A new friend is in trouble

[WhipCityBeeMan]

When I was picking up my new packages this year a new beekeeper was there as well.  He was nervous about installing his first two packages.  I offered to help him and we installed them together.  He just called me tonight saying that one of the hives has died out after 10 days since we installed them.  I went to his house to take a look and the bees are dead - for sure.  He has been feeding them with a top feeder and also he has given them pollen patties.  He made them himself from a powder.  They were sticky and totally exposed so some of the bees were stuck in the patty and died.  That only accounted for a handful.  There majority of the bees were in a pile in the bottom of the hive.  I have no idea what would have caused this to occur.   I thought perhaps the queen was killed by getting stuck in his pollen patties but I did not see her in them and I don't think that explains the entire 4lb. package winding up dead in the bottom of the hive. 
How can entire package die off in such a short period of time especially while being fed?

Thoughts?

[bassman1977]

What did he make the pollen patties out of?

[WhipCityBeeMan]

I am not sure what was in the patties.  He said he made them from a powder that he ordered from a company and I understand that the powder is a bee patty mix. 

[bassman1977]

Probably an isolated incident since the other hive is still alive.  If it were the patties, they probably would both be affected.  Same with any pecticide sprayings.  Some disease, but that's an easy answer.  I honestly have no idea.

[pdmattox]

Did you find the queen?  Was she in the middle of the clump of bees at the bottom?

[rdy-b]

they where exposed to something toxic to kill them all at once -very suspicious   :-\ RDY-B

[Shawn]

Maybe someone sprayed them.

[NWIN Beekeeper]

Was the equipment entirely new?
How was it finished?

Was he feeding anything in addition to the patties? Syrup?

A quick kill is suspicious.
It usually is something very toxic, else the bees would have had time to remove the dead.
Pesticides are suspect, but I'd think you would see signs in the other hive as well.
After all, it is likely they both forage on the same fields.
I'd make sure to cover all bases (make sure there weren't 'additives' or DIY issues).

10 days time...
Did many of the bees drift to the other hive?
Did populations get too small to maintain cluster heat?
Could they have froze?
Were the bees wet from maybe a leaky feeder?
Did the queen appear to start to lay any eggs? (not a population issue but signifies if the colony was starting to accept the hive boxes).

[Brian D. Bray]

I  would susspect drift and poisoning or cold temps also.  Mostly the drift if the 1 hive drifted to the other (pervailing winds can be a big factor here) then the remaining bees may have died because they became to few to generate sufficient warm to survive.

[Michael Bush]

If a queen dies, or if she doesn't make enough pheromone, they will drift next door.  But that doesn't explain the dead ones.  Packages often get Nosema because of the stress.  Are there signs of dysentary?  Two hives are often working different blooms, so one might have been sprayed and the other not.

[WhipCityBeeMan]

I looked for the queen but I did not find her. I didn't notice a leaky feeder and it has not been that cold here in the past 2 weeks.  I know this is a tough one. 
I think Michael Bush may be onto something.  Perhaps they were sprayed at the apiary in Georgia before they were shipped here.  We have a local beekeeper who brought up 100 packages for us locals areound here and we picked them up the day after they left Georgia.

[bassman1977]

Maybe contact him and see if anyone else has reported a similar issue.  I wonder what apiary in Georgia he got them from.

[debay]

just a thought, if its been posted sorry, i didnt read them all. It may be a bad feeder jar. What was in it before he used it. When he washed it did he leave a soapy residue in it? What was the jar originally used for? just a thought.