Wrong end of the alphabet

[manek]

First inspection of my two hives this month today, aiming to assess storage space for winter food, and check for disease. The first hive was fine, plenty of space to lay and store food.

The second was a disaster area. Although I could see bees orienting outside the entrance block, which had been there about a month, as soon as I opened up, I saw wasps. And more after the first super - and then most of the brood frames were tied together by wax moth cocoons. Disgusting.

I guess the wasps must have attacked successfully and the wax moths then took advantage of the absence of bees.

So that's half my bees gone. Better make sure of the one colony I have left....

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

First inspection of my two hives this month today, aiming to assess storage space for winter food, and check for disease. The first hive was fine, plenty of space to lay and store food.

The second was a disaster area. Although I could see bees orienting outside the entrance block, which had been there about a month, as soon as I opened up, I saw wasps. And more after the first super - and then most of the brood frames were tied together by wax moth cocoons. Disgusting.

I guess the wasps must have attacked successfully and the wax moths then took advantage of the absence of bees.

So that's half my bees gone. Better make sure of the one colony I have left....

When did you last check them? sounds like a long term issue to me - failed queen and colony dwindle probably

 

[Ian123]

Why are you only looking once a month

 

[manek]

I inserted the entrance block a month ago, and pulled off a couple of supers about a week later. A quick glance into the hive seemed OK at that point; with wasps about, I was more concerned with getting the supers out of the apiary before the wasps detected them than anything else.

Today, I planned to put the wet supers back on above the cover board for the bees to clean out. I hadn't inspected before that because I didn't have a specific reason to do so, so why disturb them?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

A little hard to tell with such scant information but....
Colony swarmed some time ago
new queen failed to mate/got lost
Bees you noticed at the entrance were robbers
colony then dwindled, no bees for general housekeeping waxmoth have a field day
Colony dead and hive packed with waxmoth heaven
Seems you had plenty of reasons to inspect

 

[manek]

Not sure about the swarm (in August?). Eggs were present (though I didn't see HM) on 29 July so I can't see the disappearance of the entire colony happening that quickly. But who knows? All seemed normal last time I looked.

 

[enrico]

Whatever happened, I am sorry for your loss, it is horrid to lose one hive especially when you only have two. We all make mistakes and hope to learn from them. Bees need regular checking throughout the flying season even if it is to watch what is going on for five minutes!
Good luck with your other hive
E

 

[manek]

Thank you Enrico - it was a horrible shock. Hoping to get better at beekeeping eventually...

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[jenkinsbrynmair]

Not sure about the swarm (in August?).

What's so special about August? been called out to two in the last ten days.

 

[pargyle]

Thank you Enrico - it was a horrible shock. Hoping to get better at beekeeping eventually...

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Any beekeeper who tells you they have never made a mistake or got it wrong never kept bees.

Wasps and waxmoths when they take hold are a beekeepers nightmare .. don't beat yourself up - put it down to experience. It's not something you will let happen again.

For what it's worth clear crown boards are a window into the hive - I frequently peer through mine in the night with a torch. It's very reassuring to see what they are up to and it really doesn't disturb the bees. It's no substitute for a proper inspection but at this time of the year an inspection only needs to be a quick look in the hive, lift a few frames to determine if there is brood and the level of stores ... will tell you all you need to know.

A month is a long time in beekeeping .. sometimes you get lucky and sometimes ...well, you know the answer.

Stick with it - there's another season and winter ahead before that...

 

[Anduril]

What's so special about August? been called out to two in the last ten days.

Sorry for your loss manek, it could quite easily have been multiple swarms out of that hive. Depleting it so much that it became unsustainable, seen it happen, you think they are busy bringing in nectar and pollen, only to find you have nothing left in the brood chamber. When you do your checks and take supers off to see how they are performing, when you are down to the last super, lift it up on one side and take a peek into the brood chamber to check on the strength of the hive. Build your confidence up doing this, instead of disturbing the brood area.

 

[thorn]

Not sure about the swarm (in August?). Eggs were present (though I didn't see HM) on 29 July so I can't see the disappearance of the entire colony happening that quickly. But who knows? All seemed normal last time I looked.

Which is why you should inspect weekly even well into August.

 

[bingevader]

I'm sure we could start a healthy debate about the need to do a full inspection every week!
However, by now, you have realised that to have not checked on them for 3 weeks is a bad idea.
It's at the bees' expense, but chalk it up to experience and move on from here.

 

[manek]

Yes - one more mistake I hope never to repeat. Thanks all for your feedback, it's greatly appreciated.

 

[citrus]

What's so special about August? been called out to two in the last ten days.

qq on this ... so did all the demaree swarm control earlier in the year and then into the late summer I thought the advice was to let them get on with it and dont go inspecting weekly

..so been checking the landing board and crownboard regularly but don't go looking unless required.

once a hive has been through a demaree once in a season I thought i'd be safe from swarming ..no ?

 

[enrico]

qq on this ... so did all the demaree swarm control earlier in the year and then into the late summer I thought the advice was to let them get on with it and dont go inspecting weekly

..so been checking the landing board and crownboard regularly but don't go looking unless required.

once a hive has been through a demaree once in a season I thought i'd be safe from swarming ..no ?

There are no guarantees in this game. It will always be a risk you take!
E

 

[Murox]

Plan ahead on all things bee.
You can't really determine the health of your hive just by looking at bees flying in and out of the entrance. Look inside and look for brood - you don't have to see the queen, look for any signs of disease.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Plan ahead on all things bee.
You can't really determine the health of your hive just by looking at bees flying in and out of the entrance. Look inside and look for brood - you don't have to see the queen, look for any signs of disease.

Case in point - three weeks ago at the association apiary, due to most mentors being away it was down to me to inspect all the hives - one, which I personally hadn't inspected at all this season was marked as struggling (28th of July) - possibly queen issues, looked fine from the outside, pollen loaded bees flying back and fore, opened up, no brood,eggs or sign of queen and with a few lesser wax moth taking an interest.Decided they were probably doomed but as we were pushed for time and a more pressing issue with another hive to be addressed I closed up and scheduled time the next week to sort out as a priority.
Next week - session rained off
This Sunday walked into the apiary and from the outside all looked fine - bees flying in and out although the odd wasp seemed a worry. Opened up, hive ram jam with wax moth 'web' big cluster of greater waxmoth coccoons on the top bars, comb (including combs with stores) alive with lesser and greater wax moth larvae.
Colony dead.

Doesn't take long does it?

 

[Beefriendly]

I thought the advice was to let them get on with it and dont go inspecting weekly

There are always some who will tell you that you shouldn't be going through your hives at this time of year.
I find it essential with some colonies, not all. For example I have 2 supersedures going on at the moment and need to know if the queens get mated.
I'll be bringing bees back from the heather in a couple of weeks and will want to to know the state of play in each hive to make sure we have laying queens and more importantly room for them to lay in.
Take it on an individual hive basis what you need to do, rather than follow some poor generic advice from someone who says you don't need to inspect.

 

[pargyle]

There are always some who will tell you that you shouldn't be going through your hives at this time of year.
I find it essential with some colonies, not all. For example I have 2 supersedures going on at the moment and need to know if the queens get mated.
I'll be bringing bees back from the heather in a couple of weeks and will want to to know the state of play in each hive to make sure we have laying queens and more importantly room for them to lay in.
Take it on an individual hive basis what you need to do, rather than follow some poor generic advice from someone who says you don't need to inspect.

Good common sense beekeeping .. RAB would say think about what you are doing rather than do it by rote ...