any ideas from these pics?

[Cuckmere couple]

i know ill be told i shouldnt have mouse guards on, but, with tape it was reducing entrance as i had one colony almost destroyed by wasps

Context

have just finished 4 weeks apiguard and started feeding, torrential rain today and saw this on all 4 garden hives simultaneously

 

[enrico]

I am totally guessing but they may be dragging out drone brood.looks a mess!
E

 

[pargyle]

Looks like drones and drone larvae to me ? Might be nothing to do with the the treatment - just clearing out ready for winter ? Or it killed mites that were on the drone brood and they recognised that the drones were defective ? Did you have a heavy mite load ?

 

[madasafish]

Food shortage..?????

 

[Cuckmere couple]

just been to other apiary and the same pretty much

so out of 10 colonies of which 1 is a nuc....7 had this...all on same day and after finishing apigurad and feeding and during very heavy rain, not a single sign of it yesterday

could it be because i put any remaining crystals from apiguard tray on top of brood bars?

the 3 double brood colonies had significantly less and the double brood colony which had cleared the apiguard tray had no crystals put on top bars and had no larvae out the front at all

or, because of the weather, more bees to do house duties clearing up drone etc?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I know it’s not what you asked but putting tape over a mouse guard doesn’t act as a reduced entrance. What you have left for the bees is a line of separate entrances to defend.
Why not chisel a bee space slot in one side of a normal block and turn it over?

And yes, drone brood. Though there seems a lot for this time of year
Have you checked stores?

 

[Cuckmere couple]

thanks Dani re mouseguard advice...i need to make up some entrance blocks as I ran out

 

[Millet]

I had similar happen in my first season when I used apilife var..

 

[Ian123]

Not uncommon for brood to be killed or cleaned out with apigaurd on but you say end of treatment? That’s surprising. Is it drone or worker

 

[Cuckmere couple]

not sure which brood it is

it was the final day of apiguard and i scooped out dry crystals left and placed them on the top bars as i removed the tray...someone told me to do this...i wonder if thats what caused it

it has happened in 7/10 hives all the day after having done that

 

[Ian123]

When was the last time you checked it could have been there a while and looking closer I think I can see worker but pic is not great on phone

 

[Cuckmere couple]

yesterday...there was nothing there at all on any of them

today 7 of 10 have it in two different apiaries

 

[drex]

I always use Apiguard at this time and always put the few leftover crystals on top bars and never experience anything like this. As suggested I would check stores levels. I would be reassured that it is happening in most hives and is likely a drone clear out.

 

[enrico]

The reason they are at the entrance is that it was raining hard. The bees just heaved them out. On a nice day I don't think you would have seen them as the bees would have moved them away.
E

 

[Cuckmere couple]

so its becoming a mystery then..i was thinking it had to do with apiguard left over crystals

most colonies have good stores and am now feeding after apiguard...some have taken syrup down overnight...but the ones with most brood out of the front have taken least i would say

 

[Cuckmere couple]

thanks Enrico

i have checked the front most days watching bees come and go and the grass in front and havent seen anything

if it had been stores, it wouldnt all happen on same day

the only other thing that is common is thymolised syrup being fed

 

[Cuckmere couple]

I always use Apiguard at this time and always put the few leftover crystals on top bars and never experience anything like this. As suggested I would check stores levels. I would be reassured that it is happening in most hives and is likely a drone clear out.

there was some drone brood in the hives i checked two weeks ago between apiguard treatments so that would figure i guess

 

[Smallbeehive]

I am only a new bee keeper so take my only and last experience with apiguard as you wish.

I had to remove the apiguard after 3 days as per advice from local beekeepers near me, I had dead bee's everywhere 2nd and 3rd morning running after installing the apiguard and it clearly seriously affected the hive, loads of bee's outside hive all night trying to get away from fumes (who could barely move) this has never ever happened in the 4 months of me having the bee's and as soon as apiguard went in things changed and I saw bee's with their tongue out/ couldn't fly on the floor around hive.
I won't be using that stuff ever again after this experience.

Apiguard was used beginning of September and used exactly as directed by instructions and from advice from local beekeeper group, correct dosage 1 tray for 1 full national brood box with eke spacer on brood box, open tray placed on top of frames of brood nest.