Lost colonies

[manek]

This week, I went to check on an apiary I'm looking after on behalf of a company, and found three dead hives. It had been almost a month since my last visit.

One I knew about - the blue mouldy bees in the images (one of the frame, the other a close-up), which I need to clear out (please ignore the mould, that's subsequent to the death of the colony a month ago) but am at a loss to explain. Queen is present, no shortage of brood or stores.

The second seemed to have just run out of stores, to my surprise given they'd taken down two full full-frame feeders' worth (no images provided) just a month ago, and had fondant available. There was a carpet of dead bees on the floor but not as many as you would think if they were all in the hive. Abscondment?

The third just seems to have died for no particular reason. I can't find any evidence of CBPB or EFB, and they had brood and stores but there was a huge pyramid of bees on the floor (see two images, one of dead bees on the floor, the other a close-up). Any thoughts on this one? Run out of water, maybe? Too cold and wet?

All are sited in the middle of a rural, agricultural landscape, reasonably sheltered, in commercial hives, configured with a fleece on top of the cover board and, in one case, a nadired super.

And yes, I know I need to clear out the dead hives but a very boggy field and a back problem (from lifting a heavy super!) have conspired to prevent my getting to grips with this earlier.

Thank you.

 

[madasafish]

I see a number of capped brood cells with holes in them. Classic signs of varroa.



Did you treat for varroa? And if so, when and how?



My guess is you have either not treated, or ineffectually and all colonies had high varroa loads...

 

[manek]

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

 

[Murox]

Cold will not kill healthy bees so could be Nosema; varroa potentially weakening them too.

 

[manek]

There was some evidence of nosema on a couple of frames but not a lot.

 

[Murox]

You will have to read up on it - Most colonies suffer to some extent. Nosema rarely kills, but it badly weakens a colony. N. Apis mostly seen in early spring, then “goes away” as the weather improves and the bees defecate outside the hive. A few bees will be infected all year, but it is the diseased late season/winter bees that matter. When they develop high levels of infection, they defecate on the combs in October, November and December, then die. Varroa exacerbate the problems.

Nosema Ceranae is susceptible to weather, especially cold weather. The spores can be killed by refrigeration or by freezing.

 

[drex]

There was some evidence of nosema on a couple of frames but not a lot.

You probably mean faeces On the frames. This is not necessarily evidence of nosema. The only reliable indicator of infection is a smear examined under the microscope

 

[Ian123]

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

The hives the nucs are made up from would likely have last been treated in the winter so yes they are treated but sounds like you are suggesting no autumn treatment was done. Relying on a single winter treatment is asking for trouble, and also not allowing for external factors. Also am not seeing stores in the pictures even ripped of capping edges allowing for the fact they may have been robbed out after death!! Frame feeders really contain very little

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

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

way too late - I'm assuming they were bought as nucs spring/early summer and raised into full colonies, by the time the autumn arrived they would have had a moderate to heavy mite load, which would have been the time to treat - knocking back mite numbers to the minimum and ensuring your winter bees weren't compromised. By the time the 'traditional' Christmas trickle comes along, the bees you will depend on to raise the first spring surge of new bees are knackered.
It is far more important to sort out your autumn treatment and do a damn good job of it than fixate on the christmas one.
I haven't treated my colonies midwinter for years, the only reason some are being done now is, for various reasons they didn't get a full hit in September/October.

 

[Poly Hive]

When you say fondant available was it over the crownboard or on the topbars?

PH

 

[pargyle]

When you say fondant available was it over the crownboard or on the topbars?

PH

Yes .. I was thinking along those lines.. the piles of bees looks big but it's nowhere near a full colony. There's no stores on the frame that the few that are left are sat on but there is some capped brood .. I wonder if they just refused to move up to the fondant and starved where they are ... bees are very silly sometimes.

 

[manek]

When you say fondant available was it over the crownboard or on the topbars?

PH

On the top bars.

 

[Swinton apiaries]

Collected up all nuc hives and top feeders and put into dry storage ready for fettling ready for coming season made sure all hives in all aperies Are ready for the gusty winds forecast later today

 

[Poly Hive]

I obviously cannot talk for what the weather was like down south but of the 13 nucs I took a serious chance on 6 have gone already, why? Queen failure as far as I can see. Domed cappings so drone layers in 4 cases and two just didn't build up and the wasps got them. *shrug* yes it hurts but when the rain is virtually non stop you have to do what you can and if it works it's a bouns and if not well at least I tried.

PH

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

That's sad PH, but as you say, you did your best in the circumstances.
Down South, the rain has been a real problem right through the last month or so, limiting what can be done.
My problem is "beating myself up" when things go bad - as I don't always know what is best in the circumstances - that comes with time and experience.

 

[Ian123]

PH you are not alone the abundant ivy that normally produces a good deal of winter food did not materialise and the cold and rain has meant nucs that would normally be busting at the seams are rather small. Also they definitely stopped rearing brood earlier as when I transfered some to poly a few weeks back only a couple had brood. So whilst no obvious losses as yet I would not be surprised to see a few extra not make it into spring.

 

[madasafish]

Lost 2 out of 8 nucs to wasps. Bad weather post June made raising nucs and queen rearing a struggle..

Bee keeping would be boring if it was easy..

 

[mbc]

Lost 2 out of 8 nucs to wasps. Bad weather post June made raising nucs and queen rearing a struggle..

Bee keeping would be boring if it was easy..

Very true, death is part of the cycle, if it wasn't we'd be knee deep in bees.

 

[Millet]

I do not have any nucs this year just colonies in national poly brood boxes..i lost two last year due to Queen failure that produced what i presume superseded drone laying Queens as the original 2018 Queen where doing fine in Autumn..
This year i have one out of eight that is rather small and 50/50 whether it will make it..i have done all i can do with it so it is now in the hands of the gods..here is praying it still has a 2019 Queen laying in there somewhere.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

I may be mistaken (I frequently am) but there appear to be many more drones in the photographs than is quite right for this time of year. Could the queen have come to the end of her useful worker-laying life and became a drone layer late in the season?

CVB