Bees crawling around in the grass in front of the hive

[Paulataverner]

Hi
I'm a new beekeeper (2weeks) so please be gentle. I had a swarm in my garden and have been looking into and learning about keeping bees for a while. A friend who has 3 hives and a few years of experience came over with a spare brood box and we transferred them from my hedge to the brood box. A couple of days later my hive arrived and we moved them into their new home.
The first week my colony was very busy and I enjoyed watching my bees come and go into the hive loaded with pollen.
Last week the weather took a turn for the worse and was very cold in essex.
They have sugar syrup to keep them nourished as they have very little stores of their own.
Today the weather has finally warmed up but I have noticed quite a few bees crawling in the grass in front of the hive. Approx 40
Could this be because of the cold and no food stores or a nasty mite or could it be the stress of moving them from the spare brood box into their new hive.
Any advise would be really appreciated.

 

[For want of a better word]

What did you feed to them?

Nos da

 

[Paulataverner]

I gave them 1:1 sugar water as suggested by another beekeeper.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Sometimes I see otherwise healthy bees crawling in the grass near the hives, they seem to be collecting dew from the bottom of the grass stems.

If these bees are shiny they might have CBPV. If so, try reading this thread http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=29505&highlight=cbpv

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Relax: it's completely normal (but very emotional to see). Old knackered foragers, too worn out to fly, walk. If they are pollen foragers walking towards the hive they can sometimes be saved but mainly the thing is you are dealing (at this tme of the year) with tens of thousands of creatures who live six weeks so around a thousand die every day.

 

[Paulataverner]

Thank you every one for replies and advise. I will keep monitoring over the next few days and hopefully things will improve

 

[beeno]

Hi Paula,
It could be Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus two types one with shiny bees one without. Nothing you can do if it is, but hopefully with the warmer weather things may improve. Good luck.

 

[enrico]

One final thing to check, just have a look under the hive and make sure they are not clustering under the floor, sometimes in new hives they don't find the entrance but fly under the hive where they can see their mates through the floor but can't get to them. On a cold night they will get cold and drop off into the grass. If that is the case then block off the area between the bottom of the front of the hive and the ground. But basically, I wouldn't worry too much!
Good luck
E

 

[Swarm]

Relax: it's completely normal (but very emotional to see). Old knackered foragers, too worn out to fly, walk. If they are pollen foragers walking towards the hive they can sometimes be saved but mainly the thing is you are dealing (at this tme of the year) with tens of thousands of creatures who live six weeks so around a thousand die every day.

Forget anything sinister, these are the basic facts.

 

[Paulataverner]

Hi everyone. Just an update. It ends up my swarm has/had chronic bee paralysis the type with dislocated wings. The one with k wings. I now have very few bees and no queen. So will have to start again once I have sterilised my hive tools and suit.
So sad.
Thanks for all the replies. No doubt I will be asking many more questions in time.

 

[Fatbee]

This seems a rapid decline, especially a colony that was fit enough to swarm just a couple if weeks ago. How have you diagnosed it?

Very unfortunate for this to happen on your first swarm.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Oh I'm so sorry to hear that. Good luck


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[Hivemaker.]

This seems a rapid decline,

It is often very rapid, all okay one week, stuffed the next, that is why so many think at first that the problem is spray poisoning.

 

[Fatbee]

Is it me or does there seem to be a lot more reports of it this year (or perhaps more awareness?).

 

[Hivemaker.]

Is it me or does there seem to be a lot more reports of it this year (or perhaps more awareness?).

It seems to be an increasing problem over the last four or five years, and getting quite serious now in some areas, the BFA carried out a survey recently, as some members were reporting big losses due to this disease.

 

[Fatbee]

Thanks. One for all of us to read up on so we don't suffer like the poor poster on this thread. Not a disease I'm familiar with

 

[Nige.Coll]

Not really a rapid decline. CBPV can take a full colony out in a week. I had it in a double brood colony and the first I knew about it was finding about 2 lbs of dead bees, they were fine the week before no warning signs or black shaking bees. Saved them but wow what a nasty thing to get.

It is a very unfortunate start though. Don't get down about it file it under **** happens.

 

[beeno]

I had a colony with CBPV three years ago, but I cannot say that I saved them they recovered?

 

[protheroe]

One of mine has it.week before last hundreds of dead shiny bees many with deformed abdomens were ejected with the hive having a big clean out and bees still being ejected daily.still a fairly strong colony on triple brood with one box full of pollen so I just hope they can recover.
I had a colony a few years ago which I thought had poisoning.I couldn't see the mesh on floor as it was thick with dead bees which recovered and thinking about it now that could have been paralysis.