a noticable amount of dead bees around my hive.

[babyphatt455]

What could this be caused by?
Are they possibly starving?
Somone told me it could just be the drones leavin the hive and dying for the winter but by estimating the amount I saw around the hive was around 100-150 dead bees.

[KONASDAD]

Your location would help. Impossible to say w/o any add'l info. I would look closely at the bees and see if they have normal wings, signs of mites or other obvious signs of disease. If they are flying, maybe some poisoning occurred. Just guessing w/o more info. If they are all drones than yes the workers killed them for wintering. Easy to tell just look at eyes.

[babyphatt455]

We tried a division board feeder but there was alot of drowning and it was a mess to clean up.

Then we made a sugar mixture that turned into a hard sugar candy.
I havn't seen a noticable amount of that sugar candy eaten.

Has anyone feed their bees a hard sugar candy before that they ate?

What can I do to feed them without a hive top feeder or an entrance feeder?
(the entrance feeder attracted to many yellow jackets and it leaks)

[babyphatt455]

I live near salem oregon (about 20 miles away)

Is it normal for drones to just leave the hive and die right out in front?

[Kathyp]

we have had some very cold weather.  i have had nights in the 20's and snow yesterday.  assuming your hive had adequate stores and does not have to much space, i would chalk up the dead bees to the weather.  whenever the bees get a break in the weather and it is warm enough, they will bring out their dead.  clean away the dead bees and see what happens with the next bit of warmer weather.  you'll probably see many more dead bees, but you should be able to see if you have dozens or 100's.

[johnnybigfish]

hey Babyphatt,
According to what I've read, The workers are going to chase out the drones when it gets cold anyway. Its kinda sad for sure But I guess the workers figure theres no reason to keep the drones if they're not working or helping do stuff. I think the only job for drones is hanging out and having sex. The girls arent very amorous in the winter. I think my wifes going to push me out of the house soon because I'm not being a very good drone. Im good at hanging out but not droning!
your friend,
john

[Hopeful]

Kathyp wrote"

>>I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.<<<

A Dune fan! Hey, I cans still remember one line from way back when I saw this :

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion, It is by the Juice of Safu that the thoughts acquire speed, the lips aqcuire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion."

I have not seen the movie in about ten years, yet it is somehow "programmed" into my mind. It is not by will alone that I cannot seem to forget this line.

Sorry to digress, but I have top feeders and each time go to fill them I find hundreds or even thousands of dead bees, and a few wasps and yellow jackets. I hope they are not mine (the bees that is).

BTW, Kathy, If I am not mistaken your avatar is a scene from "Krull", another movie I have seen probably 25 times.
Remember, "Power is fleeting, love is eternal." Lissa- Krull

[Kathyp]

a lot of people seem to have trouble with those top feeders.  i like frame or bucket feeders.  frame feeders work well in the spring when it's still kind of cold. 

read the dune books.  you can't really get the story until you have read them all  :-). herberts son continued the story, but i have not read his books yet.

didn't know about the avatar.  thanks for the info.  ran across it and like it.

[sean]

What could this be caused by?
Are they possibly starving?
Somone told me it could just be the drones leavin the hive and dying for the winter but by estimating the amount I saw around the hive was around 100-150 dead bees.

are they actually drones and do you have enough food in the hives?

[annette]

"Sorry to digress, but I have top feeders and each time go to fill them I find hundreds or even thousands of dead bees, and a few wasps and yellow jackets. I hope they are not mine (the bees that is)."

What brand top feeder do you have?  Mine is from Mann Lake and I solved the problem of the drowning bees with the help of Konasdad who also uses these top feeders. Now ours work without the drowning.

Let me know and perhaps I can solve the problem.

Annette

[Hopeful]

Actually, I have already solved the problem, but here was the issue. The top feeders were the 1 gallon plastic type with the push in plastic screens at each end. The plastic push in pins did not go in all thay way (because they are cheap plastic and not precision-made) and left a small gap between the feeder end and the top cover. The bees could smell the syrup and the squeeze through this small gap. This caused a feeding frenzy and loss of bees. I have since created a 4" "super" to put the feeders into. However, a friend of mine said that a person could also screw a screen across the top and the just use the regular cover. I also ordered the 4 gallon feeders for next year's new hves an they already come witha super.

[annette]

Yes, the Mann Lake ones come with a super also.
Glad you solved the problem. Beekeepers are very ingenious people.

Take care
Annette

[babyphatt455]

right now they just have the honey that was in the brood chamber.
i took the division board feeder out because of how many dead bees were in it.
this is my very first hive and i was given it kind of at the spure of the moment but i like my bees and want to try my hardest to keep them happy for the winter.

i've heard about maybe feeding the just granulated sugar?
do you think i could just fill the feeder with that and see what happens or is that a bad idea? 

as for whether or not the dead bees are drones for sure, i have not closely examined them to check i will try but im not an expert on figuring out a drone from a worker.

[CBEE]

So you only have one deep and it's not full going into winter  :shock:

[Kathyp]

as a fellow Oregonian, i would not use syrup to feed over the winter.  we have quite enough moisture as it is.

i also have a single deep wintering over.  i have closed it down except for the small opening on the entrance reducer.  the deep was full of bees, and i fed them up as much as they would take in early fall.  they now have dry sugar on the inner cover.  that's the best i can do for them. 

my big hives are also closed, save a small hole in the upper super and the entrance reducer.  same feeding as above.

[utahbeekeeper]

I keep reading about trouble with plastic top feeders.  I LOVE mine and never a dead bee.  One MUST be sure that the white plastic bee "screens" at each end are installed correctly and bee tight before placing the feeder on top of the hive.  I actually took a new deep super and cut the bottom off to make it into a new medium super.  I then took that 2" deep box and used it as a spacing frame on top of the top feeder.  So I end up with this . . . two deep brood boxes, hive top feeder placed bee tight, the 2 inch home made hive top spacer box, the top cover, an old aluminum speed limit sign, and a 6 pound rock.  I can fill that top feeder with room temp sugar water without upsetting a bee, and they come runnin' to lap it up.  They are a great feeder!  JP

[Hopeful]

Not saying they are not good, only that my beek ignorance sometimes gets the best of me. I did have problems getting the plastic ends to stay down. Sometimes I would force them in and they would later pop back up. My 4" "super" should eleviate the problem regardless.

[utahbeekeeper]

I shoulda added that I screw down each end of those plastic bee screens with small stainless screws.  JP

[Dane Bramage]

whenever the bees get a break in the weather and it is warm enough, they will bring out their dead. 

    Bring out your dead!
    [clang]
    Bring out your dead!
    [clang]
    Bring out your dead!
    [clang]



heh heh.

Surprised to hear of drones this time of year... I've not seen any for some time (I'm also an OreBeek). 
I'm going into winter with 2 full (heavy), 10 frame deeps = no starving nor syrup-feeding issues but I'm also noting some expired bees.  I'm guessing (this is my first winter so, uncertain) that this is to be expected.  Workers will expire and numbers will dwindle somewhat with winter's onset.  This winter has been "teh suck" weather-wise so far.  :(

[Kathyp]

dane, have you read Year Of Wonders?  pretty good story.