Dead Hive

[elvis]

Hiya. I am new to the forum.
We are in our 3rd year of beekeeping and had 4 hives going into the winter. All have been fed with fondant until December and seemed quite happy.
The bees on 3 hives have been really active, seen taking pollen in over the last week. But the other hive was quiet and when we looked today the bees are all dead. There are plenty of stores of capped honey in the hive. There are also some frames with mould on. The dead bees are on the floor and scattered over several frames. I couldnt see any sign of brood. Any ideas?
What do we do with the hive now? Obviously clean off the dead bees but can we use the frames again or is it not worth the risk?
Any suggestions?

 

[RoofTops]

Difficult to know the cause without a little more information. For a starter how did you control varroa?

 

[the beehive lodge]

was the Q present ?
just curious
Alan

 

[elvis]

All the hives were treated with apiguard in October. The queen was present then but we haven't found her among the dead.
I think the hive may have been dead for a while and the bees we have seen coming in and out are those from the other hives. Today there have been loads in and out which is why I am not quite sure the best thing to do with the dead hive itself.

 

[grizzly]

I would close up and stop your other bees getting in for starters. Maybe get a sample tested ?

If the stored were predominantly fondant, lack of water they may have starved. Still not nice to open and see, sorry u lost one.

 

[RoofTops]

Apiguard in October was too late and would not have been very effective I am afraid. However, had you followed up with OA in late December you would have given the bees a big help. I fear varroa is probably most likely cause but it might have been something else, such as queen failure - but varroa is the usual suspect.

 

[Bad Boy Bee]

Hi Elvis and welcome to the forum.
There are many reasons for bees dying and as much information as you can give to the forum you will never determine the cause, only a physical and microscopic investigation will really help determine the cause. This forum is full of really helpful ideas and a wealth of experience but you are on the ground floor and as such are the only person who can really determine what happened. Three years in, you will know how your bees react to weather, treatment, environment and any of the many other factors that affect your colony.
As far as re-cycling is concerned it's a horrible process of cleaning, boiling and scorching before you introduce that equipment back into an apiary. See other threads on the how. I would take it as another lesson learned and part of the whole being a beek.

 

[Flatters]

Hiya. I am new to the forum.
There are also some frames with mould on.

Is it possible that this could point to a possible problem? If there is mould then would that not point to dampness and lack of ventilation? This would then chill the bees. So it may also be useful for the forum to know if there was an OMF, if the inspection board was left out and whether any insulation was put on top of the crown board.

 

[george]

It could be that damp was the issue . But was it there before the colony failed or after ? If it died a month or more ago and the inspection has only just been made then the mould may have come in after death .