Mounds of dead bees!

MeadFarm · January 18, 2011, 08:53:58 PM

I've been reading different accounts of bees dying. With three of my hives (two of them were my strongest), there were handfulls of dead bees in front of the hives. And after opening them up the screened bottom boards were filled to the bottom bars with dead bees. From what I've been reading, it could be anything from starvation (which would be odd since they were such strong hives), to mites, to poisoning I suppose. There was also a lot of feces all over the hive inside and out. Could this have been nosema or just a case of the entrances being blocked with the dead so the bees couldn't get out? Other adjacent hives are doing fine. What happened? Any Ideas?

Yuleluder · January 18, 2011, 09:42:47 PM

Starvation is fairly easy to diagnose. Was there any honey in the hive when you looked through it? Was the cluster on or near honey? Were any bees in the cluster head first in the cells? These are all questions that can be asked to help decide whether or not starvation was at fault.

You will need to send a sample of the dead bees to a bee lab in order to test for nosema and tracheal mites.

backyard warrior · January 18, 2011, 09:58:13 PM

the heck with the bees just buy a new package every spring :-D

hardwood · January 18, 2011, 10:12:01 PM

You say there were a lot of feces? Was the fecal staining generally dark and with a runny appearance? This would indicate Nosema and could have been caused by the dead bees blocking the entrance prohibiting cleansing flights. As to the initial cause of death a picture might help us with that.

As yuleluder stated, if it was starvation you would notice a bunch of bee butts sticking out of the cells.

Scott

MeadFarm · January 19, 2011, 12:54:22 PM

Not many bee butts sticking out of cells. There is still a fair amount of capped honey, but almost all of the cells were empty. The spotty remaining brood looked like many of the cappings were partially chewed. I was reading Jeremy Rose's book on Beekeeping in Coastal California and he was talking about parasitic mite syndrome (PMS) caused by the combination of viruses vectored by varroa in addition to poor nutrition causing a colony to die over the course of about a month. Being a newbee, I am still learning what's blooming and when around here and, though I fed the colonies, apparently it wasn't enough and/or at the right time.
Always learning.

Scadsobees · January 19, 2011, 01:53:14 PM

Unfortunately it is very difficult to diagnose winter problems, especially remotely. I suppose it is somewhat like asking a mechanic what is wrong with my car, I turn the key and it just goes "err errr errrrr". :-D

What type of weather have you had?

Did you do an type of medication in the fall, if so, what did you use and what were your mite counts?

Did you know for sure if there was a queen in the hive last fall? Any sign of queen cells in there now?

There are so many things that can contribute: too many mites (either kind, and accompanying infections), nosema, queenlessness, mice, humidity, cold, etc. Starvation is usually pretty obvious, the other problems not always so much.

I find that especially in situations like these, starvation is very rare. Either the hive will be empty, or you will have had an extended period of single digit temps (which I guess you will never see).

T Beek · January 19, 2011, 02:28:01 PM

Quote from: backyard warrior on January 18, 2011, 09:58:13 PM
the heck with the bees just buy a new package every spring :-D

:?that's not even a little bit funny. Local bees rule!

So as not to misunderstand, these bees are all dead, right? No cluster, right? If so, take the time to investigate both the hive and the condition of the bees, consider it an oportunity even if a sad one to get some learning experience in observation. Write it all down. Then clean it all up ASAP to get it ready for the next occupying colony.

thomas

wd · January 19, 2011, 03:31:55 PM

happened while I was out of state a few months. starvation, mold ect. when I got to them, the hives next to this one had their tops laying on the ground along with some frames scattered about.

Yuleluder · January 19, 2011, 03:59:30 PM

Quote from: wd on January 19, 2011, 03:31:55 PM
happened while I was out of state a few months. starvation, mold ect. when I got to them, the hives next to this one had their tops laying on the ground along with some frames scattered about.

Looks like some wax moth webbing in that picture.

MeadFarm · January 19, 2011, 04:48:17 PM

8 frames like these (lots of honey). The lower box just had empty cells and some spotty dead brood.

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and the bottom board:

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hankdog1 · January 19, 2011, 09:02:36 PM

Well looks like you can rule out starvation. Question i have from the picture is the entrance reducer looks like it's completely blocked off. Am i correct on this one or was it moved when you took the picture?

MeadFarm · January 20, 2011, 01:09:33 AM

The smallest opening is facing down and open to the front (lower left of the photo) to prevent mice and robbing. It's working for the living hives but maybe was part of the downfall of this one. We may never know.

VolunteerK9 · January 20, 2011, 11:21:55 AM

In the words of Forest Gump, "I'm not a smart man" but with that many dead, I'm leaning towards some type of poisoning. I hate it for you. I hate to see any hive lost..mine or not