Piles of dead bees under hives

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Except when they carry and replicate CBPV.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18243390/

I've read that, a theory founded on very little proof

 

[Oculentum]

Perhaps a bit of stewed apple and custard to help it along ?

If you wish, but I find the dry powder to be less messy

 

[Jules59]

Ant powder will be lethal to bees too - if you’re using it around the hives and the bees are coming into contact with it, or water that has been in contact with the powder, that may be why you have piles of dead bees.

I considered that too. I used it once and the ants are still there. Its definitely CBPV and has been going on for weeks.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/a-way-to-combat-cbpv.51048/

 

[robmort]

Thanks for the replies. I've removed the floors. The queens in each of the infected hives are still laying strongly with 5 or more frames of brood so I'm hoping that they'll recover soon, and not sure if requeening will help.

 

[Jules59]

You will get a range of opinions as hard scientific evidence as how to best manage cbpv is absent as far as I can see.
My opinion; if its really bad and not showing signs of improving consider euthanising sooner rather than later -otherwise you waste a lot of time and effort and still end up with a dead colony.
Ive done that this year to the original colony that went down with cbpv and was much more severe than the other other colonies that have subsequently been infected and now seem to be recovering - having requeened themselves whilst suffering on-going cbpv.

 

[robmort]

The CBPV still looks really bad as 100's of bees are dying every day in each hive, but maybe not as bad as it was. There are still plenty of bees filling the brood box and plenty of brood. They are not collecting much nectar but that may be the weather despite plenty of bramble flowers. This is why I doubt if requeening will help.

 

[Swarm]

Requeen and feed thin syrup.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

This is why I doubt if requeening will help.

at this stage I doubt it too - get them over an open floor, wait until the die-offs stop and they seem to be recovering (or at least not getting any worse) then consider requeening, but sometimes you will find they will do it themselves - I had one like that a few years ago, they requeened and the following spring they were off like a shot and were one of the first colonies I had to Demaree as they were building up so strongly. That particular queen is still in there and this year again is laying like a train and under a Demaree as I type.

 

[warsaw_hive]

There's a good presentation here in case you haven't seen it.

 

[OldFarm]

One of my colonies had it last year. It was severe. Dealt with it in the same way as EFB plus scorched the ground the hive stood on and haven't used that spot since. It's an insect based disease, not just bees.

 

[Tony Warren]

I would recommend that to watch this presentation. by Prof Giles Budge of Newcastle Uni. One of my hives had CBPV about 5 years ago. The standard NBU advise then was to shake out the bees 10m away for the healthy one to return to the hive. This doesn't work as the bees have the virus and show as healthy before symptoms emerge. The advice was to re-queen, there is no evidence that this as works. The virus is transmitted through contact and the dead bees carry the virus. I removed the floor and made Correx trays to lay on the ground under and in front of the hive to catch the dead and dying bees. I cleared these twice a day. I added two more boxes to the hive to reduce crowding. In 7 days the number of dead bees was minimal and after that the hive recovered to produce a very good crop. The extra space added did cause a bit of chaos with comb build randomly but fairly easy to sort out.

 

[robmort]

Its a good talk, concise and objective.
I've removed the floors, added ekes and cleared dead bees. Maybe it's improving already but too early to be sure.

 

[ericbeaumont]

ant powder I sprinkled around the hive legs

ants are no problem to the bees

Agree with JBM: the nuc below had been attacked in winter by green woodpeckers in three places; the roof holes were enough for the ants to burrow in, but the bees and ants lived separately.

If ants get into the bee zone it's a different story, and I've come across a demoralised nest in one corner and ants romping around in the other.

light sprinkling of cinnamon powder

I understand that cinnamon is eventually fed to the queen, which dies as a result. As bees, ants, and wasps are all beneficial social insects, let's treat them with equal respect.

This strong nuc was upgraded and the ants relocated.

View attachment VID_20240603_162106664~2.mp4

 

[Oculentum]

I understand that cinnamon is eventually fed to the queen, which dies as a result.

I was not aware of this possible outcome and apologise for any bee-related harm caused by anyone who has followed the advice.

 

[robmort]

I've removed the floors, added ekes and cleared dead bees. Maybe it's improving already but too early to be sure.

The colonies have almost completely recovered now, are looking strong and are mostly packing in the honey in this good weather. However, I replaced the OMF on one hive and the bees are mostly unable to find the entrance and hang under the OMF. I did it in the late evening when all bees were inside and filled the entrance with grass but they haven't reoriented. I put in the varroa floor to help but they can find their way past that. Any remedies before I do the other hives?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Any remedies before I do the other hives?

No help in this instance but what I’ve done in the past is simply take the mesh out of a floor. The bees continue to use the entrance while dead/dying bees fall out of the bottom
Good news to hear they have recovered.

 

[robmort]

No help in this instance but what I’ve done in the past is simply take the mesh out of a floor. The bees continue to use the entrance while dead/dying bees fall out of the bottom
Good news to hear they have recovered.

Not always easy to remove the mesh.

Guess I'll have to remove the floor again and wait until there's a danger of robbing to put the floors back.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Not always easy to remove the mesh.

Then place a 5cm wooden eke with a long notch cut out to simulate the entrance under the brood box
I have one floor ready, having had CBPV three times

 

[robmort]

most of my floors have underfloor tunnel entrances with nailed-in mesh so make it more tricky for the bees to reorientate, or to replicate in an eke, but I'll triy your idea.