RIP - what do I do now?

[walkzdogz]

All my little ladies are dead. :'( :'( This winter was a hard one plus the landlord is a bad one and probably did not provide enough food. So what do I do now to protect my hives from moths? At what temps do the moths become a problem? Do I need to bring the hives into my garage and store them with moth crystals? What about frames with honey/pollen and/or dead bee bodies?
Thanx for any help you can throw my way. :)

[wetland bee]

Just clean out the loose bees so they do not mold. As long as its cold you will not have to deal with moths. Put in your new swarm this spring and they will clean up the rest.

[walkzdogz]

Thanx, but what about the empty hives that I will not rehive? (I had 5 and will most likely only purchase 2 bee pkgs.)

[Michael Bush]

Put the boxes on the hives you set up and the bees will guard them.  Wax moths shouldn't be an issue for you until about June or July.

[BoBn]

Thanx, but what about the empty hives that I will not rehive? (I had 5 and will most likely only purchase 2 bee pkgs.)

Sort out all of you best comb to use for your new packages.  Be ready for a great year.  If you have extra drawn comb it can be used up quickly. 
Drawn comb is very valuable if you can make use of it at the right time.
One of the excitements of beekeeping is the anticipation. 

All of the work that your bees did last year is still valuable.


If you have a large surplus of comb that has been worked, you can bag it (supers and all) in those large plastic trash bags to keep out the wax moths.

I have lost many hives over the past 30 years and this past year was very tough.
(Or maybe we had 15 easy years??)

Moths tend to like older comb that has had some brood and old cocoons in it.  Plain foundation that hasn't been worked by the bees isn't usually very attractive to wax moths.
It is the way nature works. 

If you have a lot of drawn comb that will not be used, maybe you can melt some of it down for candles, etc.  But I would wait till the end of the summer and see.

[Scadsobees]

And get on some swarm lists.  The first year or two may be slow, but it is quite amazing how fast those empty boxes can fill up when that time of year rolls around. :)

For now I'd sort all of the pollen and the honey frames out and use those to start the new hives.  The following applies mostly during the summer and fall: Only store empty comb - never store full comb except perhaps in a freezer.

Rick

[kedgel]

Put the boxes on the hives you set up and the bees will guard them.  Wax moths shouldn't be an issue for you until about June or July.

...that is if you don't have small hive beetles in your area yet.  The bees will be unable to defend unoccupied combs from an onslaught of shb's unless you have screened bottom boards.  I'd double bag the unused frames, etc. until needed.  I wouldn't put on any more frames than the bees can cover without sbb's.  Both wax moths and shb's are not an issue until it warms up either way.

Kelly