I have a hive that has been dwindling. A month ago it was very strong with a queen that was new this year and laying very well. It has been getting weaker steadily, but everything looked OK, so I have just been monitoring it, thinking they might just be changing gears for fall.
Well, today I found no brood and no stores. All of my other hives are packed with honey and raising armies of brood. The queen is still there and she was marked, so I know it is her. No signs of robbing (and the entrance is reduced anyway), no signs of disease.
All signs point to a queen that has just stopped laying. What might I be missing here?
Weaker steadily at this time of year is a bad sign. Now is when the hives need to be raising winter brood.
If it got that weak that fast, there's something seriously wrong with the hive. Any signs of disease? Dead bees lying around? Maybe as the weakest hive, there's only enough local forage to support the other hives, and it couldn't compete? Have you tried feeding the hive?
How many frames of bees are left? You might want to downgrade their space to fit them, and feed. Maybe you can get them through the winter as a 10-frame or 5 frame nuc. You might need fondant or a candy board to make that work over the winter.
Bill W., most likely reason at this stage for the queen not laying is starvation..........what brought that on may have been mites that weaken the colony over time.........
steve
Quote from: steve on September 29, 2008, 08:05:20 PM
Bill W., most likely reason at this stage for the queen not laying is starvation..........what brought that on may have been mites that weaken the colony over time.........
steve
Used up stores, no flow equals lethargic bees and a queen that won't lay, feed them.
...JP
My thoughts as well - which is why I am puzzled. I am feeding, but they are taking it slowly and not storing it (unlike every other hive). Mite count was very low, as is the case with all my hives. No signs of disease that I can see. There aren't a significant number of dead bees in the hive.
I still have about seven good solid frames of bees (from what was a booming, two-deep hive), but the frames are totally empty. None of my other hives are starving or even close and this was not my weakest hive before it started down hill.
With all those bees and no brood, they really should be packing away stores.
Instead, what I see are the bees all clumped together and moving very little as if they were festooning, except the comb is fully drawn. That must mean something, but I have never seen it before.
Try giving the hive a frame or two of brood to see if they make queen cells or not.
...JP
Bill, when you say you are feeding , are you also feeding pollen........if you have no pollen in the hive the nurse bees cannot feed the day old larva and they will eat them if in fact the queen is still laying.... bringing a frame of brood over from another hive is a good idea but without a substantial amount of pollen and honey you'll be right back where you started....
Questions, was your method for checking Varroa mites accurate ? Did you medicate for tracheal mites ?
have you checked or medicated for nosema?
Steve
I am only feeding sugar syrup. I have about two acres of dandelions from which all the other hives are bringing in quite a lot of pollen. But, this hive is bare of pollen as it is of everything.
I use a sticky board for Varroa count. All my hives were under three and visual inspection didn't turn up any mites either. I can't really comment on the accuracy, without a comparison to a known value, but the test seems pretty straightforward. I had one hive last year that had a count of ~12, where I could also see mites on the bees.
I have no signs of dysentery, so I doubt I have Nosema.
I didn't medicate for tracheal mites, but I also didn't do that last year. I suppose the sluggish, clumped bees might be an indication of weakening by tracheal mite. I'll do some dissections this afternoon and see what I can see.
I think my plan will be to add a mixed frame of pollen and honey and a frame of brood and see how they react.
Good plan.........
steve