I checked my hive two weekends ago and saw a _large_ number (hundreds?) of dead bees in the front entrance and on the ground in front of the hive. The weather back then was a little cool, (50s) but I went in to check the stores. They were down to 2-3 frames full of honey, but only in the top body. The frames nearer the center of the hive were empty, clean. There didn't seem to be as many bees as normal in the hive, but what do I know - it's my first year, maybe there are substantially less in winter?
So I decide to get some syrup back on the hive just in case. So I put a gallon of syrup on top. But they still haven't taken any.
I checked the syrup two days after (about how long it's taken them in the past to go through a gallon) and it was down a very little amount. I checked the syrup a week later - and it really hasn't moved at all.
The weather has been really nice over the last couple weeks - 60s and 70s during the day. I don't really think they're bunched and can't get to the syrup. The bees have been flying, and seem to be taking in a huge abmount of pollen - but I've still been really worried about them.
Should I be feeding them something else? Should I not be worried?
I'll go in this weekend (if the weather permits) and really inspect - is there anything I should be looking for? How much honey do they really need for another month or two before bloom?
Thanks in advance for any help.
-Craig