# queens dying



## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Need more information. They're dying? Timeline?


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## cpag (Nov 26, 2014)

In response to Mike's questions: Thanks so much for your response. I pretty much manage like Mike does or try my best to. I breed my own queens, and buy a few for genetics.I check my hives every week and try not to pull much apart but look from the bottom. If I suspect something funny, I pull some frames and look at brood, brood pattern, eggs, and how the bees are on the frames. If I see no eggs I will come back a few days later and look for the queen or hive closer. I do like most with swarm management and try to get the hives as strong as possible for nectar flow. I test for mites along with disease check. The queens that are dying are indiscriminate when it comes to the age of the hive. It could be a 3 deep with supers, singles, nucs or new baby nucs. All seem to have good amounts of nectar and pollen. To add to this, I had some overwintered nucs that were a slow build. I resorted to shake them on new frames, they exploded. All seem to have this funny pollen. I am I to quick to blame Chemical agriculture at work? Thanks so much


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Im running 10-15% queen issues after the summer production season. Diagnosed as queen replacement problems.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Do hou have a photo of the funny pollen?


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## cpag (Nov 26, 2014)

Here is some photos of "funny pollen." I don't claim to be any kind of a pollen expert. I only know in early spring in my area I see light yellow first on their legs, being perhaps pussy willows, maples; dark mustard yellow- croakies; bright yellow- dandelions; dark camouflage green -clover; onto basswood whitish, not sure, goldenrod, asters being yellow. I know that the pollen mention does not "glisen." There is a photo of my pollen trap when is was really on this spring from a strong hive, maybe 4-5 days since I emptied. Good pollen, makes great queens with plenty of jelly left over in cups. I graft with a chinese tool and don't prime for fear of bacteria problem. I am trying to figure out if it is something I am doing or my surroundings. I keep 4 yards in a 20 mile radius and have lost queens in all of the yards. I have run into this problem last year with the same kind of pollen but excused it as my problem of nievness. So if this pollen is chemically loaded, what do I do. USDA Beltsville used to test for chemicals for $700-$800. Then, if it is confirmed a chemical problem what then?-No recoarse. The photo of the chewed up frame came out of a hive that had plenty of pollen and honey this spring. In my Dadant- Hive and Honeybee book, it says that bees do this in the winter when there is shortage of resources. Thanks so much for all your input- just seeing if anybody is experiencing any similarities.


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## kilocharlie (Dec 27, 2010)

I think I'm seeing lots of mite drass in the photos. That's the small white dots.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

how's your swarm season been?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Looks like normal pollen with some crystallization going on. Bees often chew up foundation.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

What is your source of the queens?
I don't think it is the pollen issue. They look rather normal to me. Ag chem will affect
the workers too not just the queens. Every time I change genetics the hives will behave different from the queens before.
Someone mentioned about the bull fly or something that only target the queens inside the hives. So not sure if this is
your issue. I had the same issue last summer. Now I change the bee genetics to a commercial Cordovan brand. Happy so far with the return and laying queens. No more dying queens this year. I had to get rid of the local carnis queens to keep the line more pure. Try to make more nucs for the replacement is another option you can take.


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## Slow Drone (Apr 19, 2014)

I believe beepro is referring to velvet ants aka cow killers in my area of TN they are referred to as bull ants. I've had problems with them myself in the past and sounds similar to what's being described but I don't know if they are in cpag's area of the country or not. Velvet ants are seen more late summer and in the fall it seems to me than any other time of the year and they do just walk into the hive unimpeded by the bees and target only the queen. Velvet ants are actually a wingless ground wasp.


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## cpag (Nov 26, 2014)

Thanks all to your replies. The only reason I thought this pollen might be the culprit is because every time I had a queenless hive (dozens)starting in August/Sept. here in northern Wisconsin this year and last was that I saw this distinct tan rust kind of pollen. The pollen could be fine. There is no real way to proof unless testing is done. I later have discovered that glazing is a natural accurance that bees do when they cap off the pollen cell. BeePro was right to say why are not the rest of the hive affected also. The workers were not piling up in the box or outside and other than natural attrition, I could not find adverse effect on them. Of course if they had no eggs or open broad to start making emergency cells, they were kind of aggresive. Yes, I did use a few new breeds introduced in the apriary. Most were my own that I grafted. Just want thank Mike Palmer for making public his methods. Yes, they really work well.


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## DavidZ (Apr 9, 2016)

if you are clipping both wings that could be your issue.
I was told not to clip wings back in th 80's, and only 1 not both.
clipping wings is the biggest reason for queen loss.
that's what I was told way back
Bees are partial to perfect Queens
just something to think about.


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## AR Beekeeper (Sep 25, 2008)

In my opinion premature death in queens is caused by virus infections. A queen producing beekeeper that controls varroa, and controls colony nutrition, usually produces quality queens. If those queens are then placed in colonies that are sick with high virus counts, and high varroa mite counts, they don't survive as long as they do in colonies that have low counts. If the queens have been produced in sick colonies, and are sick when they are introduced into new colonies, they will never equal the egg production or the length of life as will a healthy queen.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

AR Beekeeper said:


> In my opinion premature death in queens is caused by virus infections. If those queens are then placed in colonies that are sick with high virus counts, and high varroa mite counts, they don't survive as long as they do in colonies that have low counts. If the queens have been produced in sick colonies, and are sick when they are introduced into new colonies, they will never equal the egg production or the length of life as will a healthy queen.


I have raised queen cells on the pollen frames in a rather heavy mite infested hives before. This was one of my
little bee experiments this summer trying to see if a queen raised in such a filthy environment will have any effect or 
resistant developed later on.
Because of the extra nutrition given to these robust developing cells a queen emerged in this environment will not
be affected that severely. They now have a chance to withstand the mites that plagued my hives all year long.
Fellow members here laughed at me for posting such a pic with the mites on the bees. About 2 days ago I found a mite on
a newly emerged queen of my last grafted cells. I just put the hive cover back on knowing that she is well.
My conclusion was that with proper nutrition and other factors the bees can live with the mites. From 1 hive during the early Spring time can grow to 7 splits with a new after the solstice queen. My findings so far is just the opposite of what you claimed!


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