Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Tightwad on June 15, 2013, 01:55:20 pm

Title: My bees are dying
Post by: Tightwad on June 15, 2013, 01:55:20 pm
My strong hive has bees on the ground acting like they are drunk!!!  I have found a lot of bees under the hive and out in the yard. I just put on a super yesterday. I saw this a couple  of days ago. it's not the super I'm thinking they mite of got into sum thing. We are cleaning up after a tornado hit my neighborhood ?
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Kathyp on June 15, 2013, 03:42:15 pm
any mosquito spraying going on?  didn't you all get a lot of rain with those storms?
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: thatguy324 on June 15, 2013, 05:21:30 pm
sounds like nosema to me
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Tightwad on June 15, 2013, 06:23:28 pm
We did get a lot of rain. And I haven't heard the spraying truck out. But We do go to bead vary early, the bees are going out like mad. And after 3pm they are comeing in and it's a really wild mess of bees.
Title: Re: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: RHBee on June 15, 2013, 06:24:23 pm
Nosema leaves evidence. Do you see a lot of stains on the outside of the hive? Is there plenty of food stores? Could be poison. I would open them up and evaluate.

Sent from my SPH-L300 using Tapatalk 2
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Tightwad on June 15, 2013, 06:27:26 pm
If it was nosema wouldn't they have diarrhea ?
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Tightwad on June 15, 2013, 06:36:27 pm
I was in the hive two days ago and all look good lot of brud and food no staining in or out!!  I put on a super I don't us Smoke I spray them with sugar water. I dent make new sugar water I sued the sugar water from a week ago I hope this water was OK?  I dent put it in the fridge but it was in the house.
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Tightwad on June 16, 2013, 09:07:54 am
My one hive is still not right. They are all over the ground and we found a lot on the wall where there is a porch lite. And a big pile by the back door?  My poor dogs are getting strong by walking on them. And when I'm in the yard the bees trying to clime up your leg. The bees on the ground look normal there wings Arenot in a k form. I hope this is not going to kill my hive ?  I'm  upset I don't know what to do for them.  :?
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: BAH on June 16, 2013, 03:59:17 pm
The only thing I can say is; don't stress out. I know it sounds like you're hopeless but sometimes nature must take it's course. I say don't stress because I believe a stressed beek leads to stressed bees. Some places don't use a truck to spray for mosquitos, some places spray using other methods like plane and/or helicopter etc. Have you popped your head in yet to get an update about inside the hive?
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Tightwad on June 16, 2013, 06:57:40 pm
No not yet I see they ain't doing a lot of foraging now. This is a Nuck I installed 5 weeks ago. I was in the hive three days ago and they had one moor frame to fill so I but on a neather brud box on.
All look OK to me I'm finding bees all over my yard now!!  The ether hive is looking alright it is a older hive from a swarm.
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: beek1951 on June 17, 2013, 12:34:03 am
Well there you go. With Summertime temps when you spray
with sugar water it sticks their wings down to their abdomens
and dries and they can't fly, act drunk and finally die. Use smoke,
there is a reason we have been doing that for 300 years. Don't
try to reinvent the wheel. <g>
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Tightwad on June 17, 2013, 06:41:44 am
You Really  thing that was the problem?? I used sugar water on both of the hives with no problems!!
The clubs say spray your packed of bees with sugar water as well. When you install a new packed of bees ?
Any one  think my problem is that I am using sugar water?
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: BAH on June 17, 2013, 08:02:29 am
Good call beek1951, but hard to say, without being there. Tightwad I don't spray my bees with sugar water barely use smoke. I think the best idea is to call your local bee club and have someone in the area look at your bees. I myself hate to ask others for help, but this time you don't have time to waste! Save your bees and get someone to check it out. Good luck.
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: beek1951 on June 17, 2013, 08:55:23 am
I never spray bees with sugar water because before another bee
can groom it off, it dries. Yes I believe that is the problem from
what you described. When installing packages I spray with plain
water or water and Honey-B-Healthy.
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Leather Jim on June 17, 2013, 09:06:48 am
I'm with you Bah, no sugar water spray... Ever... And very little if any smoke.  Move slow and it's all good.
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Tightwad on June 17, 2013, 04:30:03 pm
OK will do thanks for all you help. And all so has any one find your bees going to your out side lights. I have two flood  lights on my back yard and I'm finding 20 or moor dead bees under them Avery day now. This just started ?
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: WarPonyFarms on June 17, 2013, 05:00:16 pm
hmmm....

That sounds an awful lot like Zombee symptoms.

Infection by zombie flies causes unusual behavior in honey bees. Specifically, it causes them to fly out of their hives at night. Once out of the hive, they fly towards a light source as many insects do. But unlike other insects at a light source, the infected honey bees become disoriented and lose their balance; eventually they die.

Collect your dead honey bees and place them into a resealable container, something like a mason jar. Then watch for larvae that crawl out from the necks of the bees—right between the head and the thorax. You also look for pupae and then wait to see if they hatch into adult flies.

ZomBeeWatch.org has more information.

Good luck
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Tightwad on June 17, 2013, 08:02:26 pm
Dang it scour looks like my bees mite have this I just went out and collected sum bees from the yard. And tonight or in the morning I will collect moor then mark them and what 7 days and see what happens !,
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: L Daxon on June 18, 2013, 11:11:55 am
Yes, bees flying toward a light source at night is a symptom of Zombie bees but I haven't heard of that being in Missouri yet.  Had only been found in 3 states last I read. They also walk sometimes around in a circle as if one foot is nailed to the floor.

Some of  the symptoms you described sounded like Nosema Cerane.  You don't necessarily see a lot of diarrhea  with that.  Can treat with Fumagilian B.  They definitely got something.  Good luck diagnosing it.

Linda D in OKC
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Kathyp on June 18, 2013, 11:54:01 am
K.I.S.S.

you have been given a number of ideas.  i'd start with the sugar water spray.  use smoke.  you'll want to do that anyway as we go toward fall or you'll have robbing and pissy bees.

bees going to the light doesn't seem odd to me.  turn them off or have them come on later when the bees are all inside.

the other stuff you can check, but i think your solution will turn out to be something fairly simple.
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Michael Bush on June 18, 2013, 12:08:21 pm
>The clubs say spray your packed of bees with sugar water as well. When you install a new packed of bees ?

I do not think there are good reasons for spraying bees with sugar water.  They often end up sticky and dead.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beespackages.htm (http://www.bushfarms.com/beespackages.htm)
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Tightwad on June 18, 2013, 05:39:18 pm
Thanks everyone for your input. And I'm working on this I will let you all know how things tern out.
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Tightwad on June 26, 2013, 07:50:19 pm
Well I'm still losing a lot of bees. Yesterday I was in the hive looking and no new Brood or eggs. The Queen is dead!!  Just a hand full of cap Brood  on each frame. It's to late to Ad  a Queen so I'm going to get a new Nuc and install it in the hive. Is there any thing special I need to do when I install the new Nuc?
I don't have vary many  bees left for this hive. 
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Steel Tiger on June 26, 2013, 11:50:30 pm
Well I'm still losing a lot of bees. Yesterday I was in the hive looking and no new Brood or eggs. The Queen is dead!!  Just a hand full of cap Brood  on each frame. It's to late to Ad  a Queen so I'm going to get a new Nuc and install it in the hive. Is there any thing special I need to do when I install the new Nuc?
I don't have vary many  bees left for this hive. 
I personally would consider cleaning out the hive before introducing more bees. Wipe the inside with bleach water and let it sit to air out for 24 hours. Wipe down any empty frames frames. As far as used comb, it's a tough call. Unless I knew 100% what killed the bees, I think I would cut the comb out and just melt it down and let the nuc start from scratch. If you're sure.. and that's what most everyone else thinks... that it was the sugar water, the old comb could be used.
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Better.to.Bee.than.not on June 26, 2013, 11:56:24 pm
out of curiosity what did the sugar water look like in the sprayer? ie was it clear, cloudy, have air bubbles, ??? I guess just to eliminate it as a possibility what I am getting at is yeast strains from the air getting into the sugar water and converting the sugars to alcohol. also we are presuming you are using a totally clean spray bottle, that has never ever ever been used for anything else that could after having sugar water in it for a week leach back into it that was harmful to the bees? otherwise I'd still say don't candy the bees with sugar water, but it is strange for you 'still' to be losing them after this amount of time simply because you stickied them.
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Tightwad on June 27, 2013, 05:52:43 am
The sugar water was clear and in a new spray bottle.  I'm thinking I killed the queen and maybe the bees where just dying out?  But the way they where doing is the question for me. I'm readying a lot and talking with you all I won't to do the right thing for my bees. I don't want to say this is a learning exasperates but I don't want to do any thing to harm them.   I love watching them working and it's so net to be able to be there with out being afraid of them. Thanks for all you help. Tightwad
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Tightwad on June 27, 2013, 06:23:16 am
I'm still don't know no what to do with the hive. It looks Cleeing and smells good I did open a couple of the broad and there was two that where dark but no smell to the. I'm thinking they where dead and the worker bees dent Clean them out. I'm going to get back in there to day and look at them moor. I'm picking up my new Nuc Sunday. So I don't know what to do with the remanding bees. If I'm going to wipe down the hive I do have a Nuc box I can move them into while I'm clean up the box's?  I hate to cut out the frames there's honey in them. But I will do what needs to be dun. I have two Brood box's on.  The top one has just two frames drown out. What to do what to do.
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Tightwad on June 27, 2013, 04:48:35 pm
OK up date I just had my hives look at by my mentor and I have Nosema In the hive I'm have trouble with. like L-Daxon was saying!!! I'm cleaning the box's two times and getting rid of the frames. The really dark ones I got with the NYC. They are so black, black as charcoal just bought. We are going to try to save the rest of the bees I have   
I'm putting them in a NYC and going to get some meds in them.  We will see if we can save the rest ??
Thanks for your input I have learned a lot as of lately. Thanks
And I'm sending some f the come to be tested to see what Strain I have.
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: BAH on June 28, 2013, 06:57:14 pm
Thanks for the update. I haven't seen this yet but I now know what to look for. Good luck to you and your bees.
Title: Re: My bees are dying
Post by: Tightwad on June 29, 2013, 07:39:37 am
Thanks I'm learning a lot and I'm having a lot of fun with the Bess  :bee: :bee:  I moved a fram  of broad from my good hive to the Nuc and put the reaming bees in with them I hope they will make it. I was so surprise how much honey my good hive has !!!!