ALL Dead

[rink123]

Hi All I have lost one of my hives recently ,I noticed they had been quiet for a couple of days when I opened them they were all dead .Do you think its cold or starvation maybe a combination of both?

 

[kathrynat]

Sorry for your loss. I was met with a similar sight today. I thought I had better check on them after the FERA warning of starvation and they were all dead. They were flying on the last nice day. They had fondant above them. I think mine died from the cold

 

[TOBY-3652]

. They had fondant above them. I think mine died from the cold..I HAVE HAD 5 DIE UP 2 NOW. ALL HAD FONDANT ABOVE THEM, ON TOP OF THE CROWN BOARD, BUT THEY WOULDNT CROSS THE GAP TO GET THE FONDANT. 3 DAYS AGO {RIGHTLY OR WRONGLY} I PUT THE FONDANT ON TOP OF THE FRAMES WHERE THE BEES ARE I DID THIS TO 5 COLONIES THAT WERE AS SMALL AS THE ONES I HAD LOST..ALL I CAN DO NOW IS PRAY 4 SOME GOOD WEATHER AND GET SOME SYRUP ON 2 THEM

 

[Finman]

. They had fondant above them. I think mine died from the cold..:

I think that bees retreated to cluster during cold night (brood?) and they do not reached those last sugar pieces. Their fuel ceased.

 

[kathrynat]

Mine had the fondant on the frames and not on the crown board, plenty of bees but still lost them. I hope your bees make it

 

[Finman]

. They had fondant above them. I think mine died from the cold..:

I think that bees retreated to cluster during cold night (brood?) and they do not reached those last sugar pieces. Their fuel ceased.

Colony was perhaps small and had too much space around them.

 

[TOBY-3652]

Colony was perhaps small and had too much space around them...... 3 COLONIES WAS DEFFINATLY SMALL... HOPE EVERYONE ELSES ARE OK AND NOT TOO MANY LOSSES THIS YEAR

 

[Swarm]

Such a sad sight, all those beautiful bees. I'm so sorry for you rink123.

 

[MrGrumpy]

I'd agree with Finman, it looks like they couldn't quite reach the last of the fondant.

But there aren't many on the frame. Usually a starved colony will die quickly, and many will die with just their little backsides sticking out of the cells, which isn't what I see here. There are an awful lot of dead ones on the floor, though.

I'd normally put this down to nosema weakening the colony, probably over a period of weeks, to a state where it just can't move far enough to reach food, stores or anything. Although there's no obvious sign of dystentery, its absence isn't conclusive (especially if starvation is a factor), and only a microscope can really tell you if it's there.

Like many, I'm sceptical that bees do die of cold, as such, unless the colony is already too weak to survive. But then I live in a balmy borough of London, and it might be different in the chillier shires.

 

[beeno]

Hi all,
Sorry to hear of your losses. If they were not large enough clusters going into winter ie lack of winter bees and spring not progressing very well then it is inevitable. Sometimes situations arise were beek has no control. I am sure you did all you could. I feel that my colonies are hanging on for dear life and this cold snap is all they needed! I put my ear to the hive tonight, and they are still alive, but who knows. We certainly need some warm weather for the bees to bring some pollen in!

 

[whoosling]

So sad I'm sorry about your lovely bees

 

[susbees]

We've lost one today too R, and I'd say two or three look quite low on bees. Consensus is that poor matings etc have resulted in late supersedure queens going poorly or unmated...so no new bees being made and colony at natural lowest ebb now and loses critical mass. Very experienced beeks with near-natives have got hives with smaller than usual clusters and that I'm hearing from many in Shropshire. Just one of these things - though always worse when you have just a handful or less colonies.

Can't wait to fill in the winter losses survey in a week or so

 

[Erichalfbee]

So sorry too.
One of my colonies had a similar number of bees on the floor. I know there were little or no bees laid after last autumn's thymol. The remaining frame or two of bees were put in a dummied three frame polynuc with neopoll straight on the top bars. I don't expect to see any alive when I next look in though I did spot the odd foreigner being wrestled out of the entrance ten days or so when it was warm....er.

 

[Dishmop]

Did you check that they were actually dead?

 

[gregior]

Did you check that they were actually dead?

i was thinking that,they look alive,but in suspended animation mode to me,a night indoors could well revive them!

Little hope of them surviving longer term though i'm afraid.

 

[Suzi Q]

Sorry about your bees, . Perhaps they were infected with nosema, there is some diarrhea on the plastic on the topbars?

 

[Lorenz]

Were they heads down in the cells? If so, probably starvation was one reason.

 

[masterBK]

Natural selection. When I have winter losses after I have fed my colonies sufficent in the autumn to get through the longest of winters I take in on the chin and breed/ replace from the survivors and expect losses in subsequent hard winters will be lower. This is what adaptation to our climate is all about. This winter is a wake up call for those people keeping soft bees that only do OK when we have short mild winters. Winter hardyness is a characteristic that should be positively selected for as we can expect such winters more often in the future if we are to believe the climatologists.

 

[snoop]

Have you checked them for Nosema , there is bee poop onthe fondant bag on the photo on the left

 

[Ivor Kemp]

I lost a colony this year to Nosema.

Really pleased with myself that all four hives had got through the winter.

Three weeks ago noticed the bees in one were really sluggish, not flying but vibrating their wings in very odd fashion. Loads of store remained and they were not touching the fondant. Hundreds of dead bees outside front of hive.

When I looked in brood chamber tell-tale brown stains everywhere.

All dead within a week!