Lost colonies

[Popparand]

These colonies were all bought this year from Payne, who I was told treat them. I plan to treat using OA this month.

Lots of suggestions from beekeepers far more experienced than I am, but I really do sympathise. It's an awful feeling when colonies you have worked on over the year suddenly collapse. Unfortunately honey bees like sheep find many different ways to expire.

This year most of my hives seem pretty strong - so fingers crossed they will make it through to the spring. The lows are the price you pay for the highs. No gain without pain. Still, I was sorry to read your post and can only wish you better luck going forward.

 

[Into the lions den]

Not a regular these days...been way too busy. But...

OP states plenty stores...well there are none pictured, the bees had been breeding freely and may very well have bred themselves out of food.

It has been dead for quite some time to be a mouldy as that. Maybe the length of time it has been dead is why there are still drones being spotted by some posters.

One of the paralysis viruses is also worth considering.

N. ceranae normally kills with no dysentery present. As one poster stated, the ONLY way to be sure is to submit samples, but these may be too decayed to get a result from.

Finally, many of the dead bees are in a slightly curled position with their tongues out...….that is often a sign that they starved.

 

[drex]

Manek, you joined this forum in 2015 and your tag line says you have "only one hive left due to bad beeking " and you sound downhearted, understandably.
I suggest you put this experience behind you and learn from it. The dead outs were most likely due to starvation and inadequate varroa treatment. Use the winter to learn more about bees and beekeeping and get a mentor/ join an association.
The more study I have done, the better my bees seem to be, and most importantly the more enjoyment I get from my beekeeping.

 

[mbc]

Looks to me like (for whatever reason, as mentioned above, lack of varroa control=virus issues, and/or starvation) the queen has gone into 'last throw of the dice' survival mode and layed up an inappropriate sized nest.

 

[Barbarian]

THINK TOWARDS 2020 AND BEYOND

Do you really need to look after your bees and someone else's ?
With a back problem and boggy apiary you have good reasons to just look after your own.

Although you have been given causes for the colony loses, it could be that the strain of bees was not suitable for your locale. One way forward would be to raise replacement queens from a colony that has survived winter well. For future years, other traits such as temperment,.. productivity ... can be added.

 

[manek]

Thank you for your thoughts, O beekeepers. It's much appreciated. I've learnt about my own ignorance as much as anything.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I've learnt about my own ignorance as much as anything.

Stick around here and you'll hear plenty about other people's

 

[Hebeegeebee]

It's good that you have shared your experience, many would not.

I would point out that 2 frame feeders in November is not enough and too late. And without knowing yourself about the varroa levels, you are chancing that they are low.

 

[manek]

I fed them in September / October - and the feeders were Miller feeders. Two of those full is not enough?

Sent from my Mi A2 Lite using Tapatalk

 

[Hebeegeebee]

You only mentioned the frame feeders in November in your post. However if the bees did run out of stores, it's self evident that then they didn't get enough - or were robbed. The feed needed for a colony depends on the food in the hive at the time of feeding, the forage available at the time and the type of bee - whether they munch through stores all winter with a large brood nest or keep a small broodnest, and whether the hive is insluated.
For my girls, Ivy did not come in well this year and colonies needed to be fed a lot more than would be usual.