Last hive died off

[FlexMedia.tv]

I only had two hives I started last year. The one was taken over by wax moths. My last one I just discovered today didn't make it through the winter. I wrapped them here in Michigan and I didn't take any honey. I couldn't find any mites and there was honey left over, mostly in the brood box. I found most of them in the bottom but some looked like they died in place. The whole hive has an old dish rag smell, the best I can describe. I'll start over again this year but any ideas what happened? Should I burn the frames and power wash the rest? I did build a swarm catcher. Should a save some frames as an attractant?
Thanks,
Art


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[cao]

The smell is probably just the dead bees.  They can get a little rank when they start to decompose(it doesn't take long).  As far as why they died I couldn't say without knowing more.  It could have just been that they couldn't break cluster to move to the honey.  I had one of my hives make it through winter and was starting to raise brood for spring.  Then we had a week of freezing temps at night with highs not making it much above freezing.  That hive ran out of food and starved within a week. 
As far as your frames, the ones in the pictures look good to me.  If you had any bees left I would put them on the hive as is.  Without bees I would put them in the freezer until you get some bees(they will help a new hive out a lot).  If you leave them out the beetles and moths will get them.  If there is enough to mess with you could harvest the honey.
Drawn come in swarm traps will help.  Most people only use a small piece for the smell(the darker the better).  If you put a whole frame in the trap, the wax moths will destroy it.
Hope you get more bees soon.

[FlexMedia.tv]

Cao,
Thanks, I'll keep at it. Already ordered more bees. I didn't know I could freeze the honey. I thought it would be bad.
Thanks

[Acebird]

Possibly lost queen in fall.

[Craig Anderson]

Possibly lost queen in fall.

I'm curious about them losing the queen in the fall being the reason, would that prevent them from clustering through the winter?

[Acebird]

No but it would explain perfectly clean comb void of all brood.

[FlexMedia.tv]

Acebird, maybe. The hive swarmed in July but they made some queen cells I found durning one inspection but I couldn't tell if she matured, and started laying. Since I didn't know what I was doing, I just left them alone and hoped for the best.


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[GSF]

Dang Flex, I hate to hear that about your bees.

[Acebird]

Well with that bit of information it could be that the virgin never got mated.  I don't think that was a bad decision to leave them alone but there are risks.  Not all virgins make it.  In July you had enough time to confirm that the virgin got mated.  If not, your only recourse would have been to supply a mated queen if you didn't want to combine them with another.

[chester5731]

Looks like the two packages I started last May. In February the queens were laying but when I checked them this weekend they were both dead. I showed them to my mentor and he said from what he could see all the wet weather we had got to them. They still had honey and pollen left but they were dead a couple frames over. Like they got damp and chilled and didn't move. More bees ordered.

[FlexMedia.tv]

Dang Flex, I hate to hear that about your bees.

I know, right? Thanks..a little bit of some Freshman hazing huh? Let's see what the Sophamore year brings, shall we? 

[FlexMedia.tv]

Well with that bit of information it could be that the virgin never got mated.  I don't think that was a bad decision to leave them alone but there are risks.  Not all virgins make it.

I found 4 queen cells in that hive. Maybe they duked it out??

[FlexMedia.tv]

Looks like the two packages I started last May. They still had honey and pollen left but they were dead a couple frames over. Like they got damp and chilled and didn't move. More bees ordered.

Our State is really tough on bees. I ordered 3 more package bees, one from Michigan this time.

[chester5731]

Our State is really tough on bees. I ordered 3 more package bees, one from Michigan this time.
[/quote
I ordered four more packages of Italians from Georgia and one ten frame hive of Carnies from up by Cadillac. The Carnies where over wintered in Michigan. We will see what happens.

[FlexMedia.tv]

Our State is really tough on bees. I ordered 3 more package bees, one from Michigan this time.
[/quote
I ordered four more packages of Italians from Georgia and one ten frame hive of Carnies from up by Cadillac.

My last two were Italians from Georgia. I'm interested how your Cadillac bees will do.

[chester5731]

Flex, did you get your Georgia bees from Napoleon Bee Supply?

[bwallace23350]

Our State is really tough on bees. I ordered 3 more package bees, one from Michigan this time.
[/quote
I ordered four more packages of Italians from Georgia and one ten frame hive of Carnies from up by Cadillac.

My last two were Italians from Georgia. I'm interested how your Cadillac bees will do.

Do you like the Carnies or Italians better?

[chester5731]

This will be my first experience with carnies. From what I understand they are supposed to overwinter well but we will find out.

[billdean]

I install 4 carnie packages last May and so far they have over winter very well. 2 of them are absolutely booming. I got all 4 packages from Turtlebee Farms is Byron, Michigan. I got 150 pounds on honey off them the first year 2016.

[cao]

Our State is really tough on bees. I ordered 3 more package bees, one from Michigan this time.

My advise to anyone that buys non local package bees is to consider requeening with a local queen sometime during the summer/fall.  This especially goes the farther north you are.  Local queens will overwinter much better.