3 hives dead

[beegees]

This is my first year beekeeping,  and had 3 total hives all strong, im not sure why they all died. Im thinking condensation abd then froze. It got into single digits for a few days but they should have been ok for that temp. Here is what i did, built 6 inch box for top of deeps had 1 inch board between deeps and 6 inch i built for sugar cakes. 6 inch box above sugar cakes had screen, burlap, and about 3 inches of pine pet bedding shavings, and above shavings i had 1 inch hole on all sides in middle of wood withscreen covering holes then telescoping lid. If anyone can give me an ideas what may of happened or what i may have done wrong, I appreciate any comments. Thanks. p.s. im in utah.

[Acebird]

What is the 1 in board between deeps mean?

[BobMac]

1" board /1" shim between brood box and quilt box maybe what he means ace ??

[beegees]

Yes, 1 inch shim board, room for sugar cake on top of frames

[beegees]

Sorry, not between deeps, on to of top deep.

[Acebird]

That is better ...
You are going to have to look for a cause.  Most will suspect mites.  I don't always think that is so but you have to look for symptoms or evidence that would suggest mites.  Starvation is another biggy and certainly AFB is something you want to rule out.  Moisture and freezing is a little harder to see as a cause of death if they have been dead a long time.

[little john]

Yes, I agree with Ace - you really do need to find out why these hives died.  Losing hives is bad enough, but if you don't learn anything from this unfortunate experience, then history stands a very good chance of repeating itself.

Just assuming for a moment that you can't figure out the cause (worst case scenario etc) - is there an experienced beekeeper anywhere near you could ask to take a look ?

Thought.  When you say these hives were "strong" - just how many frames well-covered with bees are we talking ?
LJ

[tjc1]

For clarity - you mention a 1" shim between deeps plus a 6" dry sugar shim, and then a 6" box of shavings on top of that - is that correct? If you have a sugar brick between the deeps that could be a big problem, keeping the bees from moving up into the upper deep as the winter progressed. Even a 1" open space between the deeps could keep them from moving up in cold weather, such that they would be trapped below and eventually starve.

Are there dead bees in the hive, or are they all gone? If they are all gone, or there are only a few bees, I would suspect mites. If they are there, where in the hive are they (upper deep/lower deep/between the two)? Are they in a cluster encompassing a few frames, or spread around the hive? Are there food stores near where they are?

[JackM]

Did you enter winter with honey and is there honey left in the hives?

[beegees]

Lots of honey in the hives, all were pretty strong with most the bee's dead in 1 area on bottom of bottom board seems like they were mostly in the top kind of in the middle when they died and we're ckustered, between 12 to 25 iwith heads burried in comb and found queen near them all in comb. All hives were the same which is why I am strongly thinking it was humidity and moisture that got them but still not sure.

[Rurification]

Your postmortem sounds a lot like what I used to get until I started using quilt boxes on top in the winter.  The quilt boxes made a huge difference for me.   This year all of my hives are still alive.

[BeeMaster2]

Robin,
I use screen top boards year around and I usually add foil covered insulation boards during the winter. Last month I lost a couple of hives and on cleaning out the third hive realized that all of the lost hives did not have the insulation on them. I made sure all of the other hives were covered and so far they are doing good.
I think you are on to something good here.
Jim

[divemaster1963]

sawstmker. can you do a picture setup of a. winter stack. the pics would be great to show what order you stack. thenmaybe we can get others in different regions to take pics of hoe they stack theres for winter. then we can do a sticky of them. as soon as i can lift mine i'll add whow I set mine up.


john

[BeeMaster2]

John,
I'm not sure of what it is that you are looking for. I use a screen bottom board with an oil tray, 2 medium brood boxes, one honey super with a minimum of 5 honey going into winter, a screen top board with a feeder hole in one corner. I use telescoping tops.
Jim

,

[divemaster1963]

was wondering about the insulated top you were talking abut. and that maybe photos of a broken down setup of setup hive for winter so that newbeeks can have photo record of how to properly setup the hive for winter. maybe we can start a new tread for beeks indiffernt zones to have photo instructions on how to help  their hives have bes chance to get thru winters.

john

[beegees]

Yes John I have been looking for something like this, a pic view of hive winter setup. All I know is that my set up my 3 hives for winter feeling pretty comfortable about them and they are all dead now.

[BeeMaster2]

I just cut a piece of 3/4" or 1/2" foil backed insulation, which ever I happen to have available, (comes in 4'x8' sheets) to fit the inside of the Screen Top Board and I put one inside of the telescoping cover. I use the one in the cover to keep the solar heat form over heating the hive during the summer. When I install them in the cover I seal the edges with caulking to keep the bees and ants from getting at the edges because they will chew right through it and build cavities under it. The one in the STB is just laying on top of the screen.
Jim

[beegees]

After examining the bottom boards , it looks like Barros killed them. Lots of dead varroa on screened bottom boards

[BeeMaster2]

After examining the bottom boards , it looks like Barros killed them. Lots of dead varroa on screened bottom boards

Did you mean the mites killed them?
Jim

[beegees]

Sorry, yes  I thought I typed varroa.