What to do with frames from dead hive

[Levitt53]

I’ve lost one hive in the recent cold spell. Most of the bees were dead on the floor, some on the frames and some around a small amount of brood with their heads in cells. All frames had stores. I guess it was the cold and isolation starvation. They weren’t treated for varroa as it wasn’t needed and I don’t want to treat unless necessary.

My question is what to do with the frames in the brood box. I can use them obviously but I only have two other hives so doubt I can make use of all of them this year. I nearly broke my back lifting the damn thing and don’t want it all warming in the shed - yikes. I’m thinking of putting most in the freezer but how long do they last in there and how long do they take to defrost if needed.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Sounds like they died because the colony got too small to feed itself and keep warm.
Full brood frames will last forever in the freezer and need a day to defrost.
You say they didn’t need treating for varroa
Those dead bees at the bottom died of something
Did any of the frames look like this

 

[Levitt53]

No the frames all looked fairly healthy. There wasn’t much brood. I tried to get it out with the decapper fork but the bees with their heads in the cells came out too so it all got a bit of a mess. It was a fairly big colony going into winter. They were flying as expected before the beast from the east arrived so presumably that affected them. What exactly is the picture showing please Erica?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Varroa guanine st the tops of the cells
Often mistaken for crystallised stores

 

[Levitt53]

Ah ok thanks. No i did test varroa levels and they were ok. They were a swarm I collected and then requeened as they were nasty buggers. They were queenless for a while which I think helped them be varroa light. They perhaps were a bit small. Think it was just one of those things. Thanks for answering the freezer question. I’ll do that on Friday before it warms up and they start to smell very tempting.

 

[Popparand]

I'm assuming guanine is the bright white spots (varroa excrement) and the crumbly looking deposits around the mouth of the cells are the remains of cappings. Is that correct? Good pic though!

 

[Kenson]

It is a very good and useful picture

Thank you Erica, putting that in the "Information Vault"

K

 

[Kenson]

Sounds like your frames are "healthy", in which case freeze them. I have read that someone (an Australian I think) kept some frames frozen for 15 years and used them without issue. (I don't know what was in them, but some Egyptian honey is said to be "in good condition" after 5000 years).

Certainly the best "frame cleaners" are the bees.

I think you have colonies left, and can raise "splits", perhaps feed these recycled frames "through" the strongest splits to get them back into shape?