This is our first year beekeeping. We believe we had a strong hive going into winter. Two deep boxes pretty well full. Several weeks ago we were suspecting that the hive may have died as we were not seeing any activity even on slightly warmer days. Didn't hear any noise from outside and didn't see any bees in top box with a quick peek (there is capped honey in top box though). We didn't want to open it up any further though. Haven't seen any large numbers of dead bees outside the hive. In the last couple of days it has warmed up considerably from the cold spell we've been having and there has been quite a bit of activity coming in and out of the hive. We are now unsure if there is any way to tell if our hive is alive or we're being robbed (we only have one hive but have a close neighbor with several hives). We did notice some bees flying around the sides or trying to crawl in the back but unsure if they are just smaller numbers of our bees doing orientation flights (or something else done in spring) or robber bees. Obviously if our bees are dead you wouldn't see the typical defending activity that goes along with robbing a hive that's alive. There also are quite a few bees but not as many as we were seeing during orientation during summer or in some robbing videos posted on youtube. We've done some searching online but are having a hard time finding clarification to where we're at. We know what normal behavior is during summer but haven't gone through winter/spring with the bees yet. Any insight would be much appreciated. Thanks!
lifesosweet
If I were in your position, the first thing I'd do is kick the hive and listen carefully for a buzz of annoyed bees. If you hear that, relax.
If not, then I'd do a limited-intrusion inspection - that is, remove each box, but not the frames ... just yet. If the colony is alive and well, it will most probably make itself known at that stage. But - if you should find a carpet of dead bees on the hive floor, then you may as well proceed to pull frames from each box in order to determine whether there's anything left worth saving.
If you don't find such a carpet of dead bees, then it could be that the colony has shrunk in size and is 'hugging' the combs, but still alive - or it could be that the colony has absconded and what you're seeing is a mild dose of undefended robbing. Some call this 'latent-robbing', to distinguish it from the frenzied robbing seen whenever there's a dearth of nectar. The only way to know which, is to pull frames and inspect the hive more fully.
LJ
If not, then I'd do a limited-intrusion inspection - that is, remove each box, but not the frames ... just yet. If the colony is alive and well, it will most probably make itself known at that stage. But - if you should find a carpet of dead bees on the hive floor, then you may as well proceed to pull frames from each box in order to determine whether there's anything left worth saving.
If you don't find such a carpet of dead bees, then it could be that the colony has shrunk in size and is 'hugging' the combs, but still alive - or it could be that the colony has absconded and what you're seeing is a mild dose of undefended robbing. Some call this 'latent-robbing', to distinguish it from the frenzied robbing seen whenever there's a dearth of nectar. The only way to know which, is to pull frames and inspect the hive more fully.
LJ
Are there a lot of capping wax at the entrance of the hive? Are there guard bees trying coming out to meet the incoming bees? Are bees coming and going anywhere else besides the entrance? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, it would be prudent to open the hive and check things out. You should see guard bees when you lift the lid at the hole in the inner cover, provided it's above 45 degrees. Place your ear against the hive at dusk and tap on the hive, you should hear the bees, if not, open the hive up. if you lift the inner cover for a minute, you should have bees coming up to check things out, if it's warm enough for bees to fly.
There's a trick to listening for the buzz, especially if your colony may be small and not very buzzy. Arrange yourself so that your shoulder is against the hive right at a corner and your ear can be placed flat against the hive face just around that corner. This gets a human's anatomy as close as possible to the surface. Then if you still hear nothing, give your colony a sharp whack to see if that causes them to complain a bit more loudly.
Creating this kind of disturbance causes some stress to the colony so I don't do it routinely or just for my own curiosity. But I do tuck my ear against the hive all the time because I find the (varying) sounds of the bees going about their work very pleasant and intriguing. Once I discovered the "shoulder against one surface and ear on the adjacent one" technique it opened a fascinating new observational area for me. I check my bee yard every night before bed, and I often put my ear against each hive in the dark. It surprising how different the sounds can be from hive to hive. I really miss eavesdropping on them when I have insulation panels around my hives in winter.
Hope you hear at least a little growl in response to a thump on the side. (And even better, maybe no thump will be required to hear them humming along.)
Nancy
Creating this kind of disturbance causes some stress to the colony so I don't do it routinely or just for my own curiosity. But I do tuck my ear against the hive all the time because I find the (varying) sounds of the bees going about their work very pleasant and intriguing. Once I discovered the "shoulder against one surface and ear on the adjacent one" technique it opened a fascinating new observational area for me. I check my bee yard every night before bed, and I often put my ear against each hive in the dark. It surprising how different the sounds can be from hive to hive. I really miss eavesdropping on them when I have insulation panels around my hives in winter.
Hope you hear at least a little growl in response to a thump on the side. (And even better, maybe no thump will be required to hear them humming along.)
Nancy
If you have flying weather you can try this below to check for robbing if you don't want to open up the hive.
In the evening, when all the bees are in, staple some window screen across the entrance. Check the hive the next morning when it's warm enough for the bees to be out flying. If the hive is being robbed you will see a lot of bees piling up on the "outside" of the screen trying to get in.
In the evening, when all the bees are in, staple some window screen across the entrance. Check the hive the next morning when it's warm enough for the bees to be out flying. If the hive is being robbed you will see a lot of bees piling up on the "outside" of the screen trying to get in.
SiWolke brings up a good point. She reported hearing a buzz/hum during robbing, but it was likely to have been a far different sound than that coming from a colony just going about its undisturbed business.
So it is very useful to get in the habit of listening to the various sounds in a normal hive in order to be able to differentiate those from the noise of a hive under attack, or even under some other kind of perceived stress. Certainly if you compare the sound before you give a colony a sharp smack, to that which you hear immediately afterward, you will detect a difference. The first would be the "normal" sound and the other one would be in response to what could be a looming threat to the colony's physical integrity. (They probably don't know you aren't a bear about to tear the stack apart.)
I don't allow robbing problems to develop in my yard, but occasionally I get called to other places where it is in full-swing. Next time, I will try to listen to the hive to see what it sounds like.
ETA: And if you hear a hum at night, then they are alive. But they may also be being robbed in the daytime, so slap on a robbing screen in addition to reduced entrances if you are still worried about that.
Nancy
So it is very useful to get in the habit of listening to the various sounds in a normal hive in order to be able to differentiate those from the noise of a hive under attack, or even under some other kind of perceived stress. Certainly if you compare the sound before you give a colony a sharp smack, to that which you hear immediately afterward, you will detect a difference. The first would be the "normal" sound and the other one would be in response to what could be a looming threat to the colony's physical integrity. (They probably don't know you aren't a bear about to tear the stack apart.)
I don't allow robbing problems to develop in my yard, but occasionally I get called to other places where it is in full-swing. Next time, I will try to listen to the hive to see what it sounds like.
ETA: And if you hear a hum at night, then they are alive. But they may also be being robbed in the daytime, so slap on a robbing screen in addition to reduced entrances if you are still worried about that.
Nancy
Thanks so much for all the responses. I think our initial instincts that they weren't alive were good and we were just really wanting to believe they were still alive. With information provided though we were able to ID that the hive was dead. We've brought it in and are trying to decide cause of death. Lots to learn. Thanks for the help in the process!
In the spring, the only "robbing" that I usually see is bees removing the left behind stores from a dead-out. The bees have to much else to worry about in spring (too many other sugar sources to fight guard bees for honey) than robbing.
If there's that much activity and you're worried that they are removing the honey from a dead hive, look for bees loaded with pollen coming into the hive. If you see bees with their pollen baskets full, rest easy because the rest of the activity is normal.
If there's that much activity and you're worried that they are removing the honey from a dead hive, look for bees loaded with pollen coming into the hive. If you see bees with their pollen baskets full, rest easy because the rest of the activity is normal.
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