I found a large sodden bumble bee struggling in the pond, fished it out
and put it in the sun to dry off. As it dried it kept wiping itself with
its middle legs; then I realised it was trying in vain to rub off small
live mites; it had a dozen or more crawling around on its back.

Are these varroa? Or do bumble bees get different mites?

Janet

In article ,
says...

On Wed, 16 May 2012 00:37:13 +0100, Janet wrote:



I found a large sodden bumble bee struggling in the pond, fished it out
and put it in the sun to dry off. As it dried it kept wiping itself with
its middle legs; then I realised it was trying in vain to rub off small
live mites; it had a dozen or more crawling around on its back.

Are these varroa? Or do bumble bees get different mites?

Janet
They're not varroa, and yes they get different mites. The following is
a quote from http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org.uk/
"At least 15 genera of mites are associated with bumblebees. The most
familiar of these are mites of the genus Parasitellus which are very
often to be seen attached to the bodies of adult bumblebees,
particularly queens. These mites are only ever found in close
association with bumblebees. However, they do not feed directly upon
bumblebees, but are phoretic, using the adult bees for transport
between nests. This is a common phenomenon; mites have poor locomotory
abilities, but with their small size they can easily attach themselves
to larger organisms and so gain a free ride. Parasitellus species are
thought to feed upon wax, pollen, and other small arthropods that are
found in bumblebee nests. Only the deutonymph stage is phoretic,
colonising new nests by transferring from workers to flowers, and then
awaiting the arrival of another worker. The prevalence of Parasitellus
spp. is generally high - up to 80% of queens are affected. With this
level of prevalence at the beginning of the season, it is not
surprising that the vast majority of bumblebee nests become infested
by the end of their growth.

Because these mites do not feed upon the bees themselves, it is
debatable whether they have a negative impact. However, infestation
levels can be high. Up to 165 mite have been found on a single. It
seems inevitable that loads of this magnitude must hamper a queen's
ability to fly, and so her ability to find food, a mate and a
hibernation site. Try to help these queens by brushing off the mites."

Thanks very much.

Janet

Nice to see the cotoneaster horizontalis round here absolutely smothered
in bees at the moment. I guess the tight little flowers are more
resilient than most? Seems an awful lot of work for a small return though

On Wednesday, 16 May 2012 15:34:12 UTC+1, stuart noble wrote:
Nice to see the cotoneaster horizontalis round here absolutely smothered
in bees at the moment. I guess the tight little flowers are more
resilient than most? Seems an awful lot of work for a small return though

They're obviously very attractive, the bees seem to try and force their way in even before they're properly open.

Rod

On May 16, 12:37*am, Janet wrote:
* I found a large sodden bumble bee struggling in the pond, fished it out
and put it in the sun to dry off. As it dried it kept wiping itself with
its middle legs; then I realised it was trying in vain to rub off small
live mites; it had a dozen or more crawling around on its back.

* *Are these varroa? Or do bumble bees get different mites?

* *Janet

Now if it had been a Welsh bumble bee then it would have had webed
feet and waterwings.

In article 8abab327-0113-4b4d-ada0-
,
says...

On May 16, 12:37*am, Janet wrote:
* I found a large sodden bumble bee struggling in the pond, fished it out
and put it in the sun to dry off. As it dried it kept wiping itself with
its middle legs; then I realised it was trying in vain to rub off small
live mites; it had a dozen or more crawling around on its back.

* *Are these varroa? Or do bumble bees get different mites?

* *Janet

Now if it had been a Welsh bumble bee then it would have had webed
feet and waterwings.

I can tell you it wasn't much of a swimmer.

Janet.

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 16 May 2012 00:37:13 +0100, Janet wrote:



I found a large sodden bumble bee struggling in the pond, fished it out
and put it in the sun to dry off. As it dried it kept wiping itself with
its middle legs; then I realised it was trying in vain to rub off small
live mites; it had a dozen or more crawling around on its back.

Are these varroa? Or do bumble bees get different mites?

Janet
They're not varroa, and yes they get different mites. The following is
a quote from http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org.uk/
"At least 15 genera of mites are associated with bumblebees. The most
familiar of these are mites of the genus Parasitellus which are very
often to be seen attached to the bodies of adult bumblebees,
particularly queens. These mites are only ever found in close
association with bumblebees. However, they do not feed directly upon
bumblebees, but are phoretic, using the adult bees for transport
between nests. This is a common phenomenon; mites have poor locomotory
abilities, but with their small size they can easily attach themselves
to larger organisms and so gain a free ride. Parasitellus species are
thought to feed upon wax, pollen, and other small arthropods that are
found in bumblebee nests. Only the deutonymph stage is phoretic,
colonising new nests by transferring from workers to flowers, and then
awaiting the arrival of another worker. The prevalence of Parasitellus
spp. is generally high - up to 80% of queens are affected. With this
level of prevalence at the beginning of the season, it is not
surprising that the vast majority of bumblebee nests become infested
by the end of their growth.

Because these mites do not feed upon the bees themselves, it is
debatable whether they have a negative impact. However, infestation
levels can be high. Up to 165 mite have been found on a single. It
seems inevitable that loads of this magnitude must hamper a queen's
ability to fly, and so her ability to find food, a mate and a
hibernation site. Try to help these queens by brushing off the mites."


I'm just trying to visualise a bumble bee holding still whilst you set to
with a nit comb.

Nope - can't see it.

--
No plan survives contact with the enemy.
[Not even bunny]

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

"Dave Hill" wrote in message
...
On May 16, 12:37 am, Janet wrote:
I found a large sodden bumble bee struggling in the pond, fished it out
and put it in the sun to dry off. As it dried it kept wiping itself with
its middle legs; then I realised it was trying in vain to rub off small
live mites; it had a dozen or more crawling around on its back.

Are these varroa? Or do bumble bees get different mites?

Janet

Now if it had been a Welsh bumble bee then it would have had webed
feet and waterwing

_____
to be serious, if you see a bumble bee seemingly dying on the ground, all
she needs is a little bit of honey to get her about again.
So get your bumble bee carefully, and put her on to a flat surface, use a
matchstick to put a drop of honey near her. Very soon you will see her
feeding tube come out and drink it
and then she will fly away within 5 minutes.
I've done it often, I've never been stung, and it works every time.
They just get exhausted sometimes. It's hard work if the weather is like it
is and even if it isn't. Just giving them that drop of honey is like magic
if you see a bumble bee seemingly dying on the ground. It's all they need.
Tina







reet, all

In article ,
says...

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 16 May 2012 00:37:13 +0100, Janet wrote:



I found a large sodden bumble bee struggling in the pond, fished it out
and put it in the sun to dry off. As it dried it kept wiping itself with
its middle legs; then I realised it was trying in vain to rub off small
live mites; it had a dozen or more crawling around on its back.

Are these varroa? Or do bumble bees get different mites?

Janet
They're not varroa, and yes they get different mites. The following is
a quote from http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org.uk/
"At least 15 genera of mites are associated with bumblebees. The most
familiar of these are mites of the genus Parasitellus which are very
often to be seen attached to the bodies of adult bumblebees,
particularly queens. These mites are only ever found in close
association with bumblebees. However, they do not feed directly upon
bumblebees, but are phoretic, using the adult bees for transport
between nests. This is a common phenomenon; mites have poor locomotory
abilities, but with their small size they can easily attach themselves
to larger organisms and so gain a free ride. Parasitellus species are
thought to feed upon wax, pollen, and other small arthropods that are
found in bumblebee nests. Only the deutonymph stage is phoretic,
colonising new nests by transferring from workers to flowers, and then
awaiting the arrival of another worker. The prevalence of Parasitellus
spp. is generally high - up to 80% of queens are affected. With this
level of prevalence at the beginning of the season, it is not
surprising that the vast majority of bumblebee nests become infested
by the end of their growth.

Because these mites do not feed upon the bees themselves, it is
debatable whether they have a negative impact. However, infestation
levels can be high. Up to 165 mite have been found on a single. It
seems inevitable that loads of this magnitude must hamper a queen's
ability to fly, and so her ability to find food, a mate and a
hibernation site. Try to help these queens by brushing off the mites."


I'm just trying to visualise a bumble bee holding still whilst you set to
with a nit comb.

Well, I tried to flick mites off the wet bee with a dry grass stalk; the
bee was not amused and the mites were too firmly attached.

Janet

Christina Websell wrote:
to be serious, if you see a bumble bee seemingly dying on the ground, all
she needs is a little bit of honey to get her about again.

Sugar-water would probably work just as well, I'm guessing, since that
appears to be what Nick is feeding his bees atm. Having said that, there
also appear to be a lot of very dead bees around the place atm, so perhaps
I shouldn't pass on Nick observations at all.

My neighbour says they've been told to put icing sugar on bees with
mites as they dance vigorously to get the sugar off and dislodge the
mites too.
--
http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk

In article ,
says...

My neighbour says they've been told to put icing sugar on bees with
mites as they dance vigorously to get the sugar off and dislodge the
mites too.

Now I shall have to go looking for a mitey bee to try it on :-)

Janet

Chris Hogg wrote:
Sugar-water would probably work just as well, I'm guessing, since that
appears to be what Nick is feeding his bees atm.
Feeding honey-bees is normally done in the Autumn. If he's having to
feed now, it suggests things are a bit desperate vis-a-vis nectar
flow!

It's a bit more complicated than that right now. Apparently there is
a bit of a problem atm all over the country with bees dropping dead,
presumably due to the hot-then-cold-then-wet-then-cold weather we have
been having. :-(

Sacha wrote:
Sugar-water would probably work just as well, I'm guessing, since that
appears to be what Nick is feeding his bees atm. Having said that, there
also appear to be a lot of very dead bees around the place atm, so perhaps
I shouldn't pass on Nick observations at all.
Have they not been out foraging? I know it's been cold and wet so
presumably that's why he's having to feed them? Are the frames not
filling up well?

I'm not the one to ask, I try not to get involved. But I believe the
frames /are/ filling up well, and often too well. It wasn't the hives
he was having to feed, it was the 2000 bees in the bathroom. Just ..
don't ask, it's a very sore (so to speak - fortunately not literally!)
topic right now.

wrote in message
...
Sacha wrote:
Sugar-water would probably work just as well.

No, it does not. If you want to get a almost dying bumble be to
up give her honey to lick.