I spent some time with my bees today. I could hear the hive humming. The air was thick with bees coming and going on this very windy day. I love observing new things with my hive. Today, I spotted a very black bee.

I think the bee on the left is a young one. Quite often, the young ones are much more golden in color. But what about the blackish bee? She was fanning her wings with some of the guard bees at the entrance, perfectly at home, and was fully accepted as belonging to the hive.  

I tried to get her on my finger, but she was focused on her duties and I interrupted her. 

She had crawled away from me and then wanted back up at the entrance. You see her climbing toward her guard post.

Below, the blackish bee is on the left, and a drone bee is on the right. The drone has the gold bands around the black and is noticeably larger.  When I inquired on a beekeeping group in Boulder, Colorado about this bee, I received this reply from decades long beekeeper and expert, Tom Theobald., "Probably no cause for concern. The packages we brought from California were bees from Italian queens (yellow), but with new queens that are Carniolan (grey or black), so as the package bees age and die off the color of the colony shifts to grey... or...bees are very accepting of strangers during a honey flow and will accept bees from other colonies that come in loaded, so there is a lot of drift from one colony to another and this may be the explanation for the dark bee. If  the colony isn't worried about it, you shouldn't be either."

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I spent time with this little bee (below).  I love interacting with tiny life in similar ways that I do with furry animals or birds. Honey bees are quite gentle if they do not feel threatened.  They often land on me coming and going from the hive.  This little girl was adjusting her pollen load and was seemingly grooming like a cat. There's a fine line between witnessing a healthy, but very tired bee, and one that is  just beginning to exhibit signs of exposure to toxins. As the toxins get more absorbed, and the exposure increased, it is unmistakable, but in the very beginning, it's not as clear. A poisoned bee on her way to death, will move erratically, and falter like a drunk losing his/her footing. The movements will be involuntary and non stop. This bee was border line to me. She had some nervous energy, but it could have been severe fatigue. I did get her to go back into the hive to hopefully deliver her load.  

Some yoga stretching ...

She was licking off some of the sugar water I dribbled at the entrance to the hive. I also had bees on my fingers with the sticky water. They were lapping it up. 

Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (C.B.P.V.) 

In my search about the black bee, I came across this article and learned that some black bees can mean a virus.

​"Honey bees that appear black, hairless, and shiny may be infected with Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus also known as Hairless Black Syndrome. The symptoms of this virus appear only in adult bees and include the loss of body hair, trembling, and the inability to fly.

Affected bees are often described as “greasy” in appearance and are frequently seen near the hive entrance or clinging to blades of grass in the immediate vicinity of the hive. Their paralyzed wings are often held at an unusual angle that resembles the letter “K.”

Because the healthy workers in a colony will quickly get rid of the infected bees, Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus rarely takes out a whole colony and is considered only a “minor” honey bee disease. However, if you find large numbers of such bees, the colony can be fortified by supplementing the population with brood from another colony. Usually, an infected hive will recover on its own.

Because some research has shown that susceptibility to the disease may have a genetic component, re-queening a hive may be necessary to prevent future outbreaks.

In my own experience, I have seen these symptoms only twice. Both times I found three or four distinctly greasy-looking bees walking around on the top bars with their wings splayed out. I removed these individuals and never noticed any further evidence of disease.
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Don’t panic if you see symptoms of the disease, but stay alert. If the incidence of infected bees seems to increase, consider re-queening. As with most viral diseases, there is no cure for CBPV."

Rusty (source)

The photo below is of my bees today. Temps reached up into the high 60's by noon and the bees were busy making lots of runs for nectar and pollen. 

I've had my bees for exactly 3 weeks and one day. I think they're doing very well. They were bringing in dandelion pollen within the first week. It's about the only "flower" in my neck of the woods this early in the year. Elevation is 7,700 where I live and winters are long. The snow is still melting in the surrounding hills. 

 The bees love it when I dip my fingers in sugar water! They drink from me like a trough.

I sent the above two pictures to my cousin who is also a beekeeper (more knowledgeable than I) and she said, the comb here is what is called burr comb. In man-made hives it's basically comb anywhere but in a frame where the beekeeper doesn't always want it. Bees put it in gaps they want to fill that are bigger than 5/8 in. A lot of folks will simply scrape it off to keep the hive easier to work with so you aren't always pulling apart the bees work every time you open the hive.  What looks like honey (the shiny stuff) could be uncapped honey, but she guesses it's probably water, which they gather and bring home in addition to pollen and nectar. 

This little girl wasn't feeling well. She was either fatigued or had encountered some insecticide. 

I love becoming part of their environment so that they feel comfortable to land on me and adjust their loads before flying on into the hive. I was trying to put one bee near the entrance that had me "home" for awhile, but she just wanted to stay on me!

Below you can see the yellow and orange pollen coming in. It's a great source of protein for the bees. 

 
Today, I took some of the frames out to inspect. The top board that you see on the top right (see photo below) had comb being built onto it, which makes it difficult to open the hive because it disturbs the bees more when I pry it open. I took that top off and set it on the ground and let the bees leave it on their own and replaced the top with a fresh one. 

I didn't use smoke on my bees and I rarely do. I just move slowly and try not to ever jolt or bump them. That really bothers them when it happens. If I'm slow and fearless, they do fine. I did not get stung. I don't wear protective clothing. I prefer being able to connect with my bees enough that I am accepted by them. I had some aggressive bumps when I lifted the frame, and I back up when that happens if I don't have a frame in my hands. I want to show that I can respect their request for space. I'll pull a frame out and set it down and then photograph it. I let them calm down if they've gotten a bit spooked. Then I gently and slowly put the frame back. 

I often sit with my bees as they hoover above and all around me. I love the sound of their buzz and the feel of them so close. I'll put my hand at the hive entrance and they'll land on me as they're coming in with nectar and pollen. They'll crawl over me on their way out. Not once do they tell me they are threatened. There's a sound bees can make when they aren't happy. This hive is so sweet and kind to me. 

The bees are building up quite a lot of comb between frames 2 and 3 from the right.

Neonicotinoids persist in soil and are readily transported via air, dust and water both within and outside the planted fields.

Seeds coated with bee-killing neonicotinoid insecticides are now used on more than 150 million acres of U.S. corn, soybeans, cotton and other crops.

After seeds coated with neonics are planted, the chemicals spread far beyond the crop they are intended for and can contaminate nearby wildflowers, soil and water — all of which pose significant threats to bees foraging and nesting in the area. It has been known for several years that these chemicals can kill or weaken more than just the targeted pests.

Non-target harm can occur to beneficial invertebrates, as well as to birds and other wildlife, through both direct and indirect effects."

The EPA has consistently violated it ‘s responsibilities under the law and are under the complete control of the chemical industry." Please read full article here.

Source:
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/…/court-holds-bee-killin…