We just checked the hive out back. There are concerns that they have lost their queen and it's been a few days since we were out there so I just wanted to look and see what kind of activity was going on outside the hive. There were only a few bees at the entrance and not many flying around. I took the cover off the top and found 20-30 pincher bugs scurrying on the inside cover. So I freaked out and got all scared that our colony was in trouble. We've seen an occassional ant here and there but nothing like this before. Are pincher bugs a threat to the colony? Is there anything we need to do?
We pulled the inside cover off and found that the bees had been busy and seemed just fine. Jacob pulled two frames and we saw honey and drawn comb. I had planned on taking the bodies apart to check the queen situation but decided that if the workers were working then we should just leave them alone. We can check out the hive in more detail when the sun is out and the threat of rain has disappeared. We had seen queen cells on a previous inspection so that's why we're thinking the queen may be missing/dead/etc.
We pulled the inside cover off and found that the bees had been busy and seemed just fine. Jacob pulled two frames and we saw honey and drawn comb. I had planned on taking the bodies apart to check the queen situation but decided that if the workers were working then we should just leave them alone. We can check out the hive in more detail when the sun is out and the threat of rain has disappeared. We had seen queen cells on a previous inspection so that's why we're thinking the queen may be missing/dead/etc.