What are bees doing on the grass in front of the hive

[user 20297]

This concerns a colony of my least localised bees....they come from a breeder who is fifteen miles away.
For that reason I consider them to be wimps and it's not unusual for them to be short of breath after a long shift on a cold day. Then, they literally chill-out in small clumps close to the hive; sad to see them huddled up and dead the next morning. But this lot were different and it wasn't that cold. Looking more closely, there seemed to be some co-ordinated activity. The weirdest thing was the grass they were on; all the strands were newly cut off as they weren't wilted. The grass was different than the coarse meadowgrass in the field outside the fence, and it doesn't match with anything around the hives. I picked up most of the bees and placed them, with the grass, on the entrance step; they eventually returned home. The rest of the colony was functioning as normal, with lots of incoming nectar and pollen; they were inspected last Friday and all was well.

It's seemed as if the bees had somehow brought the grass strands to the hive, or had at least arranged them some way; at any rate, there was something about the grass that was animating them. Can anyone be bothered to suggest what I might have been seeing please?

 

[Boston Bees]

Can anyone be bothered to suggest what I might have been seeing please?

Bees that are not well

From what you say about the dead clumps of bees close to the hive, it sounds like your hive has a disease issue of some kind

 

[user 20297]

Bees that are not well

From what you say about the dead clumps of bees close to the hive, it sounds like your hive has a disease issue of some kind

I obviously hope it's not that! Googling, "Sick bees chopping down grass stalks for The Last Rites" isn't going to give me any useful results!

 

[Jules59]

CBPV ?

 

[Antipodes]

The weirdest thing was the grass they were on; all the strands were newly cut off as they weren't wilted. The grass was different than the coarse meadowgrass in the field outside the fence, and it doesn't match with anything around the hives.

I'm struggling to work out where this grass has come from. Are you saying you don't know? You must have put it there... surely?
Can you take a close up photo of it and post please? It looks a bit like poa grass.

 

[Antipodes]

I'm not sure how the grass was cut or got there, but at a guess I'd say the bees are attracted to the VOCs being released by the grass. With this sort of clustering, smoke seems to shift them somewhat and seems to encourage them to 'snap out' of it.

 

[user 20297]

CBPV ?

I hope not. But it is a big colony, going frantic on an OSR-based flow. However, the build-ups of knackered bees are small, were mainly in March and almost always had pollen bundles attached; so they were returners and not kicked out. I'll monitor.

 

[user 20297]

I'm not sure how the grass was cut or got there, but at a guess I'd say the bees are attracted to the VOCs being released by the grass. With this sort of clustering, smoke seems to shift them somewhat and seems to encourage them to 'snap out' of it.

Thankyou for thinking about this. You've picked up on the fact that it's the grass and not the bees where this seems strange.
I've looked again this morning, prior to bee departure time, and placed a board at an angle below the entrance so that any evicted bees will gather at the bottom and weary returners stand a better chance.
The hive is within 60cm of a post and wire fence, beyond which is a field of sheep with lambs. The lambs are intrigued by the bees and by me when I'm over there. I notice that a worn section in the earth has appeared opposite the hive, where I presume that the lambs have been pushing their noses under the wires. That is the most likely source of the cut grass.
It's still strange how the bees appeared to interact with the grass in an organised way.

 

[Mabee]

Could someone have interfered with your hives. if the hive has been opened maybe the young nurse bees have been left outside the hive, they will clump like this. The grass was maybe intended to block the entrance?

 

[Antipodes]

Thankyou for thinking about this. You've picked up on the fact that it's the grass and not the bees where this seems strange.
I've looked again this morning, prior to bee departure time, and placed a board at an angle below the entrance so that any evicted bees will gather at the bottom and weary returners stand a better chance.
The hive is within 60cm of a post and wire fence, beyond which is a field of sheep with lambs. The lambs are intrigued by the bees and by me when I'm over there. I notice that a worn section in the earth has appeared opposite the hive, where I presume that the lambs have been pushing their noses under the wires. That is the most likely source of the cut grass.
It's still strange how the bees appeared to interact with the grass in an organised way.

I thought I heard the faint bleat of a little lamb in the video. It was either that, or it was you crying - upset about the bees
I find bees will clump like that sometimes..... say after clearing supers, but often for so long that they get cold and torpid. I guess freshly uprooted and disturbed grass would have an odour that they seem to have found attractive for one reason or another.

 

[user 20297]

I thought I heard the faint bleat of a little lamb in the video. It was either that, or it was you crying - upset about the bees
I find bees will clump like that sometimes..... say after clearing supers, but often for so long that they get cold and torpid. I guess freshly uprooted and disturbed grass would have an odour that they seem to have found attractive for one reason or another.

All seems well again today with lots of goodies being brought into the hive with enthusiasm.