Plea from a new b keeper

[Easy Beesy]

Hi all. I have received the following from a new branch member but am stumped for a cause. Can anyone help me advise him what's happening?

"I have had my hive since july last year, taken from a swarm and it seemed to have survived the ravages of winter ok. however, since my 1st inspection 1st may when everything seemed ok the colony has dramatically reduced in numbers eg yesterday there were probably no more than 5 to 6 hundred on frames 10/ 11. all frames are drawn and there seems to plenty of stores. i found the queen and marked her last week
one problem is that new fully formed bees are lying dead in the act of emerging from the cells. i have removed the super and the spread of capped cells appears haphazard. i have not seen any eggs in cells ."

i hope this is enough info for you and would appreciate any help or suggestions

 

[mbc]

pms or parasitic mite syndrome
Sounds like it could be to me anyway, if so, then the solution is to kill the mites and try and bring the colony around by mollycoddling them in a nuc appropriate for the number of bees remaining.

 

[itma]

Is it significant that no mention is made of varroa treatment or mite drop counts?

 

[Easy Beesy]

Itma Haven't asked any questions of him yet. One of those who likes to go his own way and not come to meetings. You thinking pms too?

 

[ForageFlight]

Hi all. I have received the following from a new branch member but am stumped for a cause. Can anyone help me advise him what's happening?

"I have had my hive since july last year, taken from a swarm and it seemed to have survived the ravages of winter ok. however, since my 1st inspection 1st may when everything seemed ok the colony has dramatically reduced in numbers eg yesterday there were probably no more than 5 to 6 hundred on frames 10/ 11. all frames are drawn and there seems to plenty of stores. i found the queen and marked her last week
one problem is that new fully formed bees are lying dead in the act of emerging from the cells. i have removed the super and the spread of capped cells appears haphazard. i have not seen any eggs in cells ."

i hope this is enough info for you and would appreciate any help or suggestions

Hi Easy Beesy I Would not mark the Queen so early in the season espeshally native bees as they tend to ball the queen. I have given up marking the queens after this expirience after three diffrent coloneys tried balling their queens. Waiting untill some time in June would be a good plan.

 

[VEG]

Woops I must learn to read what is written and not what I thought was written lol

 

[VEG]

Where abouts are you from forageflight?

 

[eric]

sounds like stavation

 

[Outlander]

Woops I must learn to read what is written and not what I thought was written lol

Yep. I do that.

 

[Polyanwood]

I was called out to a similar story yesterday and it turned out to be a drone laying queen.

 

[GrumpyBunny]

"fully formed bees are lying dead in the act of emerging from the cells."

DLQ doesn't account for this; I'd start off by looking at the Varroa burden.

 

[Polyanwood]

Fully formed dead DRONES emerging from cells, colony dwindling, lots of dead drones on the floor, few foragers and short of stores. This is classic DLQ.

TBH when the newbie rang me and described the symptoms using the word BEES instead of drones I thought it was nosema or starvation.. it was only when I saw the dead bees were 95% drone that I realised. With very bad varroa you usually see funny looking brood, not just dead brood.