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Nocturnal crazed honeybees #761733

Asked July 14, 2021, 1:35 PM EDT

Hi, we have seen a significant numbers of honeybees this year, but I think there is a problem. At night they come to the patio lights and they start flying into the lightship hard you can hear it, or they hit the windows like they are trying to get in, and in the morning we are finding dead honeybees. Once it Is dark they aren’t acting as honeybees act, and I’m concerned. Yesterday I saw one sitting on the window sill not moving, like it was dying. We do not use any chemicals at our house, so we aren’t poisoning them. We have also seen an increase in yellow jackets & wasps of this is helpful. Do you know what is happening & is they something I can do to help them? Thank you.

Washington County Oregon

Expert Response

Thank you for your inquiry and concern for bees. Based on your description it appears that the honey bees that are attracted to your patio lights may be parasitized by "decapitating flies" often referred to as zombie flies (Apocephalus borealis). These parasitic flies lay their eggs directly into honey bees and the larvae of these flies emerge from the bee resulting in decapitation. Honey bees parasitized by these flies show unusual behaviors such as flying towards lights during night. To confirm the infestation of parasitic flies you will have to collect the dead honey bees in a vial/container and observe for emergence of larvae/adults of the parasitic flies for 5 to 14 days. You can read more about these decapitating flies in the following articles: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0029639

https://bioone.org/journals/the-pan-pacific-entomologist/volume-92/issue-3/2016-92.3.168/First-report-of-iApocephalus-borealis-i-Brues-1924-Diptera/10.3956/2016-92.3.168.full

You can find the method for collecting dead bees and observing them in the container by accessing the following link: https://www.zombeewatch.org/theproject#.YPXuWkxlBhE

You can contact me at<personal data hidden> if you have any further questions.

Ramesh

Associate Professor-Apiculture Replied July 19, 2021, 5:38 PM EDT
Wow!!  Thank you, I will collect some bees!!  


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On Monday, July 19, 2021, 2:38 PM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:

The Question Asker Replied July 21, 2021, 7:25 PM EDT

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