A Few Dead Bees

[UK Fisher]

Hi,

I have just been down watching the bees and noticed outside the hive a few dead bees that appear to be cut in half.

The hive in question was recently being robbed by other hive, ithis seems to have stopped by using a sheet of perspex and also there is obviously something nearby flowering as all the foragers seem to be bringing in lots of bright orange, bright yellow and foundation yellow pollen in. There is an awful lot of this pollen coming in which i think is more the reason the robbing has stopped as opposed to my perspex .

Anyhow the few half bees i found outside (maybe 6-7) is puzzling me,,,is this a consequence of the robbing,,,or something more sinister like hornets???

Any ideas greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[huntsman666]

Is the thorax still attached to the abdomen without the head.

Hornets kill by removing the head.

 

[oliver90owner]

recently....seems

That is a bit subjective. When and why? Are you sure it was robbing?

More likely wasps, is my appraisal.


RAB

 

[Gardenbees]

Almost certainly wasps I would have thought. They tend to bite dead or dying bees and brood into pieces to carry them off. Hornets, as observed above, are more precise: they characteristically cut the heads off.

 

[huntsman666]

<into pieces to carry them off.>

True for most of the year that wasps forage for meat but haven't wasps only got a sweet tooth this time of the year as their own brood (the meat eaters) are repidly declining if not all gone? Adult wasps I believe are not meat eaters but eat a sugary secretion from their larvae.

 

[Gardenbees]

<into pieces to carry them off.>

True for most of the year that wasps forage for meat but haven't wasps only got a sweet tooth this time of the year as their own brood (the meat eaters) are repidly declining if not all gone? Adult wasps I believe are not meat eaters but eat a sugary secretion from their larvae.

True; but wasps outside my hives today are cutting bees into bits and flying off with them, so I guess they're still interested. Possibly they're still rearing larvae, esp. males.

 

[Chris Luck]

Wasps and Hornets take insects including bees as a protein food for their larvae.

Hornets always take one bee at a time, usually fly a short distance with it, land on the ground, a branch or whatever, remove head then take it back to the nest.

Chris