I started my first hive last year from a nuc and it did great. Late summer I took off about 80lbs of honey and left them with two deeps full. They survived the winter, the queen was laying and pollen was starting to come in. Tonight I noticed a big pile of dead bees around the hive. Some were still alive and writhing on the ground, most are missing. I had a mentor come over to have a look and he said it is poisoning. I am rural and the corn is going in a little late this year, its been dry and windy. Neonicotinoids? I don't know but it is very disappointing.
The Ontario provincial apiarist spoke at our last beekeeping meeting. 70% of the incidents from last year tested positive for the neonictinoid clothianidin. Most were linked to corn planting. 40 beekeepers reported incidents at over 200 beeyards. There is an official report due out anytime from the PMRA.
The only way to stop this is with empirical evidence. The bee inspector will inspect your hive to ensure that it was poisoning and also to ensure that it can't be argued that the die off was due to "other factors."
All that being said, I am really sorry about the colony loss. I too had a single colony going into winter last year. When you only have one, you have a lot invested in it. The provincial apiarist did say that some colonies did recover after losing most of their field force.
It's not the corn itself, but the seed coatings. The coatings contain systemic insecticides. They get rubbed off during handling and from flow lubricants such as talc. The resulting dust ends up in the air during planting. It is particularly bad when an air seeder is used on a dry windy day.
I had the same thing happen to a trap out last year. The farmer sprayed an insecticide two days earlier. Symptoms were identical to yours.
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