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Author Topic: dead out  (Read 2277 times)

Offline rgy

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dead out
« on: January 11, 2012, 09:02:26 am »
 :'(  went to check on the hives yesterday and I think I have 3 of four dead and only saw one bee out of the fourth hive.  I did the same as I did last yr. except I closed of the bottom were  the sticky paper goes under the screened bottom board.  Had a small lower entrance and a 3/4" hole in the top box.  We have had NO winter yet but I doubt they could have starved this soon. 

I am concerned that they may have been sprayed.  My friend lets me keep them at his house and he has been in a real pissing match with two of his neighbors over deer hunting.

Supposed to be 50 degrees today so I am going to take a look.  What should I do?

How can I determine if they were sprayed?

What do I do with the equipment until spring?  If I can determine that they were not sprayed do I clean the equipment or just let it sit and have the new girls clean it?

thanks bob

Offline tefer2

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Re: dead out
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2012, 10:06:25 am »
I would think that you need to determine what happened to them first. Did they starve, did they leave, or just got killed off. Then you can figure out what to do with the leftover equipment.

Offline tefer2

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Re: dead out
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2012, 10:12:49 am »
I forgot to say, take the camera with you too. We have some great people here that can help figure it out with the proper information.

Offline AliciaH

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Re: dead out
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2012, 12:59:19 pm »
rgy, I agree with tefer, you need to know what happened in the box.  This will also give you a heads up on what going on in the fourth so you can potentially work to save it.

During the winter, I use a stethoscope to listen to the hives.  I had one hive with no sound and no movement at the entrance.  I thought it was dead.  Lifted the lid and sure enough, no movement that I could see.  I wanted to know what happened and since they were dead anyway, I lifted the front of the box away from the bottom board to see if all the dead were there.  Guess what, the cluster was at the bottom of the box -- they were just having a "quiet" day!  Closed 'em up quick and went home.  This weekend was warmer and they were flying like crazy!

The point is, you have to be sure before you write them off.  Could be smaller boxes are needed or some combining is in order?  I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.  Good luck!

Offline yockey5

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Re: dead out
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2012, 06:25:16 pm »
Bee interesting to know what happened.

Offline tefer2

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Re: dead out
« Reply #5 on: January 12, 2012, 02:10:31 pm »
rgy, so what did you find after checking inside ? You left us hanging !

Offline backyard warrior

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Re: dead out
« Reply #6 on: January 12, 2012, 04:13:49 pm »
Let me say one thing its been a very warm fall and winter dont say you dont think they starved already there has been lots of people i know in the Pa area that have lost numerous hives to starving this year being so warm. I havent lost one hive this year but i fed in the fall and i have fondant on my hives. I am always checking to see if my bees have reserves those that close them up in fall and dont put any emergency reserves on their hives become very upset in the spring when the hive has perished.  Its cheap insurance to install 5 pounds of fondant on a hive.  I am already putting a second 5lb bag of fondant on some of my hives but their still alive. I see no problem with feeding bees if they need it just because they are low on stores doesnt mean they are of a bad bee stock. Its been a bad year possibly the worst yet due to the spring rain and warm fall and they couldnt get out on the nectar flow and they been active more so due to the warm weather. I had one hive in august i opened up that was pissy as hell and the problem was there wasnt a drop of honey in the hive i saved them with a few supers of reserve honey i had stored.  Let me say one more thing those that get greedy with taking too much honey from the bees pay come spring when they find they starved them out..  Im breeding bees that have plenty of stores in fall some hives that are hygenic arent as good producers of honey as others i guess there is a happy medium when it comes to hygenic bees and honey makers.  Chris
« Last Edit: January 12, 2012, 04:57:14 pm by backyard warrior »

Offline rober

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Re: dead out
« Reply #7 on: January 12, 2012, 05:12:43 pm »
as i mentioned in an earlier thread all 5 of my hives were very heavy at the end of september. i had a heart attack in early october so they were left on their own thru october. by the end of the 1st week in nov. 4 of 5 were light & needed feeding. they are being fed now as well. had i been able to tend them i would have seen what was happening & had syrup on them all thru oct. so far all is well but anything can happen in feb. it's cold & snowing now but will be back in the 40's & 50's next week. i checked them yesterday & saw some drones & what looks like new brood so i will probably be feeding them from now til spring. this unusual weather has a most of nature out of whack including our bees.

Offline rgy

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Re: dead out
« Reply #8 on: January 12, 2012, 10:31:40 pm »
so far only 2 are dead.  I think it is my fault.   after taking the hive apart there was only 2-3 cups of dead bees in each of the two hives and NO larvae or eggs.  I think I went queenless on both.  For some reason I really had a bad yr with queens.  I re-queened all four hives last yr.

so Now I have at least 20 frames of fully capped honey and 20 frames of pollen and uncapped nectar.  I currently have it in my garage.  What should I do with this?  Freeze it?  save for spring and the new bees?  harvest it?  can I leave it in the garage, it will be around 50 degrees?

pictures to come.

Offline backyard warrior

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Re: dead out
« Reply #9 on: January 12, 2012, 10:48:21 pm »
 I would keep it for the spring drawn comb, honey and pollen is a great receipe for a new package to take off in spring.  If they superceded the current queen let them do it the bees know best what is best for the colony.  Alot of times supercedure queens are better than the package queens. Chris

Offline AllenF

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Re: dead out
« Reply #10 on: January 12, 2012, 10:49:53 pm »
Freeze the boxes and use it in the spring for splits or swarms you catch.   You can't beat drawn comb, especially drawn comb with honey for new hives.    What did you do for the mites this year?

Offline tefer2

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Re: dead out
« Reply #11 on: January 12, 2012, 11:40:26 pm »
I took the time, with the 50 degree temps, to look into some at another winter stand.
rgy, i found the same story in one hive too, queenless. Its just part of beekeeping and the learning process.
The hive swarmed late summer and we left them to make a new queen.
Having a bunch of capped frames for spring feed gives you a whole bunch of options.

Offline rgy

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Re: dead out
« Reply #12 on: January 13, 2012, 08:49:45 am »
it is mostly capped but some is uncapped.  there is no larvae or capped brood so can I just leave it in the garage?  I don't see why it would need to be in a freezer but if it does pls tell me.


Offline tefer2

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Re: dead out
« Reply #13 on: January 13, 2012, 09:14:45 am »
Freezing the brood combs for 24-48 hours kills off any pests that may be present. That being said, I have some in my garage too, that will stay there till spring. It's not like it's warm here this time of year.
Do you think that they may have swarmed on you after pulling supers? That's what happened with mine.
 I know cause I walked up while it was going on, caught the swarm.
The group left behind were not successful at making a new queen and and the brood finally ran out on them.
Also, as Allen said, what did you do to rid them of mites this year ?

Offline rgy

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Re: dead out
« Reply #14 on: January 13, 2012, 10:20:31 pm »
they may have swarmed late but I think they went queen less earlier..   thinking back on it they were a little more aggressive than normal.  I do believe this was  a beginner beekeeper mistake.  I will learn from it.  Hopefully the other two hives are ok but I have a bad feeling.  late fall things just didn't seem right and I should have done a complete hive inspection on all four hives.