very sad gb.

yes. pesticide kill would rank high on the presumptive list.

any unusual odors coming from the hive?

are you located in a fairly densly populated neighborhood?

any swimming pools nearby?

 

very sad gb.

yes. pesticide kill would rank high on the presumptive list.

any unusual odors coming from the hive? <-- No

are you located in a fairly densly populated neighborhood? <-- No

any swimming pools nearby? <-- Ours but it's 'caged'.

I've been reluctant to 'register' with FLDACS (Florida Dept. Ag & Consumer Services) on general principle, but it might make some sense in this situation for "No Spray" warnings

Thanks SP!

 

might want to change your location currently say's Virginia, I would contact which ever agency covers pesticide kill's and have them test. The picture is tough to see clearly but every time I've had a pesticide kill the bees looked freshly killed, yours look like old dead bees, unless someone sprayed directly into the hive. also hard to tell but I see what looks like mite scat in some of the cells.

 

Yup, I've tried to change location to no avail ... lived in Pamplin, VA until 2012 when we moved to Florida. These bees were fine and dandy on Saturday when I swapped feeders. Dozens of bees crawling/stumbling in grass in front of hive which is on fenced private property. Hive is overrun with 'bull' ants who were robbing the larvae :-/
Appreciate the thoughtful reply!
Peace,
GB

 

Are those bees wet and sticky? Is the feeder empty? Any tell tale sign of robbing? If so my guess is the feeder leaked and emptied onto the floor. Attracted robbers. Friend and foe got trampled into syrup pooling on the floor.

I spilled ~100ml of syrup last night and there was significant robbing within a few min. Thankfully I was able to immediatley put on robbing screens. Even still there were a number of dead bees in front this morning.

 

Are those bees wet and sticky? Is the feeder empty? Any tell tale sign of robbing? If so my guess is the feeder leaked and emptied onto the floor. Attracted robbers. Friend and foe got trampled into syrup pooling on the floor.

I spilled ~100ml of syrup last night and there was significant robbing within a few min. Thankfully I was able to immediatley put on robbing screens. Even still there were a number of dead bees in front this morning.

Bees are not wet and sticky, although I see the reason for that question. As to the robbing, it's possible I suppose - this was a very small colony (small swarm hived in mid-July) BUT there were/are dozens of bees stumbling/walking in grass in front of hive lending some weight to my supposition of pesticide kill.
Appreciate the reply!
Peace,
GB

 

Mentor stopped by; he's sure it was robbing (by 'bull' ants!), so while the colony is lost, the comb is not ... after a vacay in the freezer I can use them to bait swarm traps
Appreciate all the kind replies!
Peace,
GB

 

Colony was fine and dandy Saturday when I replaced the empty 1 qt. feeder (of 1:1 Organic Raw Cane sugar syrup) ... this morning this:

Don't feed your bees unrefined sugar. It can make them sick.

 

Whoops - the sugar we bought and used is "Raw" and therefore unrefined :-( ... won't make that mistake again.
Thank you MJC!
Peace,
GB

 

Organic Raw Cane sugar syrup
First thing I saw on your post.
uhn oh
oops MJC got there forst

 

I'm not sure the raw cane sugar is a problem in Florida. Isn't the problem that they need to go cleanse more? How many days per winter in your location can the bees Not cleanse?

 

Ha! Florida, where we have two seasons: summer and New Years Eve LOL - good point, most years you can count on one hand the number of days where we don't get at or above 50* F. But our research (after MJC pointed it out) shows that Raw Cane Sugar does have higher percentages of molasses and other minerals which Apis M has trouble processing and tends to cause dysentery. We've not been able to find Refined Organic Cane Sugar (our preference) but have settled on regular Refined Cane sugar (for now).
The GREAT news is that a (very) small swarm appeared in the tree above that robbed-out hive (whether our bees or not, can't say) ... they're in a Warre' box and we're praying they build up enough to overwinter here (such as it is).

Peace,
GB