Situation:  We have one hive who has been successfully managing a small Varroa infestation for two years.  We monitor this hive closely in case they need help. 

They have been pulling drone pupa and carrying them away, dead mites are mostly just shells, no legs, no DWV, no Nosema when tested or other noticeable illnesses.  They requeened last year and the population is extremely varied in appearance, came through winter strong, nice brood pattern and plenty of resources.  Every few days when I check in the evenings, I see 10-15 drones left outside the hive. In the mornings there are 4-8 drone pupa at the entrance being carried away.

Question:  For the past 5 weeks, we have had 100+ complete antennas on the monitoring boards every week.  No other bee parts, just some pollen, wax cappings, 10-20 mites and cell debris. Under the microscope, the antenna look like bee antenna.  I haven't notice antenna missing from the discarded drones, but didn't start looking at the drones until last week.  

I wondered if perhaps clipping off antennae is a way for the bees to remove the drones? I haven't been able to find any mention of this, or research to help solve this mystery.

What do you think is happening?  How should we proceed to figure it out?


Melinda Stewart
www.napahoneybees.com
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