# Nervous...bees on the ground, signs of dysentery



## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

Ledge said:


> Wednesday night, I came home late in the evening, and took a walk through the bee yard. Several hives were presenting a similar problem. There was a bunch of bees on the ground that weren't acting right. It had been warm, followed by some showers, so I was wondering if they maybe got caught out in the rain. Thursday night, I checked things over again, and still found a good bunch of bees on the ground, only this time, I noticed signs of dysentery. The bees that are on the ground are alive, but very inactive, and when they do move, it seems without purpose and random. The way they are all listless, and seem to be lacking direction, I was thinking about pesticides. Then the dysentery made me think of Nosema. I'm not sure, but I'm nervous. I dove in to a couple of the affected hives late in the evening last night, and things seem ok in there. Anyone have any thoughts?


Do you see dark streaks of poo on the box? How many bees on the ground are we talking about? A relatively small amount is normal, they are at end of life. You will notice old bees especially beaten up drones giving their last muscle sometimes crawling into the hive. Some of my hives are on tennis courts and dead bees are scattered everywhere after a week or two, especially during a big flow. Although they arn't so much crawly dead, just dead. The rain may have suprised them knocked down a few. 

Hard for me to say. I don't live near big agriculture/widespread use of pesticides and only see dysentery in winter early spring. I don't live near you and not familar with your season/climate. 

Pop several fresh bees in isopropyl and send in for analysis, that can bee an easy way to asnwer your questions and put some potential causes to rest. Call state apariast or google if you have questions


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## Ledge (Dec 15, 2010)

The poo is mostly limited to the ground where the bees are. It's not the dark stuff like you sometimes see in the spring. When I went out this morning, there were still the same pile of bees on the ground...maybe 2 cups per hive at most. One hive now has a couple of dozen dead pupae on the landing board. They are nice and white, and several are torn apart. With the wild weather we have been having, I'm hoping that it is some chilled brood that they were forced to weed out.


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## AR Beekeeper (Sep 25, 2008)

Crawling bees can be caused by tracheal mites, nosema or any of the virsues that our bees now have. I have seen a few cases of this and usually the problem disapeared in about 7 to 10 days. The problem returned the next spring but never after that. The bees were NWC from California.

You may want to check for the % of varroa infestation since varroa can trigger outbreaks of several of the virsuses. If you are not in a nectar flow you might try slow feeding a thin sugar syrup, this has been known to help affected colonies recover, at least it is reported anecdotically.


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## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

Ledge said:


> The poo is mostly limited to the ground where the bees are. It's not the dark stuff like you sometimes see in the spring. When I went out this morning, there were still the same pile of bees on the ground...maybe 2 cups per hive at most. One hive now has a couple of dozen dead pupae on the landing board. They are nice and white, and several are torn apart. With the wild weather we have been having, I'm hoping that it is some chilled brood that they were forced to weed out.


The bees sometimes tear them apart and eat the dead pupae as protein source. Atleast they are showing hygenic behavior My guess is mites, rather than chilled brood since if seen some wierd behavior. I would do what AR beekeeper suggested. Potentially send some bees in for analysis. You can also ask the State Apariast/State Entomologist to swing by or send them questions/samples if they are near you or in town. 

http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=7473

I sent samples in this spring for nosema. Came back clean. The service is free. USPS 1st class mail under 13 oz or usps small flat rate box will cost no more than $6 to ship anywhere in US.


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## Ledge (Dec 15, 2010)

I'm going to go pick up some alcohol and ship some out. What do people usually use, a ball jar?


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## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

Ledge said:


> I'm going to go pick up some alcohol and ship some out. What do people usually use, a ball jar?


Read the shipping instructions on USDA website. Pick fresh bees with out decay, those that look ill or just died. More is better.

Carriers do not allow flammable alcohol to be shipping. I put them directly into alcohol, then right before shipping drain and transfer into a container. Include a note with your contact info describing the problem and what you'de like to look for. Something plastic is probably best, like a vial, petri dish, urine sample jar, a baggy with work in a pinch if protected from smashing.


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## Ledge (Dec 15, 2010)

Batch of alcoholic bees shipped. We shall see.


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## Ledge (Dec 15, 2010)

Got a reply back from Beltsville this morning. Nothing found. These bees are in crappy shape, and yarding brood out by the dozens. There are still a whole pile of live bees on the ground looking all screwed up.


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## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

Ledge said:


> Got a reply back from Beltsville this morning. Nothing found. These bees are in crappy shape, and yarding brood out by the dozens. There are still a whole pile of live bees on the ground looking all screwed up.



Hmmm. Do you live near agriculture land within 2-3 miles of any kind. Do you have a large varrao mite population? 

Take high res pictures and macro shots of apairy (large view), struggling, dead bees, larva and brood comb in good lighting if possible. That will help with root cause from those folks who have experienced similar symptoms.


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## Zoo (Aug 13, 2013)

I have been speaking to a research scientist who has be working in a government funded research centre who has advised that they are looking at the correlation of GMC (genetically modified crops ) to bee mites and their increase potency to killing Bee's.

Have you heard of this been mentioned before.
As i feel that this could have some credibility as since the introduction of GMC the proliferation of diseases and mites infecting bee colonies with deadly consequences


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## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

Zoo,

Wouldn't doubt it. There is a direct correlation to diet and how organisms function. Bees have not evolved to handle these changes.


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