Just a few weeks ago, both hives were buzzing everywhere taking cleansing flights. Today, total silence. No capping debris on the SBB tray. Piles of dead bees. I'm not 100% sure, but the prospects are pretty grim.
My heart is breaking.
Dead. All Dead.
Just a few weeks ago, both hives were buzzing everywhere taking cleansing flights. Today, total silence. No capping debris on the SBB tray. Piles of dead bees. I'm not 100% sure, but the prospects are pretty grim.
My heart is breaking.
“The keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.” -Henry David Thoreau
I was out checking some of mine today. One of my favorites...a gentle, feral colony that produced a boatload of honey last season....they were all dead. Covering brood. A full deep of honey above and only inches away. It does break your heart.
Dan www.boogerhillbee.com
Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards
Sorry to read that. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
When you pull the bees out, make good notes about how they look and their condition. Better yet also take some pics. If you post these results and the pics (if you can) people here may be able to help you figure out what killed them so that at least you can learn and hopefully avoid it from happening in the future.Originally Posted by Hobie
Just a few weeks ago, both hives were buzzing everywhere taking cleansing flights. Today, total silence. No capping debris on the SBB tray. Piles of dead bees. I'm not 100% sure, but the prospects are pretty grim.
My heart is breaking.
Sorry bout you loss.
Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid.” John Wayne
beemandan.....what has happened weatherwise in Athens Ga that would prevent the bees from getting to the honey? Or was it something else? I'm always bragging about our mild winters here but now you have me scared.
tracheal mites?
De Colores,
Ken
Sorry to hear that Hobie....... I does rip your heart
out...... You know they are more than bugs when
you find a dead out.
For reasons I don't really understand this colony overwintered with a small cluster. The weather hasn't been especially cold since I last checked on them. I found them covering a softball sized area of solid brood...right at the top of the frame. The deep immediately above was full of capped honey. I'm guessing that the small cluster and the gap between one box and the next was just a little too much.
The one remaining daughter of this queen is currently in a nuc and has a veeeerrry small cluster...it may be genetic. I'm watching them even more closely now.
It was just, in my opinion, a bad mix of circumstances......
Dan www.boogerhillbee.com
Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards
Thanks, everyone. It's rough, and didn't help that I had, not 5 minutes before, pulled my PA state apiary registration out of the mailbox. Apiary of zero colonies. Maybe I'll get on a swarm list. Package bees are not in the budget this year.
“The keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.” -Henry David Thoreau
Sorry to hear about the loss of your hives. In a previous thread, you [me also] mentioned about bees flying off and diving into the snow. This was about a month ago. In that thread I provided a link to a paper about tracheal mites and their affect on respiration in the bees. Maybe those colonies just had a bad infestation for some reason. Will be checking my hives next week.Just a few weeks ago, both hives were buzzing everywhere taking cleansing flights. Today, total silence. No capping debris on the SBB tray. Piles of dead bees. I'm not 100% sure, but the prospects are pretty grim.
My heart is breaking.
I rarely get perturbed, but when someone says that tracheal mites are killing their colonies, that 'bugs' me. Genetic resistance to tracheal mites is widespread. The best thing we all could do would be to completely stop treating for tracheal mites and to refuse to buy queens from anyone who treats for them. In 10 years, there would not be a problem any more. I haven't treated for tracheal mites in 20 years. Why do you?
btw, my colonies are thriving.
DarJones
DarJones - The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, its stranger than we can imagine - JBS Haldane
No need to get perturbed. If it was tracheal mites that did in my hives, then it was. These colonies have never been treated. If it was tracheal mites this is just the evolution you want. On the other hand, if it was starvation, I look at the jars of honey in the cupboard and blame myself. Regardless of the cause, I have gone from a beekeeper to someone who stores beekeeping equipment in the span of 2 weeks.
“The keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.” -Henry David Thoreau
Good way to get calls for swarms. Send postcards with your name and tel. # to all of the surrounding police depts., fire depts and pest control firms. Ask them to keep your number tacked up on the bulletin board near the phone. Don't refuse them when they call. Some won't call again after one refusal because they may have a list of other beekeepers some of whom they may know personally. Mention that you would pick up the swarm free of charge. Good luck.
Sorry for your loss. I have a hive of Russians that I've been sweating about all winter, who are still with me. They have been working on the fondant that I left for them, and we dropped a feeder can in with them today that they started taking from right away.
Two more weeks and I think I can say for sure that we enjoyed complete success.
Moderator
On the bright side, if you catch two swarms, put them on the drawn comb and get reasonable weather, you could have a honey crop this year.
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