Dead bees

[Duchy]

2 weeks ago, when I did the oxalic treatment and put some ambosia on, my bees were fine. Today, the bees in one hive have all died. No obvious signs of desease. Could it be that when I put the Ambrosia on, the bees broke the cluster and froze?

 

[beeno]

2 weeks ago, when I did the oxalic treatment and put some ambosia on, my bees were fine. Today, the bees in one hive have all died. No obvious signs of desease. Could it be that when I put the Ambrosia on, the bees broke the cluster and froze?

Hi Duchy,
So, sorry to hear that you lost one hive. Two weeks ago I think it was very cold? If, so I would personally have waited for a warmish day for the trickling itself.

 

[richardbees]

Duchy
how many seams of bees did you have ? Maybe the colony just wasn't strong enough to get through that v cold patch.

 

[Polyanwood]

Hello Duchy,

Bad Luck. I found the same had happened to a hive this week. Isolation starvation. They were treated for varroa between Christmas and New Year.

You probably did nothing wrong. 1 in 5 colonies don't make it through the Winter.

 

[Luminos]

Sorry to hear about your bees, Duchy. You still have a remaining colony, so you can't have done anything wrong, or you'd have lost them both?

 

[oliver90owner]

Could it be that when I put the Ambrosia on, the bees broke the cluster and froze?

Doubtful. More likely they were nosemic and the oxalic treatment led to their demise.

 

[Gower]

Hello Duchy,

Bad Luck. I found the same had happened to a hive this week. Isolation starvation. They were treated for varroa between Christmas and New Year.

You probably did nothing wrong. 1 in 5 colonies don't make it through the Winter.

treated 5 hives in main apiary just after New Year - checked last weekend as there was a brief respite in the weather and bees were flying well out of 4 hives. the 5th had no signs of life - opened it up and all had perished. there was plenty of honey in the stores and fondant, so could well have been diseased...

 

[Hivemaker.]

1 in 5 colonies don't make it through the Winter.

20% winter losses.

 

[Finman]

.
There are many kind of winter losses.
To me 20% altogether is normal

- direct dead out
- laying queen missing
- a queen loses its laying power
-big losses of cluster nosema/varroa
- joining weak hives

i have a long path from September to May

i keep 20% sparehives that I need not to cry.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I would call up to 7% more acceptable here.

Sure it will be more in some places after the 2012 season.

 

[itma]

2 weeks ago, when I did the oxalic treatment and put some ambosia on, my bees were fine. Today, the bees in one hive have all died. No obvious signs of desease. Could it be that when I put the Ambrosia on, the bees broke the cluster and froze?

What "signs of disease" did you look for?
What form of "Ambrosia" and how was it offered? Was any taken?
How much stores remained in the hive?

Hello Duchy,

Bad Luck. I found the same had happened to a hive this week. Isolation starvation. They were treated for varroa between Christmas and New Year.

You probably did nothing wrong. 1 in 5 colonies don't make it through the Winter.

20% losses is surely way higher than either typical or achievable.
Many would take the opportunity of the hive being open for varroa treatment to also re-arrange the stores (and if necessary, add fondant).

I don't see any evidence here that Duchy's bees suffered "isolation starvation". Sure, it happens. But so do other things.