Hi All and thanks in advance for any help.
I've had my hive since roughly late Feb/March. I'm in Australia so it's spring here and I knew I had lots of honey in my super as it weighed a tonne so last weekend I decided to harvest.
As would seem the norm, my harvesting looked nothing like my books or any Youtube videos.
Firstly, I saw lots of hive beetles across the top of the super. Maybe 10 or so over the course of the harvest. Everything I read said don't worry about them if the hive is strong and my hive was very strong.
Secondly, all the honey frames were connected. It was a massive mess to get 5 frames out and leave 3 behind. Honey and comb went everywhere. I probably took 200 - 300 bees with me that were stuck in the honey on the frames. I saw at least one big chunk (tennis ball size) fall and rest on the queen excluder but I assumed they'd be ok with cleaning that up so I left it.
The bees were outside the hive for a few days and yesterday there were almost none outside BUT there was honey dripping out of the entrance with dead bees in it.
This morning I opened the hive. I ignored the super as I could see it from the top was ok and dry. The queen excluder was covered in orange-brown muck. Under the excluder was total annihilation and heart break. There were cupfulls of larvae everywhere; All over the frames and all over the bottom of the hive. The frames all looked glazed and dead and there were very few bees on them but there were larvae in the cells. I pulled 5 frames out and cleared out the base of the hive, took so many larve out along with all the sticky stuff on the bottom (not sure if it was honey). I cleaned out the single hive beetle trap in the bottom box and then put the hive back together BUT I left the queen excluder out. My theory is that the super still looks good and dry with some bees in it and it will allow somewhere good for the queen to do her thing (if she's still alive).
What else can I do? I ordered some beetle traps on Sunday when I noticed the few then so they will likely arrive today, so I'll open it back up and put a crap load of traps in. Can I do anything about the larve that is left?
Is there anything else I can do? Is the hive doomed?
Thanks again in advance,
Christian
I've had my hive since roughly late Feb/March. I'm in Australia so it's spring here and I knew I had lots of honey in my super as it weighed a tonne so last weekend I decided to harvest.
As would seem the norm, my harvesting looked nothing like my books or any Youtube videos.
Firstly, I saw lots of hive beetles across the top of the super. Maybe 10 or so over the course of the harvest. Everything I read said don't worry about them if the hive is strong and my hive was very strong.
Secondly, all the honey frames were connected. It was a massive mess to get 5 frames out and leave 3 behind. Honey and comb went everywhere. I probably took 200 - 300 bees with me that were stuck in the honey on the frames. I saw at least one big chunk (tennis ball size) fall and rest on the queen excluder but I assumed they'd be ok with cleaning that up so I left it.
The bees were outside the hive for a few days and yesterday there were almost none outside BUT there was honey dripping out of the entrance with dead bees in it.
This morning I opened the hive. I ignored the super as I could see it from the top was ok and dry. The queen excluder was covered in orange-brown muck. Under the excluder was total annihilation and heart break. There were cupfulls of larvae everywhere; All over the frames and all over the bottom of the hive. The frames all looked glazed and dead and there were very few bees on them but there were larvae in the cells. I pulled 5 frames out and cleared out the base of the hive, took so many larve out along with all the sticky stuff on the bottom (not sure if it was honey). I cleaned out the single hive beetle trap in the bottom box and then put the hive back together BUT I left the queen excluder out. My theory is that the super still looks good and dry with some bees in it and it will allow somewhere good for the queen to do her thing (if she's still alive).
What else can I do? I ordered some beetle traps on Sunday when I noticed the few then so they will likely arrive today, so I'll open it back up and put a crap load of traps in. Can I do anything about the larve that is left?
Is there anything else I can do? Is the hive doomed?
Thanks again in advance,
Christian