The mites
I noticed a bee land and franticly clean itself the other day. There was obviously something 'wrong' or upsetting it. I was able to pin it down and inspect what appeared to be some kind of parasite. Using tweezers I was able to catch one of the slippery little creatures but at least one more eluded me, hiding between the bees thorax and abdomen. On further research I am confident what I saw was verroa, which is known to be present in the area.
The good news is... while verroa mites have been found on bumblebees they are not able to reproduce on them however this does make the bumblebee a vector for spreading the mites.
The good news is... while verroa mites have been found on bumblebees they are not able to reproduce on them however this does make the bumblebee a vector for spreading the mites.
June 14, 2013