Archive Wash Boarding

[Jose Thayil 577]

Some videos of my Carniolans wash boarding. Not very good quality (cell phone) but can see ok. These were taken a few years back. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wltOU1aNeLs[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yymQSEfBPgs[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDUXAksDk1w[/media]

[M4tt 4,929]

Nice soundtrack with the aviary in the background too. Love the look of your carnies

[Jose Thayil 577]

Any idea why they do it for?

[dansar 5,433]

bored?:D

[deejaycee 2,451]

:) very cool video, Jose. don't know why. Closest I can get is it's half-way to a predator response, like the shimmer that Apis Dorsata uses = moving on the face of the comb/hive to give the impression of a larger organism that might put off a predator. They're not fanning, are they? Can't quite tell, but it looks like their wings are not moving.

[tom sayn 1,261]

maybe they don't like the paint? very pretty carnis.

[dansar 5,433]

My italians were doing this back in December

[Jose Thayil 577]

Carnis seem do it more than Italians. Don't know why. On closer observation they seem to be either taking something from the wood or putting something on to the wood. After a rain[B],[/B] water does not stick to the places where they did wash boarding. So it think they are putting a thin layer of wax or propolis (polish) on the wood. Not sure that is the case, just a guess.....

[deejaycee 2,451]

[quote="Jose Thayil, post: 35844, member: 23"] On closer observation they seem to be either taking something from the wood or putting something on to the wood. After a rain[B],[/B] water does not stick to the places where they did wash boarding. So it think they are putting a thin layer of wax or propolis (polish) on the wood. Not sure that is the case, just a guess.....[/quote] hey, could well be. They polish the inside walls of the hive.. polishing and 'rainproofing' the area above the hive entrance would make functional sense as well.

[Janice 3,991]

That makes sense. I saw mine collecting something (not pollen) from foragers outside the hive one day and doing the same sort of action, so that would be propolis, I guess.

[john berry 5,131]

I saw a video of this last year and at the time I thought it was a well-made practical joke as I had never seen this behaviour. Two days later one of my hives at home(Italian ) was doing the exact same thing . The next day there were also showing this behaviour but to a lesser extent. It looks for all the world like some sort of punishment handed out by the Queen. Perhaps they ate more than their fair share of the honey.

[tony 2,001]

Is it hapening on bear wood or is it painted?

[M4tt 4,929]

Mine do it on paint

[Jose Thayil 577]

Happens on both paint and wood.

[tom sayn 1,261]

they seam to use their toge really like a paint brush, so i guess your right. they paint the board from the outside with propollis or wax. they do it on the inside, so it actually it makes perfect sense to do it on the outside, too. maybe we should wander why they don't do it always rather than why this one is doing it?