confused

[catfishbill]

still don't understand why a hive will die out with several deep frames of honey and good numbers(as of 2 weeks ago).just don't understand.doing a little winter prepping last night since its gonna get so cold next couple of days looked up through screened bottom board and it was covered with dead bees about an inch deep.it was a strong Italian hive too.any input will help.thanks

bill

[jimmyo]

You might want to post some photos.Make notes on the location of each frame. there can be several reasons they died. We try to autopsy each dead hive and find the cause of death. Then we try to keep it from happening again.
  The location of the cluster is important. If the cluster is damp it could have died from too much moisture in the hive. If you find 2 separate dead clusters they might have split up during a warm spell and couldn't get back together.
  There are mites and nosema to think about too.
Jim 

[jojoroxx]

screened bottom boards = dead bees? i am running all solids into this winter and hoping for better survival rate than last year 0-2. too much moisture and air with the sbb imo.

[bassman1977]

screened bottom boards = dead bees? i am running all solids into this winter and hoping for better survival rate than last year 0-2. too much moisture and air with the sbb imo.

I'm using solid bottoms from now on.  I have screen bottoms on half of the hives but I close them in the winter.  I won't invest in them any longer.  Had too many winter losses keeping them open.

[Kathyp]

i use screened bottom boards, but close them in winter.  i prefer them because it is so wet here.  i would not leave them open all winter.......

they also provide a source of air if the hives get snow covered or iced and i don't get out there to open them.  snow is less a problem, but an inch of ice is not good.

[gaucho10]

DITO on everything kathyp stated.  I live in Massachusetts where the temperatures drop down into the teens most of the winter.  I "swear" by SSB for the same reasons as kathyp (and others).  If you have too much moisture then use the sliding tray.  That's what it is for.  I don't believe that SSB's cause bees to die if used properly.

[Hemlock]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your colony.  I hope you can figure out what happened so to prevent it in the future.  Definitely post your discoveries here so we can all benefit.  This Fall I too was checking on my bees daily by looking through the SBB.  It's a great way see what's going on without opening the hive.  But when it got to cold I closed it up for the Winter.  Many beeks around here use the solid boards only.  They say it allows the queens to lay their eggs down to the bottom of the frames in Feb, March, & April.  Their hives are made up of a Medium on a Deep.  Yet, I had condensation problems last Winter and solved it by installing a SBB.  I use a Double Deep hive.

[Wynoochee_newbee_guy]

I live in the worlds only temprate rain forest we avarage 7-8 feet of rain a year. I use SBB on my hives no moisture problems no mildew build up when we had the cold snap of 0-f in december I closed  up my sbb out side of that my girls do good.

[gaucho10]

Good point Wynoochee!