Ok... I need answers

[jbeshearse]

No but you treat on a regular bases so if you stop treating it is logical that your loss was due to mites.

I can't say for other peoples bees, but mine show some hygenic behavior. I can tell when mine hive mites by the capped brood pattern. Very seldom have to actually do a roll or drop test.

if you have hygenic bees, and the brood is solid, then you have no mites. Spotty brood can be a sign of mites.

I treat my hygenic bees when the patterns get to bad I treat. If I allow them to struggle with mites long, the SHB will overrun them.

[franktrujillo]

since the bees keep the center of the cluster around 95 deg.all winter you broke up the cluster by opening up the hive and letting moister into the hive.the hive didn't have enough time to bring the temp back up or getting all the moister out instant freeze.leave hives shut in winter saves alot of head aches...sorry for your loss

[jim lyon]

Mike I appreciate the gesture.
The other loss was roughly one month prior and the scenario was the same.
Believe me, I looked and looked and looked for mites. I even used a 5x magnifying lens and then I used my flytying magnifier.... ever use one of those?! lol

A mite would look like it could chew your arm off through one of those! lol

Looking with magnification is helpful but still won't give you an indication of mite numbers. My experience is once you can visually see them you have got serious problems. Varroa are usually wedged totally out of sight in the joint between the thorax and abdomen. If you really want to learn something with your 5x magnification get a tweezer and begin pulling out pupae (either drone or worker) at about the purple eye stage. You will most likely be amazed at what you see.

[beemandan]

No but you treat on a regular bases so if you stop treating it is logical that your loss was due to mites.

I've got to tell you Ace....this is one of the most twisted pieces of logic I've seen.
The idea that mites only infest hives that have been treated....

[Maryland Beekeeper]

I agree w/ frank, to me it is the most logical conclusion from evidence reported

[Mr.Beeman]

"Checked my hive today to find no live bees at all, maybe 300 dead. They were last checked (very quickly) on Dec.22 (it was warm temps) with tons of bees and stores. Stores are all there, no mites on the bottom board or feces, no AFB, no shb, conducted an alcohol wash on the dead bees.... nothing."

The vast majority of bees left days before the 300 froze.

images.jpeg
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Seem pretty obvious to me. These pics were taken off the net since I had none to take pics of. lol

[beemandan]

" conducted an alcohol wash on the dead bees.... nothing."

As I believe I pointed out earlier....doing an alcohol wash on dead bees will ususally produce nothing. Once the bees died, the mites died as well and then fell off.

[honeyshack]

Mr. Beeman, I asked how and where you tested in the bee season and when you tested

[JD's Bees]

Beemandan perhaps bees in the north hold on tighter.
In March 2011 I did an alcohol wash on 12 deadouts and found mite levels averaged 6.7% with a low of 1.9% and high of 13.8%.

[beemandan]

Beemandan perhaps bees in the north hold on tighter.

You might be right JD....imagine what your numbers might have been if none had dropped off!

[Mr.Beeman]

Sorry honeyshack,

Alcohol wash, brood chamber with nurse bees, late August maybe early Sept.

[honeyshack]

How long in the wash before you counted the mites? and I am assuming that you took the bees from the brood frames, preferably not capped, not feed frames in the brood chamber.

[Acebird]

The idea that mites only infest hives that have been treated....

That is not what I am saying and I think you know it. If you are treating on a schedule meaning you treat whether there is a problem or not the bees become dependent on that treatment schedule. You miss the schedule and crash!

[beemandan]

That is not what I am saying and I think you know it.

Chill Ace…..that was the way it sounded to me.

If you are treating on a schedule meaning you treat whether there is a problem or not the bees become dependent on that treatment schedule. You miss the schedule and crash!

The problem exists whether you treat for mites or not. Many of the treatment free proponents advise keeping enough nucs to make up for losses. The crash has nothing to do with whether or not your bees have been treated in the past.
When mites first arrived nobody’s bees were ‘dependent’ on a treatment schedule and they crashed all the same.
Don’t take this so personally Ace….remember I’m not supposed to believe anything you say… ….but if you post stuff that doesn’t make sense to me….it’s ok if I challenge it….isn’t it?
I’m chillin’….I hope you are too.

[Acebird]

but if you post stuff that doesn’t make sense to me….it’s ok if I challenge it….isn’t it?

Absolutely. Peace brother.