On Tue, 17 Oct 1995, Dr. Douglas Westphal wrote:
 
> I looked in my references but couldn't find any information on the
> cause of shriveled wings on bees. The wings are usually almost stick-like
> and the bees appear darker than the others. They are dumped in front of the
> hive by the healthy bees or carried away.
<snip>
> Does anyone know what is causing the shriveled wings?
 
My immediate reaction is that this is likely damage caused by varroa.
I see a number of these particularly later in the year as the
infestation gets heavy. The mites feed on the larvae, which then
fail to develop fully, seen typically as stunted growth of abdomen
and/or wings. If I'm right, infestation is probably quite heavy
and you should be dealing with it.
 
Regards,
--
Gordon Scott   [log in to unmask]   CompuServe 100332,3310
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