Deadout Photos

[dug_6238]

Please feel free to add your own dead-out photos in additional posts on this thread. It might prove useful for a lot of folks to be able to find dead-out photos here with discussion.

This is the only dead-out that I have so far this year. I thought the photos (though not great in quality) might prove useful for some. If you look close you can see what did this colony in...

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z219/dug_6238/Bees%202009/100_2952.jpg

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z219/dug_6238/Bees%202009/100_2953.jpg

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z219/dug_6238/Bees%202009/100_2954.jpg

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z219/dug_6238/Bees%202009/100_2956-Darkened.jpg

[bleta12]

Varroa reduced the number of bees and the very small cluster starved.
I can see at least 2 mites in the bees on the second picture and plenty on the bottom board.
I see plenty of pollen and I think that is a new queen that may have failed to mate and entered wintered unmatted, resulting in a dwindling cluster.
If you still have the queen you can do a spermathica test.
Gilman

[richhitch]

Tell me how to post pic's. Please

[KQ6AR]

hi richitch,
This should answer you're question. http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208226

[beemandan]

A good number of mites on the bottom board....
but they may also have simply starved. That cluster is at the top of a frame. I don't see any honey in adjacent cells. If there was a super with honey immediately above they'd still likely not find it. That few inches between the top of one frame and the bottom of another, in cold weather, is all it takes. I'm voting for starvation.
I don't blame the beekeeper....I just found one of my own....its just a bad set of circumstances. How could you ever predict it?