The Zombees Are Here (And That’s Probably OK)

[Kevin Mulvey]

hmmm...

[Jerry Przybylski]

Did you see the phorid fly program (recording) done for ACBA https://youtu.be/N50CrvvP6zo

By John Haffernack? 

-- Siri apologizes 4 autocomplete errors...

On Jan 5, 2026, at 12:08 PM, Kevin Mulvey <kevin....@gmail.com> wrote:



hmmm...

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<The Zombees Are Here (And That’s Probably OK) - Bay Nature.pdf>

[Maryly Snow]

The one dated Dec. 14, 2021? Is there a more recent one?

Maryly

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[Jerry Przybylski]

Dr Hafernik hasn’t done a program for us lately about the phorid flies that parasitize honey bees.

He didn’t talk about the many species of phorid flies around the world mentioned by Wikipedia.  

In 2021 He said the a. borealis parasitic problem wasn’t economically significant for the bee industry. He’s continued to collect data via his website. 

The swarm hotline takes a few calls every year complaining about bees flying around porch lights and season the porch. (We log the calls) 

I think it’s a steady state problem, not a growing disaster for our bees. 

J

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On Jan 5, 2026, at 6:09 PM, Maryly Snow <mar...@snowstudios.com> wrote:

The one dated Dec. 14, 2021? Is there a more recent one?

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[Andus Brandt]

Well, I wish I’d seen this two days ago (but been pretty sick) b/c yesterday I opened the hive to insert some oxalic strips and bee-food.  After removing the super (I only have a brood box and a super) I found lots of bee-heads without their bodies on top of the queen separator.  I was sick and trying to be quick so I didn’t take any photos, but now I know what was going on.  I sure hope it is only a small setback, cause I only have one hive!  I don’t think it is doing all that well.
Andus

On Monday, January 5, 2026 at 12:08:29 PM UTC-8 kevin....@gmail.com wrote:

hmmm...

[Jerry Przybylski]

This is a picture of a phorid fly on a bee

Presumably injecting an egg

They don’t bite the heads off of bees. 

Am I missing something? 

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On Jan 7, 2026, at 4:04 PM, Andus Brandt <and...@gmail.com> wrote:

Well, I wish I’d seen this two days ago (but been pretty sick) b/c yesterday I opened the hive to insert some oxalic strips and bee-food.  After removing the super (I only have a brood box and a super) I found lots of bee-heads without their bodies on top of the queen separator.  I was sick and trying to be quick so I didn’t take any photos, but now I know what was going on.  I sure hope it is only a small setback, cause I only have one hive!  I don’t think it is doing all that well.

Andus

On Monday, January 5, 2026 at 12:08:29 PM UTC-8 kevin....@gmail.com wrote:

hmmm...

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[Andus Brandt]

Well, the phorid fly just seems like the only suggestion that would account for tens of lolling heads on top of my queen separator.  I figure with the body eaten away, the head is too lightweight to be pulled easily through and too big to drop through on its own (being lifeless it loses squishability).   

Andus Brandt

and...@gmail.com

510-967-2081

On Jan 7, 2026, at 4:24 PM, Jerry Przybylski <gtp0...@gmail.com> wrote:

<IMG_3248.jpeg>

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[Alan Pryor]

Yellow jackets?

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[Andus Brandt]

Thanks, Alan,    Yeah - I thought of that, but I haven’ seen any around for a couple of months.  I’ll check again.

Andus Brandt

and...@gmail.com

510-967-2081

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[Catherine Edwards]

What occurs to me as a possibility is that the queen excluder prevented hungry drones from accessing the honey in the super. Perhaps if you can look again, see if there is honey in your brood box and if the bee heads are drone heads.

Usually, it is a good idea to remove the excluder for winter.

Catherine Edwards

(510)421-7206

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[Gerald Przybylski]

Biting the heads off of bees is something some hornets do when marauding honey bee colonies. 
That correlates with Catherine's guess, and the yellowjacket theory.  The thing is, yellowjacket
colonies should have shut down by Christmas. 
In our climate, in summer, fall, and winter, entrances should be narrow (one or two fingers) so the bees
have an easier time fending off intruders.  - if that's related to your observations. 
(mouse guards are necessary in fall and winter too)

Once the nectar flow is over (after May or June), the queen excluders should be taken out of the colony! 
They impede the bees accessing resources. They can conduct heat away from the cluster too. 
A box full of frames of honey is a virtual queen excluder. The queen is hardly ever found on a honey frame.

If somehow you got drones above the queen excluder, they would most certainly die up there, since there's no other way to escape. 
Then they eventually dry up and fall apart, so the heads might fall off. 
Are the dead bees workers, or are they drones? 

Hmmm indeed. 

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