Subject: Re: Help, I have dead colonies already!

From: [email-masked] (Aaron Morris)
Date: Fri, 18 Nov 94 09:55:11 EST

In article <[email-masked]>
[email-masked] writes:
 
>...
>fourteen hive in September this year...
>
>(Checked recently and) Out of
>the fourteen colonies we had in September, only six had any live bees in
>them.  Four of the eight had no dead bees and no honey and the other four
>had a few dead bees, some with a lot of honey and some with no honey.
>The few dead bees were clumped into a ball in the middle of the box.
>...
>My questions:  Is this a normal loss of colonies?  Could we have prevented
>colonies from swarming?  Could we have a disease?(There were no dead bees
>in the hives except those clumped in the middle)  What kind of preparations
>should we do to minimize winter loss?
>
 
Clearly, some kind of stress is upon your colonies to cause them to die,
abscond or disappear.  With the minimal information given and an
inability to check your colonies, members of this forum can at best only
guess at the cause.  Given the climate of the beekeeping industry and
the description you gave, my first guess would be that you have a
problem with mites.
 
Discussion on this list has gone along the lines that heavy varroa
infestations have prompted many colonies to just up and leave their hive
at a time of year when they would normally be settling in for the
winter.  This discussion prompted me to examine my hives for similar
signs, and sure enough I too found this phenomenon in (thankfully) only
one colony, but verified that varroa is rampant in my apiary.  First
line of attack: Apistan in all my hives.
 
I suggest that you examine for varroa and am willing to bet big bucks
that you will discover that's your problem.  If so, get Apistan strips
and get them into your remaining hives ASAP.  It's already very late in
the season for this.
 
Varroa is a relatively new problem in the States, and the majority of
beekeepers have yet to encounter the nemesis.  This is the first year
that I have heard conversations about the increased stress on hives that
accompanies the seasonal fall expulsion of drones.  Varroa prefer drone
larvae, perhaps (as observed on this list) as a survival mechanism,
since drones drift more readily between hives and hence assists in
varroa's spread.  In the fall when fewer drones are being reared, varroa
has to shift from drone larvae to worker larvae and hive infestation can
sky rocket.  This infestation can prompt the bees to abscond as noted
above.
 
Recommendation: Examine your hives for varroa (I was able to verify the
infestation visually!).  If you have a problem, treat ALL of your hives,
and treat them as soon as possible.  Finally, keep up on current
research and discussion of the mite problem.  It's here, it can't be
ignored, and every beekeeper will be a better beekeeper if they keep as
informed as they possibly can about this problem.
 
Aaron Morris - I think, therefore I bee!
Vice President Elect, Southern Adirondack Beekeepers Association
Hobby keeper of bees in Upstate New York

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: 17 Nov 94 11:50:28 MDT

hello,

I have a question, but first some background.

We extracted honey form our fourteen hive in September this year.  Things went
smoothly.  For each hive we made sure that the two boxes we left for the
wintering bees were full of honey or pollen (some had the top supers full but
not the bottom).  We thought this would increase our winter survivorship,
because we had never done this before.  I didnt check them again until this
week. 

This week I went out to put screens on the hives to keep the mice out.  Out of
the fourteen colonies we had in September, only six had any live bees in them. 
four of the eight had no dead bees and no honey and the other four had a few
dead bees, some with a lot of honey and some with no honey.  The few dead bees
were clumped into a ball in the middle of the box.

It has recently been cold here, around freezing.  
Also my uncle suggested that the four colonies that seem to have swarmed may
have done so because we were in a drought situation and there was no water in
the canal near the hives.

My questions:  Is this a normal loss of colonies?  Could we have prevented
colonies from swarming?  Could we have a disease?(There were no dead bees in
the hives except those clumped in the middle)  What kind of preparations should
we do to minimize winter loss?

Thanks,

Todd Seamons
[email-masked]