"Wobbly Bee"

[understanding_bees]

Late yesterday afternoon I observed a bee leave the hive landing board, and reach the ground where it walked around, stumbling, like a “drunken sailor”. I got my queen catching clip and picked it up so that I could try to observe it more closely. While inside the clip it continued to stumble about, and appeared to lose its balance and fall over.

It seems rather strange that an insect with six legs should stumble about at all. I left that bee in the catching clip, and this morning it was dead. Perhaps it had left the hive (or was perhaps even ejected) because its time had come?

Do anyone have any insight into this?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Probably just a bees whose time had come. Likely something and nothing.
It’s only a problem if there are more bees like this in the hive? Look at the top bars.
Do you have CBPV in OZ?

 

[understanding_bees]

Probably just a bees whose time had come. Likely something and nothing.
It’s only a problem if there are more bees like this in the hive? Look at the top bars.
Do you have CBPV in OZ?

Probably a bee whose time had come? Quite possibly! I had never seen anything like this before - this has been the only one. But then, I am sure that there are lots of things which I have never seen, and there are many other people of whom this might also be said!.
Do we have CBPV? By this I presume that you mean Chronic bee paralysis virus ?
According to information which I have found on the internet, it has been found in Australia - you may be interested in the following article:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00218839.1987.11100756?journalCode=tjar20May I comment about your use of the acronym CBPV? I have noted many occasions on which users of this forum have used abbreviations such as this. Is this a "British thing"?
All through my working life I have learned that abbreviations in an article should never be used unless the particular phrase had previously been mentioned in that article. So, for example, someone writing about virus diseases in bees might say:
"One of the diseases which can affect bees is Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV)"

 

[RichardK]

I notice from time to time bees on the ground walking around in front of, or near my hives. Bearing in mind the number of 'new arrivals' each day I think Dani is right - basically bees at the end of life. I'm assuming everything looks healthy inside the hive.

 

[Apiarisnt]

I have noted many occasions on which users of this forum have used abbreviations such as this. Is this a "British thing"?
All through my working life I have learned that abbreviations in an article should never be used unless the particular phrase had previously been mentioned in that article.

The BBC did something about this on the TV a while back. Oh I am sorry; the British Broadcasting Corporation did something about this on the television a while back...

 

[IndiBee]

May I comment about your use of the acronym CBPV? I have noted many occasions on which users of this forum have used abbreviations such as this. Is this a "British thing"?
All through my working life I have learned that abbreviations in an article should never be used unless the particular phrase had previously been mentioned in that article. So, for example, someone writing about virus diseases in bees might say:
"One of the diseases which can affect bees is Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV)"

100% agree. This is a terrible habit that is taking over UK business and obviously this forum. Its a kind of "in club" speak that excludes and does not aid communication. People think they are sooo cleaver using speach others don't understand. One of my bug bears.

 

[understanding_bees]

Thank you to both Dani and Richard for their comments.
When it comes to bees which have reached their "end date", there is one kind of end that probably none of us would wish on our bees. I have just done some manipulation to a hive, which involved swapping over the base board of the hive. Sheltered away under that hive base was the biggest and plumpest Red-Backed spider I think I have ever seen. It has obviously dined well on bees which flew in under the landing board

 

[Erichalfbee]

Sheltered away under that hive base was the biggest and plumpest Red-Backed spider I think I have ever seen. It has obviously dined well on bees which flew in under the landing board

How enterprising.
I do hope you let him go

 

[RichardK]

Thank you to both Dani and Richard for their comments.
When it comes to bees which have reached their "end date", there is one kind of end that probably none of us would wish on our bees. I have just done some manipulation to a hive, which involved swapping over the base board of the hive. Sheltered away under that hive base was the biggest and plumpest Red-Backed spider I think I have ever seen. It has obviously dined well on bees which flew in under the landing board

Nasty. Mine are being hassled by Asian Hornets which hover near the entrance and when the opportunity arrises, they grab a bee and go to a nearby branch to dismember it before taking all the best bits back to their nest. Death is probably quicker than your spider who I imagine might 'store' them for a bit?!

 

[understanding_bees]

You might be right, Richard. There were three dead bees "waiting" in the spider's web. That suggests to me that the spider was still working up its appetite!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The BBC did something about this on the TV a while back. Oh I am sorry; the British Broadcasting Corporation did something about this on the television a while back...

Yes it's terrible, my uncle had TB never had a clue what he actually had, wrecked his career as a PTI in the RAF, fortunately he wasn't aware it was anything important anyway.

 

[Finman]

One alternative is that it was a robber, and it got a sting.

 

[Apiarisnt]

100% agree. This is a terrible habit that is taking over UK business and obviously this forum. Its a kind of "in club" speak that excludes and does not aid communication. People think they are sooo cleaver using speach others don't understand. One of my bug bears.

Ah yes, the ubiquity of the TLA. I agree.

 

[understanding_bees]

YYUR
YYUB
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YY4Me

 

[drdrday]

Personally I have no problem with acronyms when they're used within a community of shared interest like this. If you're already an established beekeeper and don't know what CBPV is - then you really need to find out. If you're new to the forum, then you're probably either a new beekeeper or a prospective beek, and should take the opportunity to think 'what's this CBPV they're talking about' and do your own research either on this forum, or simply by plugging 'CBPV' into Google.

Of course, obscure acronyms used amongst a wider audience are another thing entirely...

 

[Boston Bees]

Personally I have no problem with acronyms when they're used within a community of shared interest like this. If you're already an established beekeeper and don't know what CBPV is - then you really need to find out. If you're new to the forum, then you're probably either a new beekeeper or a prospective beek, and should take the opportunity to think 'what's this CBPV they're talking about' and do your own research either on this forum, or simply by plugging 'CBPV' into Google.

Of course, obscure acronyms used amongst a wider audience are another thing entirely...

Exactly

I have noticed worrying signs creeping into this forum of an inability to use Google Search before asking very basic questions

 

[Anthony Appleyard]

100% agree. This is a terrible habit that is taking over UK business and obviously this forum. Its a kind of "in club" speak that excludes and does not aid communication. People think they are sooo cleaver using speach others don't understand. One of my bug bears.

("This" = acronyms.) Same with me. Bees evolved to collect nectar, not alphabet soup. Same as, scuba diving has got full of acronyms; when I started scuba diving, I dived in water, not in alphabet soup.

 

[madasafish]

Exactly

I have noticed worrying signs creeping into this forum of an inability to use Google Search before asking very basic questions

From my experience :
Approx. 30% of the UK's population is incapable of using Google despite having computer/mobile phone.
Another 30% are useless at asking it questions which will produce a sensible answer.
Another 30% can use Google but half of them are too busy/lazy to use it.
And 10% don't use a computer.. Or if they have one, it's FUBAR.


As for abbreviations, WDIK.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

("This" = acronyms.) Same with me. Bees evolved to collect nectar, not alphabet soup. Same as, scuba diving has got full of acronyms; when I started scuba diving, I dived in water, not in alphabet soup.

isn't SCUBA an acronym for Self Contained Underwater Breathing apparatus in the first place?
Much the same as the CABA I had to wear for fire rescue exercises

 

[Dornfield]

CBPV doesn't make the cut, but in general there are too many damn TLAs.
LFT (liver function test, or is that lateral flow test?).