found hive dead! see pictures

[adamant]

went out to install sugar blocks and found a hive completely dead! must have just died the last week or so. loaded with honey. not sure what going on but the other hives are doing fine.


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[BlueBee]

Looks like a freeze out to me.  I've seen this over and over in my mating nucs before giving them more insulation.  

In a perfect world, the bees will consume honey, generate heat and keep themselves alive.  However if something goes amiss and they don't generate the heat they need, they will get too cold and die; that much is certain.

The heat generating machine can fail if a sudden arctic blast catches the bees out of cluster, or if they run out of stores inside the cluster, or if the cluster is too small, or etc.  The bees on the outer periphery of the cluster act like insulators when in cluster.  If that layer of insulation is insufficient, they're going to loose too much heat and freeze to death.

Your second photo is not showing up on my computer, but the first one really doesn't have very many bees.

[AllenF]

Too few bees.   Cluster froze.   What mite treatment have you been using this fall?

[adamant]

Too few bees.   Cluster froze.   What mite treatment have you been using this fall?

apriguard

[T Beek]

Yep, looks like cold killed them  :-\  likely due to too few bees. 

How cold has it gotten so far in NJ?  Do you wrap your hives?

[BjornBee]

One simple question can answer this.....How many frames of brood did you have in September?

The seasonal advice on this page is probably in line with your location.

http://www.pennapic.org/seasonaladvice.html

Go down the page and read starting with August. It mentions the importance of stimulating the queen for fall brood production, and other steps for winter survival.

Hope this helps.

[derekm]

Unless your hive is made out of at least 4" thick cedar  or 6" thick  pine or 9"thick oak and only a  bottom entrance  18" from  the top of the cavity it aint warm

[T Beek]

 :-\ What about popple (aspen), ash, maple and basswood  :-D 

Send us some pics of your hives please.  They 'sound' pretty cool.



"Be forever wary my son, of the 'absolute certain' among us"

[derekm]

here's one of my hives ... tested to be as warm as a tree nest

[T Beek]

Sorry, but w/ all that silver it sure 'looks' cold, and nothing like a tree  :-D

[saperica]

loaded whit honey? where? can you show?
this is winter store in my hives.



i need some more photos of side frames and all hive completly.

[BlueBee]

Looking good there in Zagreb!  Are you wintering in 2 medium boxes?  I can't really tell from the photo.

[saperica]

bluebee you see wery well. this is hive only from medium hive body in Croatia it is called a Fararr typ of hive and Fararr type of beekeeping.
this is swarm that is remowed from a centre of the city of Zagreb 2.may. this year, more here http://pcelinjak.hr/ .

[adamant]

I broke down the hive today and bottom box was empty .top box was full with dead bees and frames of honey but i did notice the honey/wax border had a bluish tint to it.

[adamant]

[adamant]