Bees gone over winter

[jenkinsbrynmair]

if I put any type of sugar fondant ex in a colony they will leave. ( I don’t cut my queens wings)

I know many beekeepers (with multitudes of hives) who feed nothing but fondant, I know many more beekeepers who supplementary feed fondant - especially emergency late winter feeding.
Yet to hear one saying that their bees have absconded due to a piece of fondant in the hive.
I'm guessing you didn't treat your bees and they just died out.

 

[Murox]

I shut down my hive and put in winter stores and verroa strips in November last year. When I inspected the hive in February, they had all gone. I live in Normandy, France. What did I do wrong? All help appreciated. Austin

Does that mean you left the varroa strips inside the hive until Feb ?

 

[Austin]

Does that mean you left the varroa strips inside the hive until Feb ?

Yes. Is that too long?
Austin

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Yes. Is that too long?
Austin

It does rather - it would be nice to know what they were as well.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Anyway @Austin , what's done is done, you've picked up a few learning points (apart from the few who were just out to score points) we have a vague idea what went wrong (we think) my advice would be to stick with the forum, pick up some useful points during winter discussions and then start afresh in the spring (and don't forget, or be afraid to ask for help on here)

 

[Murox]

Yes. Is that too long?
Austin

Yes too long . As JMB said "It does rather - it would be nice to know what they were as well."

 

[victor meldrew]

Even if they had dwindled, one would have expected the last few hundred would have died and still been present.

Or blagged entry into an adjacent colony .

 

[Austin]

Anyway @Austin , what's done is done, you've picked up a few learning points (apart from the few who were just out to score points) we have a vague idea what went wrong (we think) my advice would be to stick with the forum, pick up some useful points during winter discussions and then start afresh in the spring (and don't forget, or be afraid to ask for help on here)

Hi, can you advise me when I should add the verroa strips, and also when I should remove them, please?
Regards,
Austin

 

[user 819]

Treatment before feeding so treat and be done by early October or before, locally may differ dependant on climate.

 

[BugsInABox]

Leave in for 6 weeks.

 

[CrossvilleBees]

If I have identified one of my hives is dwindling to very few bees, is there anything I can do to help them. The box is heavy with stores and I treated at the right times. I think the problem was they were a smaller colony going into winter but not so small that I anticipated this. They were an early season pack of Italian bees, in 14x12 National that never made into a super though as they preferred to store loads in the BB.

 

[drex]

Possibly too big a box for too few bees. Best you can do is dummy then down with celotex etc or even better get them in a poly nuc

 

[CrossvilleBees]

Possibly too big a box for too few bees. Best you can do is dummy then down with celotex etc or even better get them in a poly nuc

I have a poly nuc...so you think the disruption of moving them at this time is worth the risk?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I have a poly nuc...so you think the disruption of moving them at this time is worth the risk?

yes

 

[CrossvilleBees]

yes

Thanks...I will do so this weekend.