[michos]

I went out of town for a week and just came back to find a hive that I just started from swarm a couple of months ago had absconded due to a small hive beetle infestation that sprung up while I was gone. The hive is very small - they only had 3 frames fully drawn and enough bees to cover maybe 1 1/2 frames fully. It didn't take much for the beetles to take over. The colony landed on the ground for some reason (perhaps the queen is having a hard time flying?)

What can I do with them? Can I treat this hive just like a regular swarm and put them into a hive with fresh SHB-free frames? Is it even worth it given how small the colony is?

 

[michos]

Update. I just went out and checked. They are still there but I see that the queen is dead - I think she may have gotten attacked by ants. Not a ton of bees but there are are a couple hundred crowded around her. If I collected them, is there any way to salvage their lives? Could I drop them into another colony and lock them in until they integrate? Or are they doomed at this point?

 

[AChabot]

You could just remove the dead queen, and the remaining bees will eventually find their way into other hives and continue to do their thing.

 

[michos]

Interesting. I had no idea they would do that!