[ilivetobealive]

I did a split just over a month ago into a 5 frame nuc. The nuc had been doing so well I opted to move it into a 10 frame deep.

Two weeks has passed since I moved them and after inspecting them today there were NO BEES, no queen, nothing but robbers. The entrance from the notched inner cover, a hole I had drilled in the middle, and the entrance around the reducer were covered in feces.

I can only imagine that this would be my first loss from Nosema?

I have several other nucs and young hives in the area, none with supers. Should I treat them all for nosema? I can only imagine that if one hive was lost from it, that the others have it...but to what extent I'm not sure as none of them are showing any of the same signs.

Fumagilin-B would be the best treatment for this? Does it effect honey?

 

[drlonzo]

Don't treat till you know for sure they have it. Check each hive to see if you have bee poop on the top bars of the frames. If you do, then suspect a possible nosema problem. Even then, Don't treat till you know for sure. Send a sample of bees to your state apiarist to have them tested and wait for the results before you treat. Treating before you know for sure is what causes bees to have more problems.

If there were NO BEES in your hive but robbers it would seem to me that the problem is not nosema anyway. It sounds more like absconding. Were there any capped brood, larva, eggs left in the hive? If not Absconding is your problem.

Bees will poop anywhere outside of the hive, and they may have only had a case of dissentary..

 

[ilivetobealive]

I've never seen the mess that currently resides on the entrances of this hive. My hives are stained a light cedar and the entrances are dripping with black. The top bars seemed quite dirty as well as most of them were newer frames it wasn't easy to notice.

There were eggs and brood in the hive when I moved it but I didn't examine each frame. I'll check in the morning.

My other hives seem fine but from all the pictures I'm seeing and all the warning signs from research and books, it sounds exactly like nosema. There were quite a few dead bees if that makes a difference?

 

[Slow Drone]

I agree with drlonzo!If it were Nosema the population doesn't just disappear,it slowly dwindles.

 

[ilivetobealive]

True.

It was a rather sudden change...I did catch a swarm in a bait box next to my bee yard during this time..and I couldn't help but notice how much the queen from this swarm looked exactly like the one that "died off". Most of my queens are very dark and this queen is all honey colored...is it possible she just moved?

 

[Slow Drone]

Bees will abscond for many reasons some known some unkown.Constant harassment by predators or improper ventilation are I think the most common.

 

[Michael Bush]

>Fumagilin-B would be the best treatment for this? Does it effect honey?

It causes birth defects in mammals... which is why it's illegal in almost the entire world...
it contributes to Nosema ceranae infection...

You are ASSUMING it's Nosema. The only real test is a microscope.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnosema.htm
http://www.bushfarms.com/beespests.htm#nosema
http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.ppat.1003185
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0033188