Just checked on the bees to give them some sugar. New England has had inconsistent weather this year and I wanted to check them and get them some sugar in case they were hungry. What I found surprised me. The 10" and 8" frames were almost full. And there were almost no bees. When I checked them in the fall/early winter I heard bees as I put the wind break around the hive. We picked up all the boxes today and even at the bottom board there were maybe 150 dead bees. Where did they go? What did I do wrong?
The wind break left ventilation, there was no moisture build up, no signs of mice or disease....
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
Queen died and what was left begged their way into another hive. Maybe they swarmed and perished.
Quote from: Acebird on February 19, 2018, 12:38:41 PM
Queen died and what was left begged their way into another hive. Maybe they swarmed and perished.
I wouldn't have thought a swarm, based on the massive amount of honey left. But with the numbers down maybe. Ugh. It was a new queen last spring.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
Sounds like varroa. Did you do mite counts and/or treat in the fall?
Quote from: iddee on February 19, 2018, 01:28:22 PM
Sounds like varroa. Did you do mite counts and/or treat in the fall?
No evidence of mites now or in the fall.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
Did varroa mite strike again? The mite will weaken the bees, cause mortality such as you described. I am not saying mites kill your bees, I am suggesting a possible cause.
Princess would you please describe ?no evidence?. As Iddee said, did you do a mite count? You will not see the mites, just the carnage.
Quote from: lilprincess on February 19, 2018, 01:09:34 PM
I wouldn't have thought a swarm,
A swarm usually takes nectar not honey. The honey is left for the remaining bees. At any rate a hive that swarms in the fall is not the bees I want to keep.
Quote from: Van, Arkansas, USA on February 19, 2018, 01:31:50 PM
You will not see the mites, just the carnage.
If a hive was overcome with mites you will see frass. It does not go away on its own.
There is an attachment attributed to thos thread yet I see none... anyone?
Bill
Quote from: Acebird on February 19, 2018, 05:03:48 PM
Quote from: Van, Arkansas, USA on February 19, 2018, 01:31:50 PM
You will not see the mites, just the carnage.
If a hive was overcome with mites you will see frass. It does not go away on its own.
Yes Ace, agreed, however I don?t think the average beek can recognize the tiny white clumps located close to the top of the cell. You know exactly what to look for as your eyes are trained, but not everyone can see with experienced eyes as yours. Cheers, Buddy.
I can check again tomorrow. I'll get out the magnifying glass and take pictures. I want to be sure to learn from whatever happened.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
Princes,
I checked my late father in laws hives with my nephew today. He is taking over taking care of them. Most are doing real well. One had a small cluster of frozen bees in a corner over capped brood and lots of honey. There were also a light layer of dead bees in the bottom. There was only one mite in the bottom tray. I suspect this hive had disease and the numbers dwindled down below their ability to survive the cold temperatures.
Sounds like you might have the same problem.
Jim
Lilprincess, learn that you need to do mite counts. No other way will be sufficient. No mite counts, no knowledge of how many mites. You cannot depend on eyesight.
I'm just guessing, but my guess is you didn't do counts, and the bees died because of it.
Quote from: Van, Arkansas, USA on February 19, 2018, 07:49:17 PM
but not everyone can see with experienced eyes as yours. Cheers, Buddy.
My eyes are horible but I can see the white specs in this frame pretty easily.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/7be8046HwvldbGBv2
Quote from: lilprincess on February 19, 2018, 01:28:54 PM
No evidence of mites now or in the fall.
If you're able to, checkout: https://beeinformed.org/2016/03/08/why-did-my-honey-bees-die/ which describes your situation almost exactly.
There are some very good photographs on that page, see if the one which shows the mite crystals is similar to your brood comb - if so, that will confirm the culprit. Sorry to hear of your loss.
LJ
Sounds like I learned a hard lesson about mites. :( (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180220/4eeb8336d472b97fe165593a83ddcd70.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180220/bd8ce6089d2a002af7712f4f3dea3253.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180220/685e8c921cb76bfeb665ad84ce638441.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180220/c844e8e7de3995590a52dcfff803640e.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180220/c297d7f036d71a98fdf8d145fa2d8d0a.jpg)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
I can see the mite crystals in there
Quote from: bwallace23350 on February 20, 2018, 04:03:34 PM
I can see the mite crystals in there
Are they just the little spots in the close-up or are they filling some of the comb In the smaller pictire?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
They are the little white spots that look like white specks
If you enlarge the bottom photograph, they can be seen quite clearly:
(https://images2.imgbox.com/b7/6a/WIWSYYjS_o.jpg) (http://imgbox.com/WIWSYYjS)
LJ
Quote from: little john on February 20, 2018, 04:42:44 PM
If you enlarge the bottom photograph, they can be seen quite clearly:
(https://images2.imgbox.com/b7/6a/WIWSYYjS_o.jpg) (http://imgbox.com/WIWSYYjS)
LJ
I know that one. But are they in the other comb picture too? I want to know how to ID them better.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
Look at the empty brood cells not the cells filled with pollen or honey. There should be a large section of dark comb that is empty. Frass will be on the sides and easy to see. If there is a capped brood section look for pin holes in the cap. The bees poke a hole in the cap to kill the brood and that kills the mites.
LJ, that doesn't look like brood come to me. Those specks could be pollen.
Learning a bit more about Varroa, as we don't have it here, Oz.
What are the white spots? I understand they indicate varroa has been there but what part of the process are they?
Mite poop or pee.
These are mites. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180220/956a5e574977f501eb74843ba3a0b3b7.jpg)
Sent from my SM-J327P using Tapatalk
Quote from: yes2matt on February 20, 2018, 05:52:12 PM
These are mites. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180220/956a5e574977f501eb74843ba3a0b3b7.jpg)
Sent from my SM-J327P using Tapatalk
Yep. Now to research the care and signs when the hive is going. Any good sites for that?
Someome talked about counting. How do you check the more count?
Apparently mites were bad last year. Even seasoned bee keepers lost lots of hives.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
Do a sugar shake monthly.
https://www.google.com/search?q=sugar+shake+for+mites&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1
Quote from: Acebird on February 20, 2018, 05:02:49 PM
LJ, that doesn't look like brood come to me. Those specks could be pollen.
You don't see the similarity then ?
(https://images2.imgbox.com/2e/d7/iEyDxuQH_o.jpg) (http://imgbox.com/iEyDxuQH)
I've never seen pollen in a comb like that - it's either in the form of bee-bread, or ejected fine powder if pollen mites have attacked it.
LJ
The problem is I can't tell if it is brood comb or honey comb from the photo. Mites do not deposit frass in honey. The bees would have cleaned the cell prior to depositing honey in the cell if there was brood in it prior.
Quote from: Acebird on February 20, 2018, 10:05:23 PM
The problem is I can't tell if it is brood comb or honey comb from the photo. Mites do not deposit frass in honey. The bees would have cleaned the cell prior to depositing honey in the cell if there was brood in it prior.
All the dark comb is brood comb. The honey is in the upper corners of some of the bottom frames but mostly it's brood comb.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
In the close up pics, I can clearly see mites, many mites , little red critters.
Blessings