White patches on worker wings

[Blacky50]

Hi

My partner was looking at my bees this morning and saw several with white patches on their wings - see them on my web page as I'm not sure how to upload pictures

http://s1299.beta.photobucket.com/user/Blacky-50/media/Beepics011_zps7e662b3f.jpg.html

These bees were working hard to remove them and couldn't fly properly. and idea what this might be?

Thanks

 

[mbc]

Fondant ?

 

[Swarm]

I was thinking the same, it certainly looks like.

 

[Blacky50]

I am feeding them fondant so it's possible. Just seemed curious that it was under their wings so difficult to remove.

 

[HM Honey]

I saw the same on mine so caught one of the bees and took some of it off. It did indeed turn out to be fondant.

I have noticed the fondant sometimes drips down through the feedhole a little and obviously get on the bees walking beneath.

 

[RosieMc]

Phew - ditto - so it's fondant

Good photos

 

[JohnyP]

If you look at a bee wing under a microscope, there is a part with a series of tiny hooks which helps to link the fore and hind wings. Maybe these hooks have collected the sticky fondant.

 

[HM Honey]

If you look at a bee wing under a microscope, there is a part with a series of tiny hooks which helps to link the fore and hind wings. Maybe these hooks have collected the sticky fondant.

makes sense...the bees are walking on the fondant all the time and that fondant is VERY VERYsticky....

 

[enrico]

Fondant or not, brilliant photos that doubtless helped others to identify the problem. Well done
E

 

[Polyanwood]

Not cloudy wing virus then? I have seen this white patches on wings when there is no fondant.

 

[grahambee]

You can use the IMG CODE to the right of your photos

 

[beeno]

Not cloudy wing virus then? I have seen this white patches on wings when there is no fondant.

Hi Polyanwood,
I have tried in vain to find photos of CWV? Anyone out there that would know for sure that it isn't CWV we are looking at.

 

[alanf]

Not cloudy wing virus then?

Confirmation might need to be at a molecular level, something like this: http://ip.com/patfam/en/42176319 There are descriptions of the virus being small icosohedral, but that's electron microscope level. In any case, what research there is (Carreck et al 2010) suggests it's widespread. What would you do differently if it was confirmed?

Simplest diagnosis would be some fondant and a scraping from the wing side by side under a microscope. If the sugar crystals are identical, that's what it is.

 

[DanBee]

If it was cloudy wing the wings would look milky but otherwise unharmed. The cloudy patches would not be moveable.

Look at a wing under a microscope and it is covered in hairs:

The specific hairs/hooks mentioned earlier are called hamuli and are not likely to be the culprits in this case:

 

[beeno]

Thanks for that DanBee - Fondant then!

 

[Heather]

whilst on the fondant theme ( and I removed some from a bee bum today ) I have a couple of packs left over and need to offer a thin syrup to a couple of hives. Will this fondant liquefy ok in water and what would be the ratio fondant pack to water?