A few dead bee larvae outside hive

[bee bee king]

I found some dead bee larvae about 7 out side on ground about 3 weeks ago. Hive behaving normal but the occupants only put in there in April 29th from a swarm. Found 2 more dead larvae this afternoon.
What causes larvae to be ejected ? Just to add I havent seen them carried out by bees they are just on the floor.

 

[REDWOOD]

You might have chalk brood and hopefully nothing more sinister
Go to bee base and have a read
https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/index.cfm?sectionid=70

 

[enrico]

Or larvae damaged in inspections. Usually nothing to worry about.
E

 

[bee bee king]

You might have chalk brood and hopefully nothing more sinister
Go to bee base and have a read
https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/index.cfm?sectionid=70

Cheers thanks for that.

 

[bee bee king]

Or larvae damaged in inspections. Usually nothing to worry about.
E

Not damaged due to my inspections as I havent looked inside for 4 weeks now. I have no experience and foolishly thought the bees would only need looking at every month or so ?

 

[enrico]

Mmmm! You certainly only need to look in your hives for a reason and if this is a new hive then it is unlikely that you need to assess much, I trust you realise that next year will be very different and that weekly inspections are a good idea to prevent/manage swarm control.
E

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Better get ready for swarms then - bees, at this time of year need checking every seven days otherwise you might miss a queen cell, and off they'll go!

 

[BeeJayBee]

You need to inspect more often than that. Do you know the condition of this colony, amount of brood and level of stores etc?

 

[bee bee king]

Mmmm! You certainly only need to look in your hives for a reason and if this is a new hive then it is unlikely that you need to assess much, I trust you realise that next year will be very different and that weekly inspections are a good idea to prevent/manage swarm control.
E

Thanks for your reply, I think I'll have a look in next couple of days to get experience ow I know where to come for advice.

 

[bee bee king]

You need to inspect more often than that. Do you know the condition of this colony, amount of brood and level of stores etc?

Okay I will have alook but not sure I could identify anything other than foundation and err .....bees. Ive seen some larger than worker size ones that I presume are drones. Havent seen a queen yet.

 

[Teemore]

You would find it hugely helpful to watch another beekeeper at work. Find someone amenable to your visiting their apiary and with luck they will also involve you in hive inspections, highlighting the things that you need to be aware of in the hive. Are you a member of a beekeeping association? They may have an association apiary where you can learn some hive craft.
It appears that you have jumped in at the deep end with your beekeeping so best of luck with your endeavours and make use of this forum for support. The old threads are a great source of information. One of the best things you can do is begin to trawl through some of those older threads to help build up your working knowledge of the range of things to expect from colonies of honey bees.

 

[beeno]

Hi bee bee king,
The most important thing for you to learn is What Healthy Brood Looks Like. Google it. Then if you have any worries you can ask the forum. Hey, you know what larvae looks like too! Do make sure you are suited and booted before playing around with bees. Have fun.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Okay I will have alook but not sure I could identify anything other than foundation and err .....bees. Ive seen some larger than worker size ones that I presume are drones. Havent seen a queen yet.

There are a number of good, and bad, videos on youtube that show inspections. There are also a lot of pictures in the Beebase gallery that might help you.

You don't need to see the queen, but do need to make sure she's still there - and for that you need to see eggs, which will hopefully be in a good pattern. You need to be able to identify cappings for worker brood and drone brood too.

Have you joined your local BKA?