« 2001
2003 »
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
All
- yellowjacket_robbing
Someone left a broken frame out in Sept and bees and wasps are robbing honey from the comb. Amazingly there is some aggression, but not much between the wasps and bees, probably because this comb was outside a hive and it is fair game for both `groups`. Sept 11, 2002 (!). - yellowjacket_3
A yellowjacket (Vespa spp, Vespidae) foraging on mountain mint. - yellowjacket2
A yellowjacket (Vespula spp) stealing juice from an apple I was eating. Yellowjackets nest underground and can be very agressive. Most people stung by 'bees' around picnic tables are actually stung by them. Michigan, USA. Oct 2002. - yellowjacket
A yellowjacket (Vespula spp) stealing honey from honey cells. Yellowjackets nest underground and can be very agressive. Most people stung be 'bees' around picnic tables are actually stung by them. Michigan, USA. - xyhy
A bee foraging on boxwood (Buxus sempervirens, Buxaceae). Beijing, China. May 2002. - whiteflower2
White flowers, something very similar to cherry or pear, so I say it must be a Prunus (Rosaceae). As a high bush, this was blooming everywhere in the country side in Avignon, South France. March 15, 2002. - weaver_ant2
weaver-ant2 - weaver_ant
weaver-ant - varroa2
Another larva with 5 varroa mites on one side, I am sure a few ran away... You can tell that the larva was dead by its abnormal coloration. MSU apiary. Oct 14, 2002. - varroa1
No, this is NOT a staged picture! Last October some colonies were dying and being robbed. On close inspection they were having very severe cases of PMS (parasitic mite syndrome). Very few brood cells were left and when I opened these cells, some had more than 20 mites per cell! This one had like 12 mites just near the top. Most of the time the larvae were already dead inside cells (this one looks alive). MSU apiary. Oct 14, 2002. - uncapping
Sealed honey has to be uncapped. This photo shows uncapping using an electrically heated knive. This is ok if you have less than 40 hives. Your hands will become very sore after a few hours. - uncappedbrood
Brood of Apis mellifera uncapped by workers. Pupae seem to develop normally within these uncapped cells. The significance of this is not clear. Some think bees maybe uncapping the cells when they detect varroa mites there. It is true also in Apis cerana this phenomenon is more common, where varroa is not a problem. MSU apiary. July 17, 2002. - treelice
treelice - termites_marching
termites-marching - sweatbee3
A sweat bee (Halictidae, Agapostemon spp) foraging. Outside Butterfly House, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Nov. 2002