Post OA treatment = dead bees... is this 'normal'

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Toffeesmum

New Bee
Joined
Dec 30, 2012
Messages
77
Reaction score
0
Location
Telford AND Rhandirmwyn
Hive Type
14x12
Number of Hives
14
Hello everyone,

Is it 'normal' to find 100+'ish dead bees out the front of the hive, as well as scraping many more through the entrance, having lifted the mouse guard, a day after treating with OA??

It was pre-mixed and from a batch used on many other hives owned by a friend.

I trickled 5ml between each seam and did it during a sunny period yesterday, slowly moving the 'glass quilt' in order to create minimum disturbance/cold blast to bees.

Up to this point, there had been many bees active on top of the frames, when peeping through the glass quilt.

Many thanks in advance and a very Happy Christmas to you all.
 
Did you warm the OA slightly before using it? I put it in a cup of hot water for a few seconds to bring it to about normal body temperature.
 
was the OMF clear beforehand?

or was this your first clean out?

bees will naturally be dying.

perhaps the OA spurred the cluster to open a bit allowing some undertaker activity.

NB assuming a colony were to drop from 20k to 10k over 3 months of winter thats about 100 dead bees a day (assuming steady rate of death).
 
"did it during a sunny period yesterday,"

that might having something to do with it. you should be doing OA when the weather is cold and there is a tight cluster to treat. Not a day when foraging might be possible.
 
,
One explanation is that

- first the cluster is in tight cluster. and in deep rest. When you open the hive, you may see dead bees here and there between frames.

- Then you disturbe the hive and dripple the bees. The cluster expands and the temp may rise up to 40C.

- When bees meet dead bees, they start to drop them down and draw to entrance. They bring other rubbish too.


Kicking and dying bees? May be they crushed between frames?

.
It has been reported some bee dying after trickling but it is a small bit. During winter days bees come out to die, and you do not notice it. However, the cluster is after winter much more smaller after winter even if there are not much dead bees on floor.

Is it normal?

Yes it is.

.
 
Last edited:
Hello again,

Yes, I did warm the acid before hand by standing the jar in warm water so it was body temperature.

When I say 'sunny day', it was 5 degrees, so I meant it wasn't gale force winds and lashing down, which is usual at the moment!!

I've taken on board your comments and wont stress too much. Thank you again.
 
Bees all DEAD

After more dead bees on the landing board, I took a look through the glass quilt with a torch and gutted to find all bees dead. I spoke with friend who gave me the OA and he cannot understand it.

Sad and crap news on Christmas Day :-(
 
I have never lost a hive after treating with OA. Did your friend have any problems after using it (assuming you used what they used this year).
 
Always sad to hear news like this, maybe they had nosema, oxalic trickled often finishes off bees that do have it, usually about twelve..ish days after treatment though.
 
Hi toffeesmum......
With all the bees dead you might as well take the hive to bits and see what has happened.....I am guessing starvation.
Are there stores? If there are stores and the dead bees were where the stores are then the oa must be suspected! Did you get the dilution right?
I am so sorry this has happened to you.....if you need a shoulder to cry on then give me a ring!
E
 
Hello all, nosema can be the only answer as they were fine up until I treated with OA. They were flying and very active that day. Each day since there has been lots and lots of dead bees on the landing board. I spoke with friend (yes they used same batch on 40+(ish)) hives and he is puzzled too. Lots of capped stores on the frames I can see. Would you suggest I save a few dead bees (putting in freezer) and get checked at the association microscope man in the New Year??

So so gutted, especially as it means we back to square one and have to start again from scratch next spring. We booked onto the BIBBA course too and had so many plans for 2014.

Hey ho, I guess it's better than not knowing until spring. Onwards and upwards, grrrrrrrrrrrrr
 
Keep a sample of them and do as you said at least it will let you know if it was nosema.
Its always hard loosing bees no matter how many hives you own, but some ties it just happens, try to learn from it and move on. Take some pictures of the frames and post them up on here to see if we can come up with anything.
 
When did you last inspect to check there was a laying queen and normal brood?
 
So, sorry to hear about your lost hive. It happens and doubly sad when you have got only one hive. It happened to me in year one as queen did not get mated in September. Hopefully, the friend with the many hives can fix you up with a swarm. Better luck nect time!
 
When did you last inspect to check there was a laying queen and normal brood?

Hi Hivemaker, Frustratingly they had been a superb colony, right up to slowing down laying and were still out foraging with vigour only a few weeks ago during a sunny mild snap bringing in ivy and HB. Even when I treated with OA they were numerous, busy and flying. As I use a glass quilt, I was able to have a good look at them for general looks/condition (if you know what I mean). Basically it all went Pete Tongue from the day after I used the OA.

Just doesn't add up. Have held the husband by the ankles in order that he has retrieved the left-over OA jar from the wheelie bin and during a bracing Boxing Day walk with the dogs, we have decided that, for our own piece of mind, we will ask the local Bee Inspector if he has 5 mins to pop around in the New Year for his honest opinion.

Although we are still saddened by this, especially after such a brilliant experience this year, we will dust ourselves off and bounce back. We're booked onto a BIBBA course in February and will still follow our plans to have 3-4 colonies next year. Onwards and upwards, hey?
 
.
One possibility is that bees got too much syrup over them and it made the bees too wet.
Then they loose heat control and gather themselves Into different Groups.

Once I pour saw dust Into hive that it gather extra syrup off.
It took 3 days that colony seemed normal again

I have given Several Times over dosages. It Does not kill but makes bees too wet. If comb surfaces have more syrup, it sticks more TO bees. You know what happens TO bees in feeder when they swim.
 
.
In original recipe 5 ml/seam was intended TO douple brood.

.who knows actually how much hive had bees If they were not in cluster.
 
Do you know for a fact they are all dead, and not just off the tops of the frames?

Oh yes, sorry to report but dead dead dead

Took some sad photos today and said sorry to my little girls, although I believe I did nothing wrong. Hey ho, I will bounce back and will have more bees next year xx
 

Latest posts

Back
Top