A tale of two cities: It was the worst of times; it was the best of times.
This is not a post I ever plan to post again!
I have not contacted the electric company since receiving the composition of their herbicide. Fortunately, I was patient and didn't contact the papers (like I was dying to!) with my rants and raves and sad pictures. I HAVE spent several hours researching the situatuion and all possible causes. I'm a fairly good detective (though as yet only a mediocre beek). The one thing that absolutely did not make sense was the fact that there were NO supplies within the hive. It was very obviously NOT robbed, but that would be a better answer for me.
I spent a good half hour or more with Bart at Beltsville, MD, where they do NOT test for pesticides btw. I also spent that much time or more with Jon, our state apiculturist. They were very helpful and we applied what I call the rubic cube examination method to my situation. With their at least 50 years of beek experience and my description of the situation, along with countless other interviews and questionings, the only answer that made any sense:
I starved my bees.
It makes me so sad to "say" that out loud, but I know this is what happened and now I have to live with that. It was a beautiful, booming hive and my timing to stop feeding hit right before the drought hit. My last quick check revealed some absolutely gorgeous brood so I shut her back up and called her good. Not a big mistake. HUGE mistake.
I have painfully learned an invaluable lesson. I immediately checked my other 2 hives and guess where they were heading. No obvious signs of brood, larva or eggs. I thought both hives were queenless. I immediately started feeding both hives and set about finding new queens. Found some locally. Wanted to get brood too to expedite their recovery time so I had to do some switching of boxes (due to equip incompatibilities). This being a week after I started feeding, guess what I found - LARVA! I had queens.
BEGINNERS - VERY IMPORTANT! I did not understand this when I heard it and STILL didn't understand it when I SAW it. In a drought, YOUR QUEEN CAN BE ALIVE BUT CAN STOP LAYING IN THE ABSENCE OF FOOD! She goes I guess bee version of dormant! A week earlier, I had no visible signs of queen, eggs, larva, or brood. Thought she was a goner. Fed for a week and boom - larva!
It is very difficult to find a bright spot in one's beetending skills when one (THIS one) kills a beautiful, bustling hive. But I always try to find value in my mistakes.
The lessons/values here:
*A top-box-only inspection revealing gorgeous brood does not a good inspection make.
*I saved two hives that possibly could have suffered the same fate.
*None of my bees will ever meet that fate again, if I have anything to do with it.
*I do have some beautiful drawn comb that I CAN use, since not from pesticide exposure.
*QUEENS GO DORMANT!
*And when someone tells me stop feeding... I will not blindly accept this advise and assume all is well.