What can have happened?

[ShinySideUp]

I inspected my bees two weeks ago and while the colonies could have been bigger they were doing ok. Today, I noticed a few dead bees outside one of the hives so, since the weather is much improved today, I decided to have a look. One of the colonies is still quite small but the other one is a mess. There are quite a few bees knocking around on the frames and each bee seems healthy however the floor of the hive is covered in hundreds if not thousands of dead or dying bees. I have tipped them out and put the hive back together but I am at a loss as to what has caused this devastation. Insecticide somewhere perhaps?

They were bringing back nectar and pollen until the latest poor weather and two weeks ago there was a fair bit of honey, which has now gone.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Starvation, you said yourself there were no stores left

 

[enrico]

Yep! Answered it, the cold weather and lack of stores s a killer!

 

[Ian123]

If ever you find any like that a plant mist sprayer with a weak sugar solution can in some circumstances save any hanging on.

 

[hemo]

Starvation as others have said.
I once saved about 2/3 of a colony by misting the pile of bees with a sugar solution, within 20 mins they were up and at it again. Luckily the queen survived.

 

[ShinySideUp]

Oh, they had loads of stores last time, didn't realise this could happen so quickly.

 

[hemo]

Oh, they had loads of stores last time, didn't realise this could happen so quickly.

It soon disappears when rearing brood in earnest.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

seen a powerful colony clear two supers - and die, within a week,ten days

 

[ShinySideUp]

They have been fed within minutes of reading the replies; the dire colony got sugar syrup the other one got some fondant with water as I can't find my second feeder. We'll see how it goes, I have high hopes because there are still a fair number of bees in there.

 

[Antipodes]

[

Oh, they had loads of stores last time, didn't realise this could happen so quickly.

My understanding is it is just 72 hours survival without food, which is Jack Robinson really (unfortunately ). Queen still ok?

 

[Arfermo]

Starvation as others have said.
I once saved about 2/3 of a colony by misting the pile of bees with a sugar solution, within 20 mins they were up and at it again. Luckily the queen survived.

I had a colony almost dead from wasps and revived it with misting of quite weak sugar syrup and then sat it out over 3 days to kill any further wasps intrusions. Became a very useful hive after. May sound a bit - or a lot ott - but that is me, 29 years retired with nothing better to do.

 

[tonyofarr]

Checked the bees in the home apiary yesterday to find no stores in the bb and not a lot left in the supers, so they are being fed. It is no surprise really the weather has been terrible, a cold late Spring followed by weeks of rain, and the sycamores and hawthorns are only just coming into flower ( I hope they survive the 60 mph winds that are forecast here).

The bees at 3 other apiaries checked are fine for the moment because they did really well on the dandelions, but I hope the forecast is right and it improves after Monday.

To be honest, the over wintered nucs have been fed for at least 2 weeks, they are on double paynes bb to get them built up to full sized hives and there was no way the foundation was going to get drawn in this weather, they are absolutely heaving with bees though.

 

[ShinySideUp]

[

My understanding is it is just 72 hours survival without food, which is Jack Robinson really (unfortunately ). Queen still ok?

Can't tell, don't want to mess them about anymore, there's nothing I can do if she's gone at the moment anyway.

 

[holmbee]

Can't tell, don't want to mess them about anymore, there's nothing I can do if she's gone at the moment anyway.

Workers will usually do everything to keep the queen alive as without her the colony is doomed. So it is probable that the queen will still be alive. I fine light spray of very light syrup will frequently get them going again and willing to feed off normal syrup and /or fondant.

 

[Murox]

This erratic weather certainly plays havoc with a couple of my colonies - one got syrup poured straight into an empty comb a liltle while ago - got them going again, then promptly set about demolishing a kilo of pollen patty - (fingers crossed) doing well as of two days ago.

 

[BugsInABox]

If ever you find any like that a plant mist sprayer with a weak sugar solution can in some circumstances save any hanging on.

My 1st package; I just couldn’t work out why it wouldn’t take the syrup I’d diligently provided within the box in an inverted kilner jar with pierced lid. Eventually worked out sugar had crystallised in the holes.
Anyway the hive was pretty moribund. About 2/3s of them revived within a couple of minutes of sprinkling with icing sugar.

 

[ShinySideUp]

Both the syrup and the fondant are being taken with gusto and I shall just keep an eye on things until the weather improves next week and I can see what damage has been done. Every time I think I've got it right, the bees do something to catch me out. Never had starving colonies in five years of beekeeping so I really didn't recognise it; some lessons can be hard but at least it will never happen again.

 

[Ian123]

Fingers crossed there ok. Things like this have bitten most of us at some point, so your not alone. Give it another month and periods like this get forgotten and there’ll be someone along who proudly tells us all how they never feed their local/tolerant homed in a tree sanctified by Druids native survivors.