Hey everyone, this is rather interesting. All dead bees and dead larvae need to be removed from the hive in order to prevent disease, these are all literally carried out by the 'mortuary bees' I was lucky enough to catch this on film.
This little worker really battled to take off with this dead bee as it had probably just died and still had it's full weight. It has been known in the past for the bees to carry dead bees to the door of the hive drop them out and a few days later once their weight is shed remove them further away.
Check this little lady in action right here...
Amazing right? I suspect she may have been a little older too and wings possibly a little frayed preventing her getting the lift she needed to take off with this bee, flying alone was no problem and as she dragged the dead bee far enough away from the hive, as not to pose a health risk for the swarm, she was off.
Be sure to stay tuned for more of my epic bee-keeping adventures!
Cheer$;)