the winter blues - dead hive - now what?

[asciibaron]

it's a wonderful day here just outside Baltimore, Maryland - gentle breeze, partly sunny and 65F.  a great day to check for activity at the hives.  as i approached i saw all i needed to know.  the nuc from last season had no activity and the older hive was teeming with bees.  looks like the new hive starved.  now what do i do - clean it out and wait for the other hive to start rearing and pull a frame of newly laid eggs or do i just order a package?

this hobby is tough - it hurts to lose a hive.  all i can now is reflect on the past year and what i did or didn't do and hope i can do better this season.

[D Coates]

Hang in there.  Sounds like you already know what to do from here on.  The one suggestion I offer is what I do.  On my nucs and hives I put granulated sugar on them (look up Mountaincamp method) as emergency stores.  If they start eating then you know they are low and can add more.  I check on them about once a month and add sugar if needed.  Once spring arrives I remove the remaining sugar (usually solid as a brick from absorbing the moisture coming off the hive) and drop it in hot water to make syrup for feeding nucs.

Does it always work?  Nope, I had one die this weekend (I assume from moisture from how wet the cluster was) but the 3 or 4 that are now starting to eat from those reserves may not have made it either.  The first hive you loose hurts the most if that's any consolation and if you learned something it's not a wasted experience.