At 10:58 AM 8/20/97 +0000, Leo Walford wrote:
>hive. The other bee (though almost definitely a honey bee)
>looked quite different, in that it was very very dark (mine are quite
>light), and looked like its fur had been rubbed off (ie it may not >have
started out dark).
 
Old bees can become, like this OLd Drone, hairless but it is said the bees
do ware their hair off working and in old age become very shiny black
looking because of the lack of hair and if they don't die in the field the
younger bees drive them out.
 
Hairless bees can also signal a virus that some say the bees respond to by
eating the hair off the bees that have it. Here in central California the
bees that have been on the cotton flow can be found
to have significant numbers of hairless black bees. I am sure the lack of
nutritious pollen may be the cause and that these bees are deficient in
their ability to resist the virus that may be in most hives. In any case if
they are not moved to a good pollen source even though they look good now
with lots of sealed brood, heavy frames of honey, they will pass on before
spring and become a deadout.
 
It is also a rare sight but some bees or hives of bees are born with no
hair, and I have seen one hive that produced drones with no hair. It has
been suggested that this is genetic. I don't know as at the time I was not
wise enough to know how to ship live drones for testing and all died in
shipment.<BG>
 
> Afterwards, the dark bee then just crawled around on the ground, but
> did not seem interested in trying to fly.
 
One could assume the individual was injured, if there are many individuals
then it suggests advanced viral infection. In these cases you should be
able to find other symptoms such as extended abdomens, and K or misshaped
wings depending on what combination of virus is around. Today most of these
symptoms are found in bees that may have T mites or even Varroa mites and
some associate the symptoms to these pests. IMHO, THEY ARE WRONG, as T & V
mites have their own symptoms and it is sad that some insist on listing
cross symptoms to puff up their own work. The truth is that bees can have
at any one time many problems with many different symptoms and it shows
lack of experience to mix these symptoms and is very poor science.
 
>get a set of rules for bee wrestling?
 
I am sure what you saw was nothing to worry about and almost an everyday
occurrence in all beehives, and if it is the worse there is nothing you can
do about it anyway and you will have to start a new hive next spring.
 
ttul, the Old Drone