Sadly discovered I lost one of my what I believed to be a strong hive going into winter, not sure why it died, was a pretty depressing discovery. Hope the others are going to be alright. :(
it is unfortunate, but for most it is a yearly event. you may never know why. could have been robbing that you missed. queen could have been lost late. heavy mite load. combination of all.... starvation is common, but if you knew they were ok going into winter, it's a little early for that.
try not to feel bad. i have already lost two. they were two that i knew where iffy, but it's still a little sad.
Or the aliens again. They got one of my hives when the cold got here this year.
I hate seeing anyone lose bees especially this early. We still have a long way until spring.
This got me thinking that I hadn't really gave the hives a check so far. I took out the stethoscope and gave a listen and they all sound good. All the hives are still low in the bottom boxes and we have had some pretty cold days so far.
Good luck with your other hives and hopefully we will have an early productive spring!
Allen , are they cutting up the bees like they use to cut up the cattle?
Not yet, but the circles in the snow in the back yard is very disturbing.