6.28 Entrance Behaviour

Question 1

At the hive entrance what do isolated bees flying and brown faces at the hive entrance indicate?

Answer 1

Signs of dysentery meaning either Nosema, fermented winter stores, prolonged periods of cold weather

Question 2

At the hive entrance what does a pile of dead bees on the outside indicate?

Answer 2

Pesticide poisoning or CBPV

Question 3

Who wrote ‘At the Hive Entrance’ and when?

Answer 3

H.Storch in 1985

Question 4

At the hive entrance what does drones being evicted indicate?

Answer 4

Winter preparations are underway, and it is no longer a time for queens to get mated.

Question 5

At the hive entrance what do incoming bees zig zagging along the entrance before landing indicate?

Answer 5

Colony is being robbed

Question 6

At the hive entrance what do Workers leaving with dead workers indicate?

Answer 6

Cleansing is going on in the colony and undertaker bees are at work

Question 7

At the hive entrance what do Bees with swollen abdomens rush into the hive indicate?

Answer 7

These are water carriers providing water to the colony.

Question 8

At the hive entrance what does pollen entering the colony indicate?

Answer 8

The queen is laying

Question 9

At the hive entrance what do drones flying in spring indicate?

Answer 9

The colony is preparing to swarm in the next few weeks. They have invested in reproduction.

Question 10

At the hive entrance what does pollen found on out landing board indicate?

Answer 10

This will be discarded by workers in spring if it is mouldy or unusable and they are making way for the queen to lay.

Question 11

At the hive entrance what do Workers raised abdomen and fanning their wings indicate?

Answer 11

Scenting behaviour helping nestmates get back to the hive, common when the queen is out on mating flights.

Question 12

At the hive entrance what do workers fanning their wings indicate?

Answer 12

Fanning behaviour to cool the nest down.

Question 13

At the hive entrance what do workers stood up on back legs with front legs raised indicate?

Answer 13

The colony is under attack, and they are guarding.

Question 14

At the hive entrance what does drone pupae or larvae found on alighting board indicate?

Answer 14

The colony is struggling. Drone brood is the first to be sacrificed so the colony may be short of food.

Question 15

At the hive entrance what does workers carrying out circular flights indicate?

Answer 15

These are orientation flights