bees just vanished

[oliver90owner]

Agree with nonstandard and Hivemaker.

But if the bees were very quiet on the frames they could be shaken into a receiver through a funnel?

I always find loads of bees left on the hive walls, but i've never checked at night...

Also check to see if the floor is less stuck than expected; they may have used an alternative method. Some of mine need a crowbar to separate the brood and floor but some new combinations will slide easily, so conclusions should not be drawn hastily.

I reckon they are now a shook swarm on National frames or part of nucs for some dodgy sales (or the whole hive would have gone).

If any bees come back you will suspect a local thief.

The only other alternative is there was something very nasty, emanating from the extra box you put on...

RAB

 

[dpearce4]

hi vince

any news?

 

[vince20]

hi guys just a quick up date noting doing on the bees sat up late watching them noting or no one came round spoke to farmer were i keep them he saw noting just found out today one of the local bee culbs have there apiary just one field away could they have been lured away

 

[garethbryson]

Ccd????

 

[Vergilius]

But if they were nicked, why didn't the thieves just take the whole hive rather than just the bees???


Ben P

 

[oliver90owner]

why didn't the thieves just take the whole hive

Wrong format?
Bees are not traceable?
Plod will not investigate?
Easier to carry away?

Enough for a start?

could they have been lured away

They will not have been 'lured' away.
Bees do not leave brood in all stages for no good reason.
House bees under about 4 days old do not fly.
Some would have returned, or will return, if only a field away.

Enough to convince you?

RAB

 

[biglongdarren]

anyway of telling that the frames in the hive now are the frames that were in the hive before the bees disappeared?...why couldnt somebody come and take all your bees and frames of brood and eggs and replace your frames with frames they had of brood and eggs that were maybe placed in a fridge to kill all,leaving you wondering what the hell happened??? and maybe then keeping your bees and using your chilled frames for there next job??
Darren or Colubmo to my friends!

 

[Eyeman]

I had this happen to me a few years ago. All bees gone except the queen on her own on a frame. The feeder on top of the crown board had leaked and I presume they all decided to up sticks and leave. So it may have been that second brood box that did the dastardly deed.
Alec

 

[biglongdarren]

Hey i was down at the Federation of Irish Beekeepers Assocations summer course in Gormanstown today and Professor Robert Pickard was giving a lecture and he was saying that sometimes if a hive gets alot of abuse from wasps,all the bees can just leave and then the wasps go in and kill and eat everything in the hive.
maybe this is what happened.
Darren.

 

[sugarbush]

In the US we have a government run beelab. When explainable things lkike this happen we can bag up whats left and send it in for testing.

May be see if you have a similar program. But my guess would be that there is something about the super they did not like.

 

[Lance Hutchings]

Alien abduction ?

 

[The Apprentices]

A night time shook swarm is a possibility, the lady of the house has gone also I presume.

 

[Dishmop]

baby bees cannot fly,so there must be bees of some sort still in the hive.

by experience I cant fully agree with this, but will no doubt be corrrected as I am only stating my experience.

The bees in my obs hive have on 4 occasions left the hive...En masse..All of them. Then after 20 minutes they came back. However, there was quite a few bees on the ground which might have been new bees which couldnt fly very well but had managed to get out of the hive. Each time it has happened the weather has been very hot.

 

[astabada]

Have you ever heard of bee "hoovers"? They're used to collect unwanted strain colonies.