Beehive problems

[HedgerowHoney]

Hi guys,
I visited my bees today and again, we found about 20 dead bees in the hive, on the queen excluder and floor. There were no sign of deformities, mutations or mites on the body of the bee itself. Some look like they were alive one minute, and dead the next.
The queen (if there is one) isn't laying eggs. I know you're probably thinking there is no queen, but there are bees bringing honey in to the hive, and I'm certain I was once told that bees bring pollen in only if they have a queen. There are also open queen cells (2-3) around the hive.
They have plenty of honey in the brood box, yet they've eaten all the honey out of the super frames. They've destroyed the un-wired wax. I've been beekeeping for 4 years now, and I've never had this. It's as if they're to weak to fly. Yet we've taken no honey from them and the hive next door is doing fine.
Please, somebody, HELP ME!
Thank you

 

[VEG]

Are the queen cells you mention charged with a grub?

 

[enrico]

I think it's all to do with the queen, if she is there and off lay then it can seem to change the whole hive for the worse! There are no eggs or grubs to keep young bees busy. Older bees are still doing their job, some are probably dying of old age but not being thrown out of the hive. (you lose far more than 20 bees a day under normal circumstances!)I think you need to find the queen to make sure you DO have one! Try a test frame if you can't find her, if you do find her I would consider a replacement. However, having said all that you need to trust to your instinct. Queens go off lay, they often come back with a vengeance but patience is difficult when things seem to be so bad!
Me? I would wait, what you do is up to you.....good luck
E

 

[Queens59]

There have been bouts of Bee Paralysis Virus around here due to the weather - look online and see if the symptoms match...sounds similar. Treatment would be to requeen...

 

[HedgerowHoney]

Are the queen cells you mention charged with a grub?

No, the cells have been opened

 

[VEG]

Have they been opened by an emerging queen or torn down?

 

[HedgerowHoney]

No, they've been opened

 

[plumberman]

What Veg is trying to get at is- do they look like this, in which case a virgin has developed and successfully emerged




If the hole is at the side, then it has been torn down by the workers.

 

[VEG]

that is exactly what I meant lol

 

[HedgerowHoney]

The queen has emerged normally, probably still waiting for a mating flight

 

[beeno]

Hi HedgerowHoney,
A bit late to reply. Sounds like swarming followed by weakend colony being robbed. I actually invited robbing bees in in April to clean out my ambrosia frames which were beginning to mold. Had no bees at the time. One of the capped frames were totally ruined.