[ATLBeek]

Back in February I knew something was up with my 3 hives. Absolutely no activity. Opened them up and found no bees. Not even dead bees. Each hive had two deep boxes with built out frames. Capped honey present in all. Also noticed many frames with cells containing what appeared to be white flakes of what I can only assume is crystalized sugar from sugar water that had evaporated over time. I have included some pictures. If I am wrong with my assumption of the white flaky material in the cells please let me know. All three hives were healthy going into the winter, I kept up my mite treatment using OA. Sticky boards revealed very little mite infestation. Hives were well ventilated and did peek in to ensure no condensation issues. In Atlanta this past winter it was mild. All queens were laying last fall going into winter. I am surrounded for miles with single family homes, lots of trees and plants.

This is my 4th year of bee keeping and I have had absolutely no success keeping my bees alive through a season. Have decided not to purchase any packages this season, and contemplate whether to continue this madness.

I

 

[ncbeez]

Those pictures look like they are mainly honey frames with honey and crystallized sugar. Do you have any pictures of frames that had brood in them. You probably wouldn't go broodless in your area.

 

[AHudd]

I second the call for brood frame pictures. It looks as though there is no lack of pollen in your area.

Alex

 

[Gino45]

Back in February I knew something was up with my 3 hives. Absolutely no activity. Opened them up and found no bees. Not even dead bees. Each hive had two deep boxes with built out frames. Capped honey present in all. Also noticed many frames with cells containing what appeared to be white flakes of what I can only assume is crystalized sugar from sugar water that had evaporated over time. I have included some pictures. If I am wrong with my assumption of the white flaky material in the cells please let me know. All three hives were healthy going into the winter, I kept up my mite treatment using OA. Sticky boards revealed very little mite infestation. Hives were well ventilated and did peek in to ensure no condensation issues. In Atlanta this past winter it was mild. All queens were laying last fall going into winter. I am surrounded for miles with single family homes, lots of trees and plants.

This is my 4th year of bee keeping and I have had absolutely no success keeping my bees alive through a season. Have decided not to purchase any packages this season, and contemplate whether to continue this madness.

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I suggest that you put out the word that you will collect swarms. Tell the police, fire department, Craig'slist etc, and try to get swarms for free! I think that there are ferals in Georgia, and you just might get some bees that way. I'd also say stick to swarms rather than cutouts, but that is your choice. Good luck!

 

[Akademee]

How old is the bees wax in your frames? It's a long shot, but it is possible that you may have contaminated beeswax if you have been using the same comb for years. maybe the bees brought something in the first year and now its embedded in the comb. Contaminants don't have to be at a lethal level to freak the bees out. If you do decide to try again, start over with no drawn comb.

 

[crofter]

It looks like young wax / new frames. I dont see much signs of honey having been used out of the comb pictured. As mentioned we need pics of the brood combs especially areas likely the last occupied. If there are no dead bees that means they left before they even clustered. Just guessing without more pictures. Describe your mite treatments in detail how often, how far apart and how many times, time period when complete?, and what counts were done.

 

[Murdock]

How old were the queens? What kind of abnormality were you noticing? When were your mite treatments and how many?
We need a really good pic of a couple of brood frames. Did you perform any mite checks like an alcohol wash? I would set the hives up as swarm traps in your yard and try for some local bees.

 

[Murdock]

Bees would not leave for "no reason", they had too much invested. All 3 queens dead at the same time...don't think so. How about skunks, dogs, wasp or any other critters bothering them? Wet boxes??

 

[n8app155]

What was your mite load in the fall?

 

[Boondocks]

When did you start feeding them and how much?
Also I wonder if the hives were too well ventilated since you were worried about moisture. Did you put on an entrance reducer? Did you have ventilation holes?

 

[odfrank]

Set the hives out with some swarm lure.

 

[HarryVanderpool]

There is an old saying:
"Bees only "abscond" on Beesource"

 

[Cobbler]

As others have said - I’m guessing your bees got a virus from mites and wandered off to die.
I’d set those hives up as swarm traps and invest in an oxalis acid vaporizer.

 

[Plannerwgp]

You are not alone. I lost about 10 colonies this past year and they were all healthy hives. The same situation happened to another beekeeper and both of us have about 10 years of experience. The only thing that I did differently was to use Apivar treatment per instruction. I am convinced that the product was the problem and will never use it again regardless of the favorable reviews. I lost more hives with treatment than without treatment. There was another time about 6 years ago where the same situation occurred and I felt it was colony collapse disorder.

 

[ncbeez]

Atlbeek said something about using oav. Apiguard and oxalic acid vaporization have been my favorite treatment methods. I used apiguard in the past with good results. I have been using only oxalic acid for the past 6 yrs with good results (except my first season trying it). I treated mid August like I have always done with a wand 5 days apart. Don't remember if that was twice or three times but no treatment that year in the very short broodless time. I lost 9 of 13 hives that year.
Found out that was not nearly enough treatments. This year all 12 made it through, even one who is mostly a drone layer and had some dfw virus.

 

[LAlldredge]

You only fail when you quit. Don't give in to defeat. Ever. We're here for you. You're already past the hardest part which is saying it out loud. Change tactics. Past mistakes are simply that. Time to double down if you are so inclined. You're in the perfect position to catch swarms. Two largest reasons for loss are mites and nutrition. Get the equipment for OAV and put this in the rear view mirror.

 

[blackowl]

You only fail when you quit. Don't give in to defeat. Ever.

Definitely! Don't ever quit. You're gonna make it.

 

[grozzie2]

There is an old saying:
"Bees only "abscond" on Beesource"

Old saying for the old days Harry.

In this modern new world, lotsa bees abscond on Facebook too....

 

[beemandan]

One thing that I find particularly annoying is when someone posts about an issue and a number of people take the time to give thoughtful replies and questions…..and the op never returns to the conversation.

 

[crofter]

One thing that I find particularly annoying is when someone posts about an issue and a number of people take the time to give thoughtful replies and questions…..and the op never returns to the conversation.

We did get some warning though
This was their parting words.......This is my 4th year of bee keeping and I have had absolutely no success keeping my bees alive through a season. Have decided not to purchase any packages this season, and contemplate whether to continue this madness.

It would be interesting to see how their bee journey progressed from conception onward. Some people buy into a vision that experienced eyes would see as highly improbable.
Some of the "Save the Bees" rhetoric can be quite enticing. Flowers and butterflies and four year old girls with curls; golden honey trickling out over pancakes, beautiful sunshine and birds singing in the background.