bee larva on ground outside hive

[Carol]

It rained hard last night and most of this morning. When it let up I went down to check the hive. There were several white large larva (drone?) on the ground in front of the hive. (5-10). There were also at least 15 bees in the grass, alive but very wet. I hope they are just waiting to dry out to get back inside. This is the first time I have seen dead larva outside and bees in the grass. I did notice some wax pieces on the deck. Small slivers. First time for this also, but it may be the wet deck is keeping them there. Any suggestions?

[10framer]

where are you?  how cold did it get last night?  do the larvae have mites on them?
my first thoughts would be chilled brood or hygienic behavior.  if you're in florida or louisiana or anywhere south of atlanta i'd think you could rule out chilled brood unless the hive is really weak.
a little more information would help.

[Bush_84]

Ya I suppose there are a few possibilities.  I will mirror what 10framer said.  Chilled brood, hygienic behavior, starvation, or maybe lack of pollen due to lack of foraging. 

[Carol]

I just picked up  9 larva. There may have been at least that many more.  No mites that I can see with a magnifying glass. It may have been 65* last night. The hive is only 50 days old from a package. There were also 2 live drones on the ground with them. It is all grass in front of the hive so I put down a couple large pieces of slate so I can see what they are removing.

[Bush_84]

Not cold enough in Florida for chilled brood.  I think they feel as though resources are scarce.  So they are tossing out the expendable drones.  Do they hav syrup and a party on?

[hardwood]

Don't use patties (pollen sub) in Florida, especially on smaller/weaker colonies! The only good reason for pollen sub here that I know of is to build colonies in Dec/Jan for almond pollination. The SHB will take 'em over quick!

Scott

[Carol]

I quit feeding them a few days ago and this is the first time I've seen this, so you may be right. I have a small amount of honey or I can give them syrup.

[Cadman]

If this is a package, I would feed them more. I had a package of Italians that built up very fast, I gave them a frame of honey and fed them syrup, when I installed them. After they had more stores, I stopped feeding them. Then we had a few days of rain and they starved because of all the brood they were trying to rear without being able to collect more food. I don't like feeding my bees, but sometimes they need a little help.

[Carol]

Thanks everyone...I put some feed in with them. When I installed the package I had one full frame of honey and 2 frames from a TBH that swarmed after being invaded with large red ants. They are far enough along that there should be a lot of brood emerging and I will keep feeding them. They've only been taking 1/2 cup of syrup a day, so thought they weren't interested. I just saw 2 Drones evicted. I have seen a hive beetle outside the hive and killed it. No beetle or moth larva that I can see on the deck or on the tiles I put down.

[10framer]

is this a top bar hive?  if not are you using a screened bottom and how close to the ground is the hive?

[Carol]

It is not a TBH. It is a Langs. It does not have a screened bottom and is a little more than knee high off the ground. Since I saw workers forcibly remove what looked like normal Drones (to me), I am hoping it is just my error in not feeding for a few days. I have a friend who has had bees for several years and when we checked them last week he thought they were OK. They were only taking 1/2 cup a day and there is lots of stuff blooming. I gave them syrup today. I had considered giving them some anyways since it is going to rain most every day this week. It's Florida. I am in a heavily wooded area and surrounded by tree farms. Some of them are blooming as well as Elderberry,Spiderwort (in my yard and they get the pollen) and Bottle Brush. I had citrus blooming when they were first installed.

[CapnChkn]

I had that happen with the first swarm I ever housed.  They were in good shape for a week, then all the sudden I had some brood in front and on the ground in front of the hive.  It was around 20th of April, and I opened the hive to find SHB in the corner of one frame.

They then absconded, off into the trees where I would never find them.  5 days later I caught a swarm in a trap, and to this day I wonder if that was the absconded colony.

[Carol]

I did not see any more larva on the ground once I started feeding them again. I checked the hive because I saw a wax moth larva on the stand. Guess it didn't get past the guard bees...but I opened it and checked each frame just to be sure. No capped honey, so will feed for awhile. Still only taking about 3/4 cup a day. But...lots of bees. My entrance is 3/8" ..no reducers and there are bees on the front most of the time. I will check them again in a few days to see if they are building in the super.It will have been 2 wks since last check. Is that bothering them too much?