If you detect a reeking, putrefying, gagging odor near your beehives this time of year, it could be the aroma of dead drones. Phillip at Mudsongs.org and I both detected it yesterday, and we both went through moments of self-doubt when we wondered what was happening to our hives. Having forgotten the lessons of the […] Read more
When food sources run low, such as during a summer nectar dearth, the workers in a honey bee hive will often expel both drones and drone pupae. Since drones eat plenty of food but don’t collect any, it is a way for the colony to conserve stores for the winter. Later on, in the fall, […] Read more
Let’s back up for a moment and first define Varroa sensitive hygiene or VSH. VSH is a trait found in some honey bees that causes them to remove Varroa-infected pupae from the brood nest. A number of breeders around the country have developed lines of honey bees with enhanced VSH. When these bees detect the […] Read more