Help!

[Derbyshire dame]

Just looked in my have lots of dead bees on the floor. Only one clean frame with stores others have cells capped, very dark brown almost black flat not concave. No sign of the queen. This is my first season, I'm stumped, any ideas?

 

[For want of a better word]

Any eggs or larvae.... how many bees in hive?

 

[BKF Admin]

Any chance of a picture ?

 

[Easy Beesy]

Did you expect to see concave caps on cells?

 

[Derbyshire dame]

Image attached

 

[Derbyshire dame]

No but as a newbie I've read that concave probably means trouble

 

[Hivemaker.]

Image attached

Looks normal,sealed stores,no problem there.

 

[VEG]

Yep looks normal sealed honey with some pollen around

 

[Insy]

Yep when i first started i was given some hives with frames still in, looked exactly the same and i had the same reaction and thought disease.
I learnt the hard way when i scrapped the caps off in a heatwave and left in garden, 20 minutes later it looked like a swarm was landing outside back door but it was just very heavy robbing of the honey.

Enjoy the liquid gold.

 

[enrico]

Don't worry. This is a simple mistake in your second year. All that pristine white comb has changed over winter. Hundreds of bees have walked on it and it is now dark brown or even black. Scrape one open, there will be honey inside. The question is, do you have eggs or brood? You clearly have stores! If no eggs, no brood and no sign of the queen try and beg a frame of eggs from someone else....steep learning curve, but we have all been there. Let us know what else you find at your next inspection
E

 

[For want of a better word]

Looks normal,sealed stores,no problem there.

Got an image of the capped brood?..... and how many bees in hive?

First inspection of the year this morning... one of my colonies had a load of dead bees on floor, but colony thriving, I think it was the dodgy T*orns OMF that I inherited has a bowed bottom and bees could not see any reason to remove the deaders as they were not in the way!

 

[enrico]

By the way, dead bees is normal after winter, always clean the floor. The bees will keep it clean for the rest of the year.
E

 

[Derbyshire dame]

Thanks guys. I feel a lot better now. I'll look for the queen again next inspection

 

[nonstandard]

Where about in Derbyshire are you and have you joined one of the local clubs? you should find them to be supportive and and they may even be able to find you a mentor to guide you through sticky moments like this.

 

[Derbyshire dame]

Have had the experts look and there's no queen as I thought. Have my name on the list for a swarm. I was so proud of myself getting them through the winter and then........ Still not only me, lots of the 'experts' have lost colonies too. Start again

 

[Moggett]

If you have enough bees why not introduce a frame of eggs or a sealed queen cell and let them make a new queen? Surely one of the experts could spare a frame of eggs? Just a thought......