerplunk to the ground?  

I know it's a goofy question, just wondered. :D

[Brian D. Bray]

If they are still fuzzy from hatching I'd say the former but my guess is the latter.

[latebee]

Mites pose a twofold threat to honeybees--
                 1) they live on beeblood(hemolymph)weakening the bee
                 2) they are transmitters of many viruses that cripple or
                     destroy your colony,even with a surprizingly small mite
                     population
 Try this site--
http://www.asm.org/ASM/files/LeftMarginHeaderList/DOWNLOADFILENAME/000000001927/pdf-honeybees.pdf