Last week I saw something really odd. I went outside to check a bird feeder that I had been experimenting with the feeding peanut hearts and saw movement inside. I opened it up and a honey bee flew out. We had abnormally warm weather for about a week and a half prior. I thought it was odd but since the feeder was empty I thought I would refill it.
I went to get the bag of peanut hearts and found that apparently the bag that I had bought just a few days prior was infested with Indian meal moths...caterpillars and webbing everywhere. The store must have a problem. If you've ever had an infestation of these moths you know that it's very difficult to control them and they spread rapidly. So I decided to dump them out on a couple of pavers in the backyard.
After couple of hours of yard work, I went back by the piles and noticed movement. It was a honeybee frantically going through all the grains and big piles of the peanut hearts. I sat down and watched for a while. The bee would rumage, take off heavily laden, and return. Within 20 minutes, there were two honeybees doing this, then three. I added a little water to the side of one pile to see if it was a desire for moisture. It had no effect. Whatever they were getting, only the peanut hearts occupied their efforts. My viewing was cut short by a line of heavy cloud cover and within a half hour of that, light mist.
Has anyone seen similar behavior?
