# Lost my only hive



## Jadeguppy (Jul 19, 2017)

I was surprised that the bees aren't flying today, so I opened the hive. No bees, only German roaches. Only a few dead in the bottom and a few partially emerged. What do you think happened?


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## AR Beekeeper (Sep 25, 2008)

I see no food in the comb, so it is possible the colony absconded due to starvation.


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## Jadeguppy (Jul 19, 2017)

I saw pollen on a frame and the two boxes above the brood box have honey.


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## Branman (Aug 20, 2003)

Did you treat for mites? Looks like some PMS-y frames with spotty brood patterns.


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## orthoman (Feb 23, 2013)

Mites??? Did you sample for mites; What was the count; did you treat? I think that if they starved you would see a lot of dead bees on the bottom board as well as bees head first in the cells.


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## Dan the bee guy (Jun 18, 2015)

If you didn't treat for mites the sick bees were flying out to die faster than they could make new bees to replace them.


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## Jadeguppy (Jul 19, 2017)

I didn't do a count, but I did multiple oa treatments in the fall.


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## orthoman (Feb 23, 2013)

You live in Florida—-When is fall? OA only works during bloodless periods and I suspect bees in Florida might never really shut down, but I don’t know for sure.

To treat without a reason to treat, I.e a count indicating threshold levels of mites, is unwise and doesn’t square with integrated pest management practices.


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## Dan the bee guy (Jun 18, 2015)

Jadeguppy said:


> I didn't do a count, but I did multiple oa treatments in the fall.


If your going to try again it's up to you to figure out how and when to treat to make the treatment that you use effective.


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## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

Jadeguppy, don't feel too bad. At least you were aware of the mite problem and treated. However, more recent studies are showing that you really need to do a mite count on each hive once a month. Its also a good idea to do one before and after treatment to be sure that the treatment was effective. Randy Oliver has some good info on his site. scientificbeekeeping.com


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## Jadeguppy (Jul 19, 2017)

This was my second winter with the hive. I treated because I lost my last nuc when a hurricane came through. I want to go the the route, but decided to treat since I still only had one hive. I wasn't sure if this loss was a failed queen, hense the question. I'm having trouble finding locals that don't mind constant questions. This site has been my main source of information and I've had to guess when adjusting for the local climate, which is different from even the top half of my county due to the Gulf winds I get.


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## Eikel (Mar 12, 2014)

Link to Varroa Management Guide

https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/varroa/


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## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

Jadeguppy said:


> This was my second winter with the hive. I treated because I lost my last nuc when a hurricane came through. I want to go the the route, but decided to treat since I still only had one hive. I wasn't sure if this loss was a failed queen, hense the question. I'm having trouble finding locals that don't mind constant questions. This site has been my main source of information and I've had to guess when adjusting for the local climate, which is different from even the top half of my county due to the Gulf winds I get.


Not sure exactly where in NW Florida you are located, but the Bundricks of Bundrick Honey Farms run a little store in Crestview. The elder Mr. Bundrick has been beekeeping in that area for over 40 years and he has never run me out of his store for asking questions. Might be a local resource for you.


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

Jadeguppy, sorry to hear you lost the remaining hive. I know you worked hard to save it.


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

Ok, after treatments, did you check mite levels or the brood pattern? It's one thing to treat, but you need to verify the treatment was effective. I've had highly variable results with oa, most leaning towards the ineffective side of things. Brood pattern looks suspect though but hard to tell from the pics.


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## Jadeguppy (Jul 19, 2017)

Thanks for the info guys.
Jwp, yeah, I had hoped not to have this happen. I'm trying to stay positive and keep in mind that I have plenty of comb for one of the nucs I have on order.

Brood pattern looked good after the treatment. I don't see and significant brood in there now. 

Maybe I'll get lucky and catch some swarms this spring.


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## trishbookworm (Jun 25, 2016)

If you want to know for sure if the hive died due to mite pressure - check the ROOFs of the cells in the brood comb. This is mite poop, left over when they successfully reproduce. If you see little bits of white dust in more than 1 in 10 cells - then the home-grown mites took the hive down.  It is critical to understand why a hive died, so we can improve as beekeepers. 

A treatment is not magical - for example, if it was MAQS, were the temps right? If it was Apivar, was it actually in the center of the brood nest/cluster? Hopguard or ApiLife is getting a rep as ineffective. OAV will not work if the battery is not strong enough, nor if there is brood. Yes I've learned some of these through the school of hard knocks! A mite drop on a sticky board will show how many mites were killed by the treatment, and if you see a lot, expect to treat again until there are few after a treatment. 

And reconsider your bee source maybe? 

At least we get a long brood break here in OH to regroup!


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