# First Loss



## Nordak (Jun 17, 2016)

Lost my first hive today, and the reason was crystal clear-starvation. Complete oversight on my part as I should have realized they didn't have the stores to make it when the cold front hit. I feel like the worst beekeeper ever today as it was completely avoidable. They weren't the strongest hive, but what a waste. I checked another hive I thought was light before the cold front and have sugar water on them as insurance. Live and learn, I suppose, and try to do better in the future. 


My other hives by all appearances are well, bees very busy. I'll be going through them over the weekend just to make sure.


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## B52EW (Jun 3, 2013)

Feel for your loss...but it happens to most of us. Sometimes natural causes, sometimes beekeeper buffoonery. Chalk it up to another lesson to add to the clue bag. Definitely not the worst beekeeper ever (I know, I've competed for that title a few times.) Glad to hear the other hives are well.


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## 1102009 (Jul 31, 2015)

Bees isolated from food stores because they cover brood may starve in a cold spell, too.
I´m sorry for your loss but it happens.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslearning.htm

Learning needs a lifetime


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

SiWolKe said:


> Learning needs a lifetime


yes. you weren't a bad beekeeper before but you are an even better beekeeper now. embrace the mistakes as they advance you another notch along the learning curve.


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## beeker (Jan 17, 2011)

Same thing almost happened to me. Came out yesterday to a pile of dead bees at the entrance. The bottom board was covered with dead bees. Luckily there was still many alive including the queen but they weren't hardly moving at all. As soon as I started giving them syrup it was amazing how quickly they came to life. Like putting gas in an empty car! Gave them a frame of honey and left the feeder on them. Hopefully I caught them in time. They can sure die quick.


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## jbuzz (Jan 27, 2015)

What Squarepeg said. :thumbsup:


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

My brother (likely originating from someone much smarter than him  ) has a saying. Lessons that cost you money or cause pain are the least likely to be repeated.

I fed several hives last week, prior to the cold snap. The reason I thought to do it was from losing some hives during a cold snap last year. Sugar is cheap compared to replacing bees. 

Keep an eye on that other hive that you are feeding. After the cold weather here, with 2 nights in the low and mid 20's, here we are going to continue being in a nectar deficit and I imagine I will have to feed some this week to keep the hives from running out of nectar.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

good move brad. a buddy of mine called me last night and reported finding one of his starved out yesterday stuck on 3 frames of brood.

i was able to move honey around prior to the cold snap. the smaller colonies had much more honey than needed since they had not brooded very much yet, so they traded some of that surplus honey to the biggest colonies in exchange for some nurse bees.


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

My stronger hives were the ones in danger. They're using nectar to raise bees faster than it's coming in and didn't have enough reserve coming out of winter to build up strong without some feed. I have finally, finally, finally figured out that small colonies stay small all year if they don't have enough bees, pollen and nectar to grow big and big hives consume honey/nectar at a amazingly rapid rate when feeding several frames of open larvae and a house full of nurse bees. Sometimes painfully obvious things take me the longest to learn. I'm a master at overcomplicating things 

EDIT TO ADD: I can't say yet that I didn't lose any this week. I'll know for sure this afternoon. I do know that the 8 hives in my backyard were all bringing in pollen yesterday, not sure about the others down behind the barn yet. One of those is small so they could have been isolated from feed due to a small cluster size.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

Brad Bee said:


> I have finally, finally, finally figured out that small colonies stay small all year...


yes, and the biggest ones are going to swarm if you are not careful. neither will end up yielding a nice honey crop.


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## lharder (Mar 21, 2015)

I'm busy adding boxes of food to the strongest hives. I have it, they get it. Until food starts coming in its a dicey time of year. Some strong colonies are starting to build.


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## Nordak (Jun 17, 2016)

Thanks all. I will keep an eye on the other hive, which was a booming nuc turned hive coming out of winter. The smaller hive that starved had it's struggles last year including a queenless bout and had come on strong right as the cold front hit. I just wasn't paying attention to stores. Head slapping moment to see a hive not flying and put two and two together almost immediately. It's a lesson I won't forget and a scenario I've read about enough to have known better. Again, thanks all for the encouragement and advice.


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## Nordak (Jun 17, 2016)

beeker said:


> Same thing almost happened to me. Came out yesterday to a pile of dead bees at the entrance. The bottom board was covered with dead bees. Luckily there was still many alive including the queen but they weren't hardly moving at all. As soon as I started giving them syrup it was amazing how quickly they came to life. Like putting gas in an empty car! Gave them a frame of honey and left the feeder on them. Hopefully I caught them in time. They can sure die quick.


Good luck, beeker. Hope they pull through for you.


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

squarepeg said:


> yes, and the biggest ones are going to swarm if you are not careful. neither will end up yielding a nice honey crop.


Yes. The big ones have been checkerboarded and are "donating" frames today to make splits with. And, I can now say for sure that I didn't lose any this past week.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

Brad Bee said:


> Yes. The big ones have been checkerboarded and are "donating" frames today to make splits with. And, I can now say for sure that I didn't lose any this past week.


perfect.


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## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

Nordac
Sorry for your loss. Been a heavy fear of mine having no ideal what is good and what is not at this point in my bee keeping career. When we got in my hive about 3 weeks ago, the bees were bringing in pollen and my mentor of sorts ask if I wanted to take what was left of my sugar blocks off. It was a hint that he thought I should cause he thinks they draw pest. I said leave them and have still been worried anyway. It cooled down and I have not looked. I know my smallest hive is carrying it out still today. The others might be starving for all I know. I figure when someone post what you did about yourself, you may be helping someone and so I say raisen pie and coodles to you. Translation: Thanks for posting.
gww


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## Nordak (Jun 17, 2016)

Brad Bee said:


> And, I can now say for sure that I didn't lose any this past week.


:thumbsup:


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## Nordak (Jun 17, 2016)

gww said:


> Nordac
> Sorry for your loss. Been a heavy fear of mine having no ideal what is good and what is not at this point in my bee keeping career. When we got in my hive about 3 weeks ago, the bees were bringing in pollen and my mentor of sorts ask if I wanted to take what was left of my sugar blocks off. It was a hint that he thought I should cause he thinks they draw pest. I said leave them and have still been worried anyway. It cooled down and I have not looked. I know my smallest hive is carrying it out still today. The others might be starving for all I know. I figure when someone post what you did about yourself, you may be helping someone and so I say raisen pie and coodles to you. Translation: Thanks for posting.
> gww


Thanks, gww. If someone can learn from this mistake than all the better for making it I suppose. It's one I won't forget. I'm about to head out and check on some more. Beautiful day to do some beekeeping.


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