What are these worms?

[understanding_bees]

We have had a few pleasant days in Melbourne, which encourage me to think that Spring will soon be here. The bees have been quite active, bringing in pollen, and I have on several occasions observed groups of bees making orientation flights. I have just one hive at the moment, and want to do all that I can to help them thrive and grow in number in this coming season.

I prepared a new hive base, and empty hive box with frames, and was able to quickly transfer the existing hive in its single box onto this new base and box. The bees were very placid during this maneuver, so I think I achieved my goal successfully.

I inspected the debris on the floor of the original hive base, which seemed to consist mostly of caps from brood cells. There was one small spot where there was some movement, and from this spot I separated out this cluster of tiny worms, about 10 or 12 of them, in a space the size of a pea. They looked very like miniature earthworms, about 1mm in diameter, and 10-12mm long.

I wonder if anyone can identify what these little worms are?

 

[drdrday]

They probably are just earthworms. Earthworms hatch out of eggs tiny but fully formed, its just that we don't notice them too often because they're so small. I guess a worm found its way up to the floor and found that the hive debris made a good dark spot to lay its eggs.
Of course this is without knowledge of any of the weird and wonderful beasties that you have down there that we don't have up here, including other types of worms

 

[understanding_bees]

They probably are just earthworms. Earthworms hatch out of eggs tiny but fully formed, its just that we don't notice them too often because they're so small. I guess a worm found its way up to the floor and found that the hive debris made a good dark spot to lay its eggs.
Of course this is without knowledge of any of the weird and wonderful beasties that you have down there that we don't have up here, including other types of worms

I would like to think that you might be correct, in suggesting that they may be earthworms. However, if that suggestion is actually correct, I would be most interested to find out how the parent earthworm got into the hive to lay the eggs. The hive in question was resting on a large concrete paver which was sitting on brick supports, about 50cm above ground level.
I had not inspected the hive (nor have I yet) because we are just coming out of our winter season. It has just been much too cold to open the hive and remove frames to inspect them. I have been wondering, in the last few hours, whether that cluster of worms hatched from eggs which some "pest creature" had laid in a cell, and were subsequently dragged out by the bees en masse.