My CCD Benefit

[Stingtarget]

Wanted to pass along some info that may help us all.  Got a call this week from a friend of a friend who was getting out of beekeeping all together.  "CCD" had wiped him out this winter.  I stopped by his house and was given 4 complete hives with 9 supers, over 100 frames, foundation, feeders, etc all free of charge.  He already had everything taken apart and in his garage.  I got home and unloaded and opted for an hour or so of CCD Crime Scene Investigation.  Looked through the brood comb in each hive and noticed...NO capped brood, no pollen, and no honey in the brood boxes.

The gentleman who gave me the equipment was 84 years old and has a shoulder ailment preventing him from lifting.  My observations tell me that this isn't a case of CCD, rather a case of a person who just couldn't keep bees any longer and waited too long to get out of the hobby.  I truly believe, based on observation, that he was queenless going into the fall and the bees simply died out over winter.  There was one super still full of honey that came off one of the hives.  This tells me that the population was low going into winter.  Our winter was so mild that I had to feed in December and January to get my own bees through it.  If he had bees in October, November, they would have surely eaten this honey by the end of March.

Also, if it had been CCD, I would have noticed more capped brood that was left...comb would have been sour due to the brood rotting.  On the contrary, the comb was perfectly clean in each hive.  Sadly, his bad shoulders may have prevented him from checking his hives for the majority of last year. 

SO, it would be a wise beekeeper who takes a look and investigates when given the chance to pick up a couple of free hives due to "CCD".  Since he gave me the freebies, I am going back Monday evening to purchase his Dadant 12 frame extractor and uncapping knife.

[Kathyp]

it sucks when people have bad luck, but one mans bad fortune is another mans prize.  that's how i got most of my stuff.  not free, but cheaper than i could have purchased it new ;).  also how i got my house....my best horse....new dog....