Phil I am very new at Bee Keeping this is my first year. My father was a member of Lost Creek Bee Association and a Bee keeper in the 60s and I was too young to remember all the tricks of the trade. My question is what are the bees doing when they are rolling and pulling on each other like they are possibly cleaning each other.
This may be grooming behavior you are observing, which will include food and pheromone exchange. Also guard bee interactions, which can occur at the hive entrance and on the comb.
This time of year we’ll see a lot of festoning. We’ll observe groups of bees hooked together by their legs as if in a chain and will hang between the frames or on the comb. This is related to temperature regulation during wax and comb production.I’ll get a photo of festoning and post it.
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Phil I am very new at Bee Keeping this is my first year. My father was a member of Lost Creek Bee Association and a Bee keeper in the 60s and I was too young to remember all the tricks of the trade. My question is what are the bees doing when they are rolling and pulling on each other like they are possibly cleaning each other.
Ron
This may be grooming behavior you are observing, which will include food and pheromone exchange. Also guard bee interactions, which can occur at the hive entrance and on the comb.
This time of year we’ll see a lot of festoning. We’ll observe groups of bees hooked together by their legs as if in a chain and will hang between the frames or on the comb. This is related to temperature regulation during wax and comb production.I’ll get a photo of festoning and post it.
Phil