Robbed?

[kt72664]

New beekeeper. My hive started in late Spring was doing so great; it was so full of honey and brood 6 weeks ago that I added another super. I got busy, and figured leaving them to do their thing was best...just went in there, and every drop of honey is gone, as well as all brood. The wax is on the frames, but is very dark brown. There are only enough bees to fill two frames, the two right next to the entrance. There is NOTHING else...the hive is empty. I saw the queen, but no eggs/brood.

Have I been robbed? The opening was narrowed the whole time, there is nothing else? I have begun feeding them again with protein patty and sugar water. Should I kill that queen and put in another? They will be all gone when this batch lives out their lives. It is in north Florida, so it's still warm and there is still pollen...

 

[alclosier]

I would suggest that they have swarmed and you missed the warning signs as you did not inspect for 6 weeks. You could transfer them back to a nuc, and feed like hell, but his maybe a lost cause.


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[itma]

New beekeeper. My hive started in late Spring was doing so great ... I got busy, and figured leaving them to do their thing was best…

Wrong! (And I'm being polite … )

Beekeeping is about looking after the bees and helping them to do better. To "live long and prosper". To thrive.
It is active, enlightened, educated management.

Ignoring them, there are all manner of hazards that they are susceptible to.

My suggestion would be to link up with a local, more experienced beekeeper (or group) and bring some experience to bear on your problems.

 

[enrico]

I would suggest that they have swarmed and you missed the warning signs as you did not inspect for 6 weeks. You could transfer them back to a nuc, and feed like hell, but his maybe a lost cause.


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I am inclined to agree!
E

 

[alclosier]

The good news for you is that the average temp in northern Florida doesn't go below 10 centigrade so if you take the appropriate action now you maybe able to rebuild. The advantages of a sub tropical climate as opposed to us in the frozen north of the UK. Take it as a learning point and never. make that mistake again. I suspect due to the tropical climate everything can happen faster in Florida so effective management is the key. Find a local keeper and work with them to rebuild or learn from them prior to buying a new colony.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Hi Alclosier,

Any chance of updating your Forum profile?

It's always good to be able to put someone's contribution into context.

Dusty

 

[alclosier]

Any chance of updating your Forum profile?

Been using tapatalk, never noticed that the profile didn't transfer across. Updated now.


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[sharonh]

Wrong! (And I'm being polite … )

Beekeeping is about looking after the bees and helping them to do better. To "live long and prosper". To thrive.
It is active, enlightened, educated management.

Ignoring them, there are all manner of hazards that they are susceptible to.

My suggestion would be to link up with a local, more experienced beekeeper (or group) and bring some experience to bear on your problems.

Agree,
Great advice Itma

 

[Fatbee]

Even if they swarmed they shouldn't have declined so badly down to two frames unless it was an abscondment and just a handful of bees were left behind. Are you sure you saw a queen?

I would suggest something else has occurred. Is there any outward signs of the main bee diseases? Could they have suffered from a direct dosing from pesticides?

 

[Teemore]

Any signs of Small Hive Beetle or their larvae?

 

[Noggin]

Sounds like your Queen is no good to me. Maybe she was a new Queen when you got the colony and only produced drones.