In a message dated 95-05-15 06:27:41 EDT, Ron Harriger write:
 
>As I stood and watched for a while I witnessed other drones being
>dragged out
>of the hive and dropped to the ground. <snip>
 I know that this is normal behavior in the
fall but find it odd this early in the season.
 
    I, too, am  puzzled.  I would want to look further, and maybe these
thoughts might indicate a direction to find more clues.
 
   Some think that the rich spring pollens are the cause of drone rearing.
 Then (at least in this area) the summer pollens, which tend to be poor
quality, makes the bees back off on drone rearing, though they don't usually
throw out what they already have.  Goldenrod, which is high quality pollen,
then stimulates another burst of drone rearing, followed by the expulsion of
drones when pollen stops.
 
   I would look hard at the pollen stores of this colony and compare to the
others.  I would think you'd have plenty of good quality pollen at this time,
but there may be something that is interfering with pollen gathering for this
colony.  The first thought that comes to mind is a heavy tracheal mite
infestation. The second is virus; maybe both are present. Anthing that
interferes with pollen gathering or nutrition of brood could therefore cause
drone expulsion.
 
   I doubt this would be operative here, but I have seen hives expel drones
after the field force was stripped by a pesticide hit.  Ie no pollen was
coming in and the hive was generally weakened, so they could not raise or
support drones.
 
    Look at the pollen stores, that's more important here than honey stores.
 Then look at the bees.  Do they look healthy?  Are there some greasy, shiny,
hairless bees?  Do they smell sweet, or is there a faint, sour smell.  Look
at emerging baby bees. Are they fat and well fed, or are they undersized?
 (Varroa also can cause a lot of small bees.) Do you have bees in the pupa
stage that never got capped (bald brood)?
 
   Bees that look sick, are sick.  Requeening often helps, because many
illnesses result from genetic weaknesses.  If the bees are healthy, we still
have a mystery, don't we?
 
   Another thought.  Look at the drones being tossed out to see if you can
spot varroa mites on them.  In the last stages of collapse from varroa,
workers will abandon hives.  Perhaps this is a preliminary step, as mites
prefer drones; the bees may try to expel mites by expelling drones..
 
   Then look at capped brood.  If they still have any drone brood, look at
that first. Pull some out with tweezers or a capping scratcher.  Do you find
mites?  If there is no drone brood left, check worker brood.
If you find a varroa mite every hundred pupas, you need to treat.  If you
find a mite every two or three pupas, your hives is gasping its last. Two or
three mites per pupa is the end.
 
   You might not solve the mystery of the drone expulsion, but I think it is
important to see if you can find any pathogen that is causing this, both to
keep your bees healthy, and to add to general knowledge.
 
> I did have a skunk in a trap in front of this hive a couple of days ago. He
of course left his calling card before going to skunk heaven.
   It seems remote to me, but there is the the thought that this could be a
response to the odor. Bees communicate by odor; this could have interfered.
 
 Please let us know if you find additional clues.
 
[log in to unmask]                   Dave Green  Hemingway, SC