Bees crawling on ground

[bobba]

I have a lot of bees crawling around my lawn not in clusters, more spread out.

They look healthy at a glance but cannot seem to fly.

Mt research has led me to think I may have a tracheal mite infestation.

I treat for varroa with Oxalic Acid, I understand this will not kill tracheal.

Here is my dilemma.

I know I should collect a sample of bees and examine them under a microscope to diagnose if it is tracheal. However, due to covid work commitments I won’t see my hives until at least 6:30pm for the next 4 days. So probably won’t be able to get a good sample of bees for a while. Then once I have the sample it will be another 4-5 days before I have a chance to use the microscope at work to examine them.

So, it will take at least 8-9 days for me to diagnose. Or (weather depending) I can just put a grease patty on tmr…

So, what should I do?

Thanks as always.

 

[Jonilaal]

could be cbpv (chronic bee paralysis virus ).?

 

[masterBK]

With a biology background, I still dissect bees but have not seen any acarine (tracheal) mites since Varroa arrived as most (if not all) Varroa treatments probably also kill Acarapis woodii (and also seem to have wiped out Braula). Most likely chronic paralysis. I have not heard of use of grease patties outside USA. Also is there a possibility that someone in the neighberhood has sprayed insecticide on plants in full flower and being visited by your bees

 

[Bear]

I did read in an old book creosote would kill tracheal mite. It worked by the bees breathing in the creosote fumes. No idea how good it was and obviously it would take a while to kill the mites. And with nowadays all the good chemicals that actually worked are banned. Bit of history for you their. Just hope it doesn’t taint the honey crop. Could the bees not just be tired after a long flight? Not all bees collect pollen, some collect nectar which is in their gut so you’ll never see it. I’ve never seen it but at a talk I was told that wasps sometimes sit on the ground in front of the hive to kill and eat any honey bees that land short after a flight. Them being tired made them an easy target by the wasps.

 

[bobba]

I am in my second year of bee keeping and have never seen so many bees on the ground in my garden.
My hives are in a netted enclosure. So, the bees have not crawled out of the hive to get to the lawn. There are no bees on the ground within the netted enclosure. I have not seen any on the ground carrying pollen.

The bees on the ground were various ages. Some were climbing up the grass flapping their wings and falling down. Some just kept crawling in one direction. I inspected maybe 30 bees and only saw one with slightly tattered wings, but that particular bee looked quite old.

I saw this about 3pm. At 7pm I went back out to try get a sample and they were all gone.

I could not see any particularly black/bald bees or sines of shacking bees on the ground.

I have not seen any cbpv when inspecting the hives, but could have missed it as I am not a good bee keeper and was not specifically looking for it.

I think it’s unlikely to be Pesticide poisoning. I have seen many bees and other insects exposed to many different kinds of pesticide. This did not look like a typical pesticide reaction. However, I would not rule out the possibility.

I guess I may hold off on any treatment until I can investigate further.

 

[enrico]

Are you sure they are not just getting warm moisture off the grass. It might be the closest spot for them to get a drink. If you have no water around give them some in the sun with a towel draped in it.
Just a thought. Sometimes the most obvious things are missed!
E

 

[Murox]

I did read in an old book creosote would kill tracheal mite. It worked by the bees breathing in the creosote fumes. No idea how good it was and obviously it would take a while to kill the mites. And with nowadays all the good chemicals that actually worked are banned. Bit of history for you their. Just hope it doesn’t taint the honey crop. Could the bees not just be tired after a long flight? Not all bees collect pollen, some collect nectar which is in their gut so you’ll never see it. I’ve never seen it but at a talk I was told that wasps sometimes sit on the ground in front of the hive to kill and eat any honey bees that land short after a flight. Them being tired made them an easy target by the wasps.

Apart from the fact that its carcinogenic, some of its endearing properties included its use ability to kill almost everything; and the oil-tar creosote variety did preserve timber exceedingly well.

 

[bobba]

You may be on to something Enrico....

My bees water tray had gone dry yesterday. So my bees were getting water from some pant pots the other half had watered near the dry water try. That would also explain why none of the crawlers had pollen. And why they had all gone by dusk.

There were no crawlers on the grass today, but my bees have been very quiet today.

I am glad I asked for advice here before treating with grease patty.

I will keep an eye out for more crawlers, but fingers crossed it was just caused by an empty water tray.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

 

[Bear]

Apart from the fact that its carcinogenic, some of its endearing properties included its use ability to kill almost everything; and the oil-tar creosote variety did preserve timber exceedingly well.

Seems everything is carcinogenic nowadays. Even Roundup!!

 

[Ian123]

Quite simply go look at the crawlers, your looking for deformed wings. Start with that before getting any more complicated.

 

[bobba]

Quite simply go look at the crawlers, your looking for deformed wings. Start with that before getting any more complicated.

From my 1st post:
They look healthy at a glance but cannot seem to fly.

From my 2nd post:
The bees on the ground were various ages. Some were climbing up the grass flapping their wings and falling down. Some just kept crawling in one direction. I inspected maybe 30 bees and only saw one with slightly tattered wings, but that particular bee looked quite old.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Bees with CBPV can look no different to any other bee - deformed wings not part of the symptoms