We have had unseasonably warm weather latelyhere in NE OH and the bees are still active. They have been finding some pockets of goldenrod and are still bringing in pollen. Today I noticed a couple dozen dead or dying on the ground in front of the hive with full pollen baskets, in addition to some without pollen. I had a mite problem a month or so ago and gave two powdered sugar treatments. I have had a lot less bees dying since then. What would kill them so fast that they drop dead when they return to the hive with full pollen baskets? The hive next to this one has had no such problems. There has been no signs of robbing activity either. Thanks for any thoughts.
Alan
I noticed a similar thing with my bees.
I noticed some bees flying back with a load of pollen. If they didn't stick the landing they would fall to the ground. As if exhausted they would just sit on a blade of grass for a few minutes and then most eventually would make it back into the hive.
My theory is that they are working extra hard and going extra long distances in an effort to find some pollen for winter stores. I honestly have no idea where in the world they are finding anything in bloom. I also theorize that these field bees are old and probably about to meet their end. It might be that they are just making their final runs and using every last drop of life to contribute to the hive.
Have you noticed if other bees come out and remove the pollen from the dead bees?
Dying with full pollen baskets?
Could it be poison?
Keith
That happened to a couple of hives of mine when they returned from my neighbors garen after she dusted it with Sevin!! I do not give her any more honey, especially after I asked her multiple times to tell me before she did it.
The other bees are not taking the pollen from the corpses. I thought that maybe they were at the end of their lifespan, and the pollen load did them in, but there are too many at one time and in one place. I did see a TruGreen truck across the street yesterday; that idiot has them out spraying every other week, it seems. He has no flowers, but maybe my bees use his pond for a water supply and got poisoned there. Another weird thing is that my other hive (on the same bench) seems to be content staying in their hive right now and are not having the losses like hive number 1.
Don't trust the sugar treatments, check for mites. Different part of the country, but sugar didn't work for me.