Anyone seen one of these fellas recently?

[gregior]

I remember in my early beekeeping days seeing braula on a regular basis,but since the varroa arrived never see them anymore.I presume varroacides also kill braula? I kind of miss them

 

[alldigging]

I remember in my early beekeeping days seeing braula on a regular basis,but since the varroa arrived never see them anymore.I presume varroacides also kill braula? I kind of miss them

miticides...

Yes.

 

[nantmoel]

I found this dead 'Bumble Bee' covered in some kind of mites in the summer, don't know what they are called.

 

[Cussword]

You can see why it "mite" have died.
Seriously though, that is not a pretty sight.

 

[Robbo8916]

I found this dead 'Bumble Bee' covered in some kind of mites in the summer, don't know what they are called.

Ugh thats awful.....

 

[Arfermo]

I found this dead 'Bumble Bee' covered in some kind of mites in the summer, don't know what they are called.

May have invaded it after it died?

 

[kazmcc]

May have invaded it after it died?

Those mites are harmless to bumbles, they are simply hitchhikers from nest to nest, they clear up the detritus. A bumble can carry a fair few, but if laden down to this extent then the bee would have struggled to fly and therefore feed properly. If you see a bumble laden with mites like these then you can use a soft paint brush to brush a few away, but bear in mind that these mites are useful in the nest so don't brush them all away. This is the advice from the Bumble bee Conservation Trust.

" Most bumblebees have many tiny mites clinging to their bodies. In most cases the mites are difficult to see, but sometimes they can cover large parts of the bumblebee’s body.

The good news is that most of the mite species that live with bumblebees are fairly harmless to them and are simply clinging to the bumblebee so that they can be transported to new nests. When in the nest, the mites usually feed upon the wax, pollen, nest debris, and other small insects, so do not feed on the bees. Then, when they reach a certain stage in their life cycle, the mites cling to worker bees, and are transported onto flowers. From these flowers, the mites then attach to other visiting bees, and are transported to new nests.

However, the mites may present a problem if an individual bumblebee becomes so heavily infested that it is unable to fly because of the weight of the mites. If this happens, you can try to remove some of the mites by gently brushing them with a child’s paintbrush. "

 

[bontbee]

They look like the mites that hitch a lift on bumbles in order to spread from nest to nest. In the nest they eat detritus, pollen etc without any ill effects on the bees. This bumble is very heavily infested and may have been unable to fly (well) because of the weight of mites! See the link below for further info and advice on how to reduce the numbers of mites if you find one carrying this many.

https://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/faqs/bumblebee-mites/


ADD Kazz - you got there first!

 

[Erichalfbee]

If you see a bumble laden with mites like these then you can use a soft paint brush to brush a few away, but bear in mind that these mites are useful in the nest so don't brush them all away. This is the advice from the Bumble bee Conservation Trust.

That is exactly what I have been doing.
Saw a Buff tail in a daffodil earlier this week

 

[kazmcc]

They look like the mites that hitch a lift on bumbles in order to spread from nest to nest. In the nest they eat detritus, pollen etc without any ill effects on the bees. This bumble is very heavily infested and may have been unable to fly (well) because of the weight of mites! See the link below for further info and advice on how to reduce the numbers of mites if you find one carrying this many.

https://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/faqs/bumblebee-mites/

Snap!! Great minds bontbee, great minds.

 

[bontbee]

Thanks Kazz, but mind is mostly a great vacuum...

 

[kazmcc]

That is exactly what I have been doing.
Saw a Buff tail in a daffodil earlier this week

I have seen one B hypnorum - Tree bumble queen, dead. This is the extent of my bee finding thus far. Oh, and one dead honeybee. Do you record any of your sightings?

 

[Cussword]

This is what I love about this Forum, you can learn so much.

Thanks for all that information, it's really interesting.

T

 

[sherwood]

I remember in my early beekeeping days seeing braula on a regular basis,but since the varroa arrived never see them anymore.I presume varroacides also kill braula? I kind of miss them

I was told by a bee inspector years ago that the Isle of Man was the only place in the UK that still suffered from Breulla its probably been eradicated from there by now.

 

[kazmcc]

I was told by a bee inspector years ago that the Isle of Man was the only place in the UK that still suffered from Breulla its probably been eradicated from there by now.

It's a bit worrying though isn't it, that these things have been living in a delicate balance for all of those years, and now we are eradicating it in our battle with varroa. Makes you wonder what effect it will be having.