A few days we inspected mums hive- Mum pointed out one unusual all black bee- it was a worker and looked like the rest in general form but was distinctively black and free of yellow stripes.
Today I was watching my own bees drinking at my water station- and there was another of these distinctive all black bees. I had a good long look at it- it didn’t seem particularly old- just all black. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo- if I see one again i will try and snap it.
Some of my drones are really big and very dark compared to the worker bees- but these all black bees are a bit different again?
Could this be a trace of European black bee genes- apis mellifera mellifera? Or just odd variants like albinism or black sheep, etc?
