Complete dead out !

[Erichalfbee]

That would have been established in Autumn on the last check.

Yes you would have. Did Bernard?

 

[BernardBlack]

Agree with Hemo; when did you treat in Autumn, Bernard?

Would have to check my records but I put Apiguard on around Aug/Sept.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I double checked. Treatment was around 29/30 December.

Did you check the drop?

 

[BernardBlack]

Did you check the drop?

Yes, it was quite low for that colony.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Yes, it was quite low for that colony.

Can be misleading: if there was even a modest amount of brood present the mites would be in there, safe from treatment.

 

[rossbyjove]

As it is winter and well into brood rearing at this time of year, the usual two or three suspects have to be visited . Varroa , starvation often can be a combo of the two or queen failure.
The pics are handy for a autopsy of the colony in general.

I opened it up briefly the other day but rain stopped play.....again.
Plenty of well sited stores and they were treated for Varroa with Apiguard and a couple of Oxalic vapes.
That colony has always produced poor Queens and I suspect she pegged it and that's that.
Not at all productive.
Blessing in disguise as she was marked but always managed to hide from me.
Going to clean the hive out and start again !

 

[rossbyjove]

I opened it up briefly the other day but rain stopped play.....again.
Plenty of well sited stores and they were treated for Varroa with Apiguard and a couple of Oxalic vapes.
That colony has always produced poor Queens and I suspect she pegged it and that's that.
Not at all productive.
Blessing in disguise as she was marked but always managed to hide from me.
Going to clean the hive out and start again !

The weather is at T shirt level right now and not raining, so I opened up the dead hive and it looks like starvation. Lot's of dead bees heads in.
Four frames of untouched honey in the centre and they decided to cluster at the back.
That duff queen has made her last crap decision.
Blessing in disguise, **** happens etc....

 

[rossbyjove]

Can I render the wax down from the frames they were on?
Should I put the untouched frames in the remaining hive.
Not sure about opening them up right now, wait a bit ?
Would that give them a head start for filling supers?

 

[pargyle]

Can I render the wax down from the frames they were on?
Should I put the untouched frames in the remaining hive.
Not sure about opening them up right now, wait a bit ?
Would that give them a head start for filling supers?

Yes you, can render the wax on the frames down - if they are brood frames don't expect too much, from them.
Unless the other hive needs stores I would not be opening them up to swap frames around.
It's still winter - one warm day does not make it T-Shirt weather or summer.
No.

 

[user 819]

Why do folks want to fiddle so early just because of a few days of double digit weather , Feb is only a week old.

 

[rossbyjove]

Yes you, can render the wax on the frames down - if they are brood frames don't expect too much, from them.
Unless the other hive needs stores I would not be opening them up to swap frames around.
It's still winter - one warm day does not make it T-Shirt weather or summer.
No.

The T shirt weather lasted about an hour.
Took the dead hive apart and cleaned and scorched it.
There were what looked like some Wax moth cocoons lurking, they are gone.
Cheers.

 

[pargyle]

Why do folks want to fiddle so early just because of a few days of double digit weather , Feb is only a week old.

I think there is a degree of panic spread amongst (some) beekeeping circles... worry about lack of stores, worry about queen failure, worry about varroa .. it encourages less experienced beekeepers to start fiddling too early in the new year and it really does not help colonies .. if they are weak to start with it could just be the straw that breaks the camel's back .

The reality is:

If they have got this far then you are nearly there - worried about the stores situation ? - Well it's a bit late now, the time to worry was in the Autumn when they should have been well fed and hefting/weighing through the last few months should have told you how fast stores were being consumed. If you slipped up on the autumn feed - fondant is now your best friend.

If they are dead - that's an end to it. Clean it, treat it for waxmoth, shut it up.

If they are beyond the point of no return there's no benefit in fiddling about trying to do anything now, let them be, bit of fondant, if they need it and let them get on with it. They may be dead by spring but that's the way of things.

Healthy lookinhg colonies, flying when the weather is right, weighing or hefting at a reasonable weight ? The worst thing you can do is start fiddling about with them.

 

[rossbyjove]

I think there is a degree of panic spread amongst (some) beekeeping circles... worry about lack of stores, worry about queen failure, worry about varroa .. it encourages less experienced beekeepers to start fiddling too early in the new year and it really does not help colonies .. if they are weak to start with it could just be the straw that breaks the camel's back .

The reality is:

If they have got this far then you are nearly there - worried about the stores situation ? - Well it's a bit late now, the time to worry was in the Autumn when they should have been well fed and hefting/weighing through the last few months should have told you how fast stores were being consumed. If you slipped up on the autumn feed - fondant is now your best friend.

If they are dead - that's an end to it. Shut it up.

If they are beyond the point of no return there's no benefit in fiddling about trying to do anything now, let them be, bit of fondant, if they need it and let them get on with it. They may be dead by spring but that's the way of things.

Healthy lookinhg colonies, flying when the weather is right, weighing or hefting at a reasonable weight ? The worst thing you can do is start fiddling about with them.

 

[rossbyjove]

Quite a few flying today.
I am on here for the advice and I just got some.
LEAVE THEM ALONE RIGHT NOW !

 

[ericbeaumont]

opened up the dead hive and it looks like starvation. Lot's of dead bees heads in.
Four frames of untouched honey in the centre and they decided to cluster at the back.
That duff queen

Isolation starvation may have been the result but the cause was a poor queen producing insuffucient bees late last year. A bigger winter colony would have been able to cover more combs and access nearby stores.

colony has always produced poor Queens

Be ruthless, cull when you spot this habit and unite to something better.

Took the dead hive apart and cleaned and scorched it.

Best course of action, but I cannot resist adding that it was the colony that died and not the hive.

 

[rossbyjove]

Isolation starvation may have been the result but the cause was a poor queen producing insuffucient bees late last year. A bigger winter colony would have been able to cover more combs and access nearby stores.


Be ruthless, cull when you spot this habit and unite to something better.


Best course of action, but I cannot resist adding that it was the colony that died and not the hive.

That colony always produced poor queens.
The original swarm came from someone who said she always had trouble with poor queens.
She kills all her drones and complained about bees getting angry when she opened hives in the rain !
She offered me another last year and I said I hope the queen is better quality than the last one.
She took offense at something we had both agreed on and refused to give me the swarm.
Every cloud has a silver lining.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Just by looking at the cappings dropping through the floor I have one colony that seems to have used the warm temperatures to break cluster and open honey cells on outer frames. Don't suppose they've been moving stores but might have filled their stomachs. Just guessing.

 

[ericbeaumont]

kills all her drones

To achieve what?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

To achieve what?

I doubt she knows - just something she was told to do as a form of swarm control

 

[Erichalfbee]

Some beginners are told that drones are a waste of time and tge bees produce more honey if they don’t have them.
Truth is they just make more drones.