Dead Bees

[JakeVW]

Have been checking my hives here in Maryland this past week and already have 50% loss 1/2 with dead bees on bottom board and 1/2 with bees disappeared. Most are robbed out but some still have honey. Most were good strong hives end of August. Very disheartening.

[scdw43]

Sorry for your loss. When was the last time you checked them.

[Yuleluder]

When was the last time you checked them.

I hope August was not the last time you checked your colonies. The midatlantic region can be quite harsh on bees from late July through September. You need to be ahead of the curve or you will find plenty of dead bees. How does the remaining "live" colonies look? Dead bees on the bottom board sounds like possible starvation to me.

[alpha6]

What was your mite load? If there are stores and you have lots of dead bees then I would start there. Starvation is easy to detect, in addition to dead bees on the bottom board you will find plenty in empty comb with just their dead backsides sticking out.

[peacekeeperapiaries]

how old were the colonies that died??? My guess would be to start with assuming its mites as alpha suggests.