Thanks Stevo you’re a legend.
Since there was a comment that this forum gone quiet, I’m going to ask another question.
I found some dead bees around, chances are they’re mine. The couple I picked up had their tongues sticking out. Is this confirmation they died of poisoning?
Here’s a photo. She looks a bit disheveled because it was raining.
No worries.
I’ve never had pesticide poisoning but as far as I know that usually results in a pile of dead bees rather than a few scattered around.
Could just be natural causes? Didn’t make it back to the hive and starved?
I find dead bees in the strangest places on my block, have you seen any undertaker bees yet?
Yes, I see undertakers occasionally Steve.
Dead bees do not really worry me. It is expected when you have hives I suppose.
I read somewhere that when bees are poisoned they die with their tongue sticking out. I do not check every dead bee I see. It just happened I picked up a couple today, and both had their tongues out.
Makes it highly likely, yes. 
Thanks Dawn. I think it is disappointing but hopefully not too concerning yet unless I find a heap of dead bees under the hive.
An excellent book and always worth a read.
Hi mate, 
hope all’s going well over there.
Hi Greg @skeggley
Way too busy working for others instead of making a new hive 
but not too busy to drop in and keep and eye on you and the newbees 
Are things all good back in your part of the scarp or have you started feeding to get them through?
We have our mid winter flowering just starting up so the girls are busy whenever the rains stop.
Hi there Scarp man. Do you find that your winter flowers have much nectar, or mainly pollen?
I’ve often seen this written and repeated but ive never seen any reference or backup for the statement. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was an urban legend or a non specific finding.
Does anybody have a scientific reference?
No mate, no feeding here, the swamp and lemon gums are starting to blossom again and all the hives are full of honey and bees.
@Honeyeater, where I am, between SES and you, there’s winter feed with grevillias soon to start flowering. I have read that the rain may wash the nectar away and if we have an extended period of rain, say 2 weeks, so although there is winter feed they cant get to it which makes stores an issue.
Every time I look at a dead bee it has its tongue hanging out.
Cheers skeggley. I wondered whether rain washes out nectar, and pollen too. Maybe it depends on the shape of the flower. I currently have Hakeas and Hoveas in flower.
I’m also finding that all the dead bees have their tongues out. Like @JimM I see plenty of internet articles linking this to poisoning but not the science behind it.
I have a lot of photos and video of my own hives which were poisoned. But you may not believe that was the cause. I can’t afford the $1,000 to get them tested…
That’s very grim viewing Dawn, it ruined my day. A deliberate act? Must have been extremely gut wrenching to deal with that clean up.
I think the question was whether every dead bee found with tongue sticking out is a sign of poisoning, and why poisoned bees die with their tongue out after all. It’s not a pretty topic but interesting none the less.
I’m not aware of any of my immediate neighbours using any pesticides at the moment, and I do not spray anything myself. Yet all the random dead bees I’m finding have their tongue sticking out.
Sorry to ruin your day. It ruined our season, especially emotionally. I don’t think it was deliberate on the part of the poisoner. Just somebody spraying their pretty flowers. Once we saw it, we posted the info on a local social web site to educate people. One of the local TV channels tried to help us with that when they spotted our post. We will see if it happens again.
From what I have read (I am a biologist and physician by training) it seems that tongue out dead bees are either starving or poisoned. I can’t give you references, but I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t think that the bulk of what I have read points in that direction.
One other thing. Humans are not always directly the cause of poisoning. I believe that some tulip trees and other plants can poison bees. However, statistically, we are the number one problem.
I forgot to answer this one. I think it is a form of “spastic paralysis”. Insecticides interact with nerve endings which are a bit different from those in humans. Prolongued extension of the proboscis is probably a sign of this.
I can very well connect with that sentiment. I am extremely sensitive on such matters.
You come across as trustworthy Dawn 
and I believe you. No need for peer reviewed studies.
Thank you, I am very grateful because I learnt something new today.
On the spraying subject it’s fruit fly spraying time, loquats are flowering. Fortunately most backyard fruit trees are for looks and feed our bees. Unfortunately, often the fruit is left to rot under the trees. Fortunately some do mitigate the fruit fly issue by spraying. Unfortunately some mitigate the fruit fly issue by spraying…
Sorry 'bout that, rant over.
Hi Dawn, I’m not disputing in any way that your bees have been poisoned. Certainly such large numbers of sudden deaths would place it poison up on the list of suspects. If poison, since they seem to have died in the hive and all ages are affected it would seem that somebody sprayed very close to you. Is aerial spraying still allowed where you are?
My question goes to the science - are we correct in regarding deaths with tongues out as indicative of poisoning? Or since it also can appear in starvation, maybe its just indicative of a certain way of dying.
Or if it is indicative of poisoning, is it all poisons or just certain types?
To know this as a fact would be an important addition to our beekeeping knowledge.
