# My hive died within the past week



## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

Hi everyone. Well, I think this forum may have saved my other hive. I went outside in the snow, examined my dead hive, looked for all the signs of disease, noticed none. The alive hive still has yet to touch the grease patty that I left for it several weeks ago when I switched to grease patties...

Well, I quickly made up some syrup, put it in a mason jar, attached it to my new feeder, put it into the top of the alive hive and they JUMPED ON IT! Obviously they hate grease patties. I will post pics of the dead hive but I think you will all say I starved them.

Jules


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## wildbeekeeper (Jul 3, 2010)

sounds like your first hive that died and had an irregular brood pattern may have had queen issues. Did you sample or treat for mites? Were they queen right going into the winter? How much winter stores did they have? All of these play a role in hive survival. Pictures may help when you post them.


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## delber (Dec 26, 2010)

If they are so low on stores that's a major problem. It's December now and sugar syrup can be Ok if the temps are above 50, but if they take much of it that's not good because they won't be able to get the water off of it to store it and that can lead to other issues. However you can search on this forum for "mountain camp" method to help them out, also fondant can work well, also a "candy board" can work well. If there's not any / much stores in the hive now then something needs to be done to see them through, however it will need to be a drier way than syrup. If you do use syrup make sure you don't use 1 to 1 but 2 to 1. (Two parts sugar to 1 part water) If you do post pictures we may be able to help you out to diagnose much better.


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## Steve10 (Nov 19, 2008)

Jules,

If you haven't already, you might consider joining the Southern Adirondacks Beekeepers Association (SABA). They are an excellent group and may be able to put you in touch with one of their members to help you. Check them out at http://www.adirondackbees.org/

What do you mean by "Organic" sugar? Unrefined sugars can cause more harm than good if fed to bees. 

>Obviously they hate grease patties.
Not sure why you are using them unless your trying to treat mites.

>I will post pics of the dead hive but I think you will all say I starved them.
The only ways we starve bees is stealing too much honey and not leaving enough for them or we position the hives in areas with no forage. Now, they will starve if they are diseased, have parasites, we provide a poor environment (i.e., too much moisture, too cold, etc.), or have a failing queen. Don't beat yourself up unless you made some blatant errors. It may just be natural selection and your survivors will be stronger for it.

Steve


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

Thanks all for your comments. I will join the Southern Adirondack Beekeepers Association. We already have an elderly beekeeper, Vilness Mattison, famous in our area for natural beekeeping. He told me to switch to patties, I have followed his advice to the letter. The bees would not TOUCH the patties for several weeks, however they are voraciously attacking the sugar syrup I gave them today. I have been using organic sugar from the Co-op in Albany. Should we use refined organic white sugar if we can find it? I will take pics, I'm waiting for it to stop raining. If possible I'd sure like to save my other hive. The honey making has been slim. This summer, even tho we fed all summer, we had a very wet time for the bees. We also have a queen excluder, not sure if this contributed to the death of the hive.

I have relied on my husband who is very overworked to check on the bees this summer. Now that I have my own suit, an epi pen as I have bee reactions, I will be the one checking the bees. I also have a microscope and will get it out today and start dissecting bees 

Will post pics, I promise. 

Question: Do bees hate grease patties?

Jules


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

Re: Crisco 2:1 patties.
They are intended for a slow release of the Crisco for Trachael mites and it's not for providing the bees with sugar or other nutients. The Crisco interupts the questing behavior of the mites. I put some Crisco patties on in October and the bees have eaten them as designed.
Please do a search about making fondant for bees on this web site as it contains some important details in making it. I prefer the formula using liquid glucose or purchase some fondant in bulk.
BTW, C&H pure cane sugar is about as organic as you can get.
Good luck.


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

weathershaman said:


> <snip>Now that I have my own suit, an epi pen as I have bee reactions, I will be the one checking the bees.<snip>
> Jules


This is off topic, but... Are your bee reactions systemic or local? In other words if you get stung on the hand do you develop a rash/hives or swelling somewhere else on your body?...do you start to have trouble breathing (airways closing up)?...do you become faint(blood pressure issues)? These would most likely be the symptoms of an allergic reaction...and the epi pen could definitely be used for this *along* with a trip to the emergency room. Remember that the epi pen is only to hold a truly allergic person over until they can get emergency medical treatment. 

Pain, redness, swelling (sometimes severe), and eventual itchiness at the sting site are normal reactions that, if treated, can be treated with benadryl or the likes. The sooner the benadryl is taken the better the relief will be...it's not a bad idea to have a bottle in your "bee gear". Liquid gets into the system quicker but pill form works, too. 

Stings to the head should always be watched carefully regardless of allergic sensitivity. I think it's great that you have the pen, it is good to have for yourself and visitors, too. I'm definitely no expert on bee stings but thought I'd throw some thoughts at you.

Ed


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## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

weathershaman said:


> We already have an elderly beekeeper, Vilness Mattison, famous in our area for natural beekeeping. He told me to switch to patties, We also have a queen excluder, not sure if this contributed to the death of the hive.
> 
> 
> Question: Do bees hate grease patties?
> ...


are you sure that he didn't mean pollen patties or pollen suplement, if they didn't bring enough natural pollen and were still raising brood that would be a problem.
also you should remove the queen excluder, if the queen is below it and the honey above bad things will happen.


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## iahawk (May 19, 2009)

Since you mentioned some mummified-looking brood, that would suggest chalkbrood, which, given the wet conditions you mentioned, could be a definite possibility. Check out Michael Bush's link on the topic. I'd be careful, if it is disease, to not spread it to your other hive, i.e. clean your tools, don't swap frames, etc.


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

Lots of dead bees, so far I don't see any mites. I am taking photos with several cameras now, charging batteries in my good cameras. I will post when I have them. The chalk brood does not look like the little "mummies" but I will show photos. Also many bees dead with their heads in the honey comb, yes queen excluder. We are first timers and didnt' know any better.


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

*Please see these pics!!! My hive died within the past week*

I hope you can tell me...now I think I see mites. Please let me know what you think. All opinions will be entertained. This is a great forum and I have learned so much. I'm now getting out my microscope. Thank you all. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/?saved=1

If you can't see this link I'm at [email protected]

Jules with only one hive left. Sigh.


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

My bee reactions are unpredictable. Sometimes I get really swollen spots that make it hard to walk (if on the knee), other times like when they got me in the ass recently it was a swollen lymph node in my left leg. The Epi Pen is a just in case I get a major sting reaction but I do not go into anaphylactic shock fortunately.


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

Gotcha. Like I said, even if you're not allergic you never know when a visitor or even another family member might have an issue. Good thing to have.


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## Steve10 (Nov 19, 2008)

I think the culprit is your strong hive! 

As far as mites, even with an infestation, you'll rarely see mites on dead bees. The leave the carcass once the bee's dead body temperature decreases to ambient temperatures. That being said, you'll often see sickly looking dead bees. Yours look fat.

I see drones, larva, and young workers (fuzzy thorax) and lots of flakes of wax. Robbers tear the comb and cappings apart in the robbing frenzy. A likely cause of death was they died defending the hive from robber bees...probably from your other hive. Feeding without reducing entrances can increase the incidence of robbing. It seemed like a bad year for robbing.

If it's any consolation, if your other hive is the culprit, their chances of survival may have been boosted by the honey they stole from your dead hive. As suggested, give the survivors sugar candy, fondant, or moistened dry sugar as an emergency food source rather than syrup this time of year.

Definitely hook up with the SABA folks soon, you'll be glad you did.
Good Luck,
Steve


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## xcugat (Mar 4, 2008)

Hello,

I see you mentioned that you were using Organic sugar--I would reconsider that due to its great cost, especially if you are going to be having more hives--you will probably have to feed a lot of sugar from time to time. Sucrose is Sucrose the bees dont care where it came from


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

I hear you and I thought about that. But with genetic modification, sugar isn't just sugar anymore. We can buy organic sugar (unbleached, still refined) at our local coop and I get an 8% discount. We buy it in bulk when it goes on sale. I now need to get some new hive boxes because this plastic stuff is definitely not great. I was talked into it by Better Bee, not knowing any better myself. It leaks, the bees are getting wet from the flat roof. I'm thinking of either cedar or some other type of handmade boxes. Suggestions? So far, my hive is doing well. We have bee patties and syrup at the moment, I know the syrup is not what is recommended but the bees jumped on it hungrily so for the moment I'll leave it. They also have the patties if the choose to eat them. Does anyone have a recipe they'd recommend? Winter here is weird, it was 50 degrees yesterday, now we have a little snow. Thanks for all your comments, we did also join SABA. Jules


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

As mentioned above, regular refined sugar is as pure a substance as you can buy. Sugar is not bleached, it is washed with steam in centrifuges. The reason "organic" sugar is darker is that it hasn't been washed as thouroghly or has had molasses added back in. My understanding is that for winter feeding, the cleaner the better, as there is less buildup of solids in the bee's gut, reducing the need for cleansing flights.


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

Thank you for your response. I asked Bob Linn, the bulk manager at Honest Weight Food Coop for the past 40 years, about the sugar. My primary problem with refined sugar is that it is GMO, which cannot possibly be good for the bees. He said the refined organic sugar at Honest Weight was bleached, according to the company who sold it. I could only presume that the GMO sugar at regular stores is bleached also but I will try to learn more about it and get back to you.

I don't have enough honey to feed them, but ultimately I can get some 5 gallon buckets of honey and that would work. Right now we have one hive, and in the summer I hope to have two nucs making three hives. At that point I may be feeding honey. Thanks again! Jules


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

Everything I can find on sugar refining says that the process involves a lot of chemicals and the cane is already sprayed in the fields too. I think I'll stick with organic sugar, the blond type, and also augment with honey. We only have a few hives...the bees are worth it to me if we can keep them going. Right now my biggest problem is keeping them dry. Whoever thought up flat roofs wasn't living in New England!


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

Unrefined sugars, such as organic and non organic brown sugars contain high ratios of molasses. Which is rather non digestable by the bees. Which can cause dysentery in the bees and KILL them. Also one should NEVER, ever feed honey from an unknown source. If it did not come off your bees-do not feed it ever!! This is the quickest way to come down with some exotic form of AFB or EFB is through the feeding of honey. One of the worst outbreaks of AFB ever experienced fifteen years ago by the beekeeping industry in the southeast was caused by unclean, leakey empty honey drums sent to producers by Ernie Greob/packer of foriegn honey for refill in their operations. The honey drums lids were not tight and the bees did what bees do-rob exposed honey...So connect the dots. Commercial packers pack honey from exotic places in small packs and you then augment your feed with possible that honey. Commercial cane sugar is best, does not give bees dysentery or transmitt AFB. Fed in the right ratio, it will put weight on a needy colony. TED


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

Thank you for the explanation. The local honey I would purchase is from a trusted source. Where do you suggest I find pure organic cane sugar? I can't seem to locate it anywhere other than from the Coop. Jules


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

Jules, if you feed regular commercial cane or beet sugar for late winter or early spring feed, it will not show up in your honey. The bees will consume it rearing brood or feeding themselves. Just do not feed before the honey flow if you are trying to stay all natural. It is more important to keep your bee alive through the winter. If you must feed organic then the source you have found will have to do. Good Luck TED


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## xcugat (Mar 4, 2008)

If you have one hive, organic sugar is ok but if you ever get more it gets very pricy. As I understand it, the organic label is not as important on something like sugar which is by definition a processed product and a simple organic compound sucrose. I had 6 hives (of which 5 perished due to mite attack) and I had to Feed 250 lbs of sugar syrup to get their stores up. 15 dollars for a 25 lb bag at BJs I can deal with, but I can only imagine the cost of organic...


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

Thank you Ted. I've been feeding the same sugar all year, I will follow your suggestions. I do not feed commercial beet or other sugar. This winter we also have patties in the hive for them. I would like to make the fondant but need a simple recipe. Right now its too cold to do anything. Also, when we have a warm day, I need to remove the queen excluder which we didn't realize was not good to have. As you can see, we are complete newbies. I can only hope our bees survive the winter.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

weathershaman said:


> This winter we also have patties in the hive for them.


Patties? For??


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

Grease patties. For varroa mites and also nutrition. I made them. We are newbies


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

weathershaman said:


> Grease patties. For varroa mites and also nutrition. I made them. We are newbies


What is in your grease patties? any essential oils?


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Aren't grease patties used for Tracheal mite control, not Varroa mite control?


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

Yes, that's what I meant to say. I am a newbie!!!

Here's an article I wrote for our local food Co-op.
*
Winter Bees, Grease Patties, and Crisco*

Who uses Crisco, raise your hand! You know what kind, the hydrogenated solid stuff that you can buy at Wally’s for a mere few dollars. I have discovered, in the past month, multiple uses for this vile substance, and most notably, my bees love it! According to our wonderful go-to resource, Vilness Mattison, an elderly, bee-loving, honey producing, Latvian gentleman who lives in Averill Park, grease patties are needed in the winter to feed the bees. Bee Journal agrees with him, as do many online resources and forums. We have been buying many pounds of organic sugar from the Coop all summer, feeding syrup (sugar mixed with water) in a top feeder to keep our hungry bees content. Some folks say, ah just leave the bees, they’ll fend for themselves. Here at Cherry Plain Sanctuary Farm, which is beginning to feel more like Noah’s Ark, we feed our bees as long as they are willing to eat. They have fended too much for themselves already and our goal is to bring them back to health. 

Vilness says his 20 or so hives also needed to eat all summer, due to the fact that the rainy season (just like in the tropics) caused the pollen to be less accessible to the bees. So, he says, feed them if they are hungry. I would have done it anyway. Back to the Crisco. You can buy bee patties or you can make them yourself, and being an ingredient-minded Coop devotee (I have transcended ‘shopper’), I made them myself, thus ensuring organic sugar for my patties. The bees deserve organic, after all, for without the bees we would have no more sugar cane, sugar beets, or food on the planet. Crisco is recommended because evidently, the vile tracheal mite attaches to the grease which leads to their demise. You know how I feel about pesky parasites if you’ve read the November Coop Scoop.

Here’s my grease patty recipe for those of you who are interested:
•	One gallon container filled with organic sugar from the Coop’s bulk department
•	One can of Crisco, heated in a pan of hot water so that it will loosen into a big blob
•	Four ounces of Honey Bee Healthy, made of essential oils
•	One quart of local honey
•	Two ounces pink Himalayan salt

Slightly warm the Crisco in a big pot on the stove, add sugar and salt, mix till all is one syrupy glob, remove from stove, add Honey Bee Healthy and last, add honey. Mix well, then scoop big fat patties onto wax paper, and head out to the beehives. Which brings me to the next part of my story, my first time handling the bees. Vilness insisted that I change from a top feeder, which doesn’t work for grease patties anyway, to smaller feeders that take mason jars with syrup. These sit on wooden dividers with a hole. What this entailed was taking apart the beehive feeder, which sits directly above the combs (filled with buzzing bees), replacing it with a wooden ‘feeder top’ with a hole in the middle for the bee tunnel, and placing patties on this wooden top. Then I was to add a large ‘super’ which is basically a rectangle without top or bottom, then finally the top cap, which seals everything. Vilness also told me to place crumbled up newspapers within the super to collect moisture, which is not good for bees. 

We had one good warm day in the 50s before it turned cold with rain and then a big snowstorm. On that one warm day, the bees could be disturbed. Yes, they were truly disturbed all right. Always in the past, my husband has handled the bees as I have reactions to stings, thus keep an Eppie pen handy and loving them from a distance. We had one bee outfit with a mesh face mask, hat and gloves which fit only him, so I had never actually done more than add syrup to the top feeder while the bees were napping. Due to my desire to become more involved in their care, I purchased my own smaller outfit, and prepared to venture out to completely switch their feeding system. The bees were not happy to see me. 

I was like a thief in the night. First, I prepared for my assault on their home by setting up my equipment in the tipi, getting the patties together, putting on my new size small hat-shirt-face netting combo, then the gloves. I slowly came out behind their hives, (you do not want to get in the way of active bee flight patterns) having turned off the electric fence beforehand. Once I began to get close enough to remove one of two top feeders, I heard a loud buzzing. Having watched too much Alfred Hitchcock in my childhood, I dropped everything, and ran to the house. Bees had attached to my green sweat pants, and one stung me on the rear end. I breathlessly called my husband “JEROME! You have to talk me through this!” Which he did. After removing about ten bees from my green sweat pants, I realized they had to come off, and I put on the recommended jeans. Multiple forays into the swarming angry hive nest later, each time freaking out, running back to the house and calling Jerome, the bees were happily munching on grease patties. And the next day it snowed, thus closing the window of opportunity to feed our babies their winter rations.

Now that I’m officially stung, and a proud keeper of bees, I can watch my flock closely through the hole in the wooden feeder to see how they fare. So far, ours are fast-multiplying, happy, feeding bees. Crisco and organic sugar, who’d have thought we would come to this? We have two more ‘nukes’ coming this spring from a local beekeeper if his bees survive the winter, and will add these new families to our bee village. Vilness says his bees are creating more propolis than he’s ever seen before. Knowing that propolis is used in herbal medicine as an antibiotic, I believe this means the bee’s immune systems are finally fighting back. With the help of our Divine Creator, each of us with a single organic, heirloom flower in our backyard will bring back the bees.

As Junesan tells us to pray,

Namu-myoho-renge-kyo


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

Keep in mind, I try things, I write about it, and I make mistakes. I write about them. My next article is about my dead bees...I write a monthly article about organic permaculture microfarming, by the way. You will find errors, in everything I do, so please don't be harsh on me when you do. Instead, I appreciate learning and growing by listening to what others who have more experience say...thank you.


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

Why pink himalyian salt??? What is wrong with our good old fashion rock salt that is mined along the great lakes and then ground up into the Morton variety?


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

Ted- good marketing will even convince people that Bud Lite is good beer.


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

I got sold a bag of that himalayan salt by my former massage therapist. Emphasis on former, the shop was doing poorly and she started piling stuff on the counter and I finally gave up, paid for it, and hired a new massage therapist after my wreck. (I do not pay $10 for a cup of bath salts ordinarily.)


CG3 - that works on everyone but a certain rock band that are friends of my daughters'. Only budweiser works for them..... My garden finished a keg of the lite.

Gypsi


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

You guys are funny! I only had regular sea salt, but I also had a lot of pink himalayan salt (from a trusted source) and the recipe called for that specific color, i.e., pink. So I assumed it would work. 

Out of that whole story all you can find to pick on is the color of the salt? C'mon, you guys are a tough crowd, you can do better than that! What you may not realize is that I worked as a bicycle mechanic with only guys for years on the west coast, and I'm now on a ski patrol shift that is only guys...hahaha I take a LOT of ribbing! I can give it back too


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

I'm not a guy. And ordinarily I avoid GMO's like the plague, but when it comes to partially processed sugar the research is out there that this is not good for bees. Despite all misgivings, my bees thrived and multiplied on plain old Imperial Pure Cane Sugar by the 50 lb bag. I don't want to be mean... I KNOW what it is like to lose a hive, and don't want to see you lose the other one.

(and the massage therapist story is true - I did pay $10 for a cup of pink salt. And a lot more junk was on that counter, I've since given most of it away - it's good to have daughters.)

Gypsi


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

weathershaman said:


> Out of that whole story all you can find to pick on is the color of the salt?


OK. Given the quantity and quality of advice available on the internet, etc. I prefer to take it from people with proven success.


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

Thank you for the non-guy comment...After all this discussion, I have a feeling you would approve of the organic sugar I am using, as it is partially refined, it just doesn't go through the chemical process. Is all organic sugar bad? Probably not. This is not beet sugar, nor is it dark. 

I also appreciate daughters!

Some people charge outrageous amounts of money for boutique salt. I worked at WiseWays Herbals at the time I purchased mine, bringing them into FDA compliance. The owner is a friend of mine, so the price I paid for Himalayan salt was considerably less


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

I agree, with taking advice from people who know what they are doing. That's why I'm here. I know you folks are experienced. We joined SABA, and we defer to our local beekeeping "godfather" Vilness Mattison who advises us.

I am going to search for the right sugar until I find it. I do not believe that the plain white sugar that is being produced today and sold in every grocery store could possibly be good for bees, but finding the right sugar is obviously going to be a search. 

Again, we are beginners, and we value your opinions. I am glad for each and every one of you who has spoken up and provided input into everything that we are doing right or wrong. I plan to switch out my plastic bee boxes that I was told to buy by what I considered a reliable source, Better Bee. Sadly, all reliable sources don't give reliable advice. I have already found a local bee box builder who is a member of SABA, and will purchase boxes from him this spring. 

I spent a lot of money buying products that were not recommended, not knowing that my first source, Better Bee, would not be a good source. The top feeders we replaced with the lid feeders, we are not giving any drugs at present to the bees even though them were recommended by Better Bee. It's hard to sift through all the information to figure out which is reliable.

I am glad I found this site, with real people who are not in the business of selling the latest greatest, but instead are old hands at bee keeping and have advice for me. I hope you'll bear with us while we try to get up to speed, ask dumb questions, and make mistakes. I feel like we are all bee keeping for the same reason, and that is to bring back the bees to our world.

Together, by sharing our good and bad news, maybe we can make a difference.

Jules


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

weathershaman said:


> finding the right sugar is obviously going to be a search.


Again, you are choosing the wrong thing to stress out about. Refined white sugar may not be the best thing for people, but bees, at best, have a lifespan of a few months. They are never going to develop obesity, get diabetes, become hyperactive. When taking advice from your health food store you run into the same problems that you do taking advice from Betterbee- they are taking advantage of your innocence to sell what they offer. I'm not saying they are doing it maliciously, they may even sincerely believe it, but these are not new issues, at least to beeks.


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

That's a really good point. I have to somehow get beyond the GMOs, chemical processing and the bee die offs, but I'm getting there! Thank you!


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

I have already made a difference. By losing a swarm I brought bees back to an area where they had been wiped out. If they make it through the winter, it will be an ongoing difference. My friend next to Dallas has done the same. We are still learning, but every little bit counts.


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## weathershaman (May 25, 2011)

I agree, you have made a BIG difference in Dallas by bringing back the bees. Each of us counts. I created my blog, www.cherryplainfarm.blogspot.com, years before I started keeping bees. The front page says "saving Gaia one bee at a time," featuring photos of bees I took on various herbs around the homestead. 

I'm with you 100%. BTW, just checked on my bees, they are humming loudly and happy. I spent the morning on this forum and speaking to two experienced local beekeepers, one about building some wooden frames for us this spring, and one about feeding in the winter. Both gave me great ideas, which I implemented immediately.

Our community is a powerful force for the bees...May they return in strength.

Jules


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

CG, Sadly to say all my bees are Diabetic!!! They all crave SWEETS!! TED


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

Are you sure it's not the Bud Lite?


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

Stella, Maybe....


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## azeryth (Oct 23, 2010)

hello, everyone,

im having a similar problem on some of our hives... two of my strongest colonies started showing signs of mite infestation...the broods are dying or not completely developing--they have that dried up appearance, both eggs and larva..i've seen some mites in some of the cups.

at first i thought it must be the queen. she was also laying two or more eggs in a cup even if there were a lot of space available.

then i also thought it might be because i didnt feed them enough. rainy season most of last quarter but an adviser told me that they still can get there own food.

now i lost one colony and im afraid i might lose another.

any ideas? i would appreciate it very much.

thanks.

thesa


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## delber (Dec 26, 2010)

At first description it sounds like chalkbrood. I'd encourage you to go to Michael Bush's site and look there for descriptions etc. I hope this helps.


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

If you have mites and are seeing mites, (I have never seen chalkbrood), I dusted mine with powdered sugar, as they cleaned off the sugar they cleaned off the mites. BUT I did this in August. It is now January. I also fed like crazy, it was a dearth. 

Hopefully someone in the tropics will chime in.


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## hoodswoods (May 15, 2009)

Here in the south, this would be pretty early in the winter to have starvation death - they usually have enough stores to get them thru a bad month or more of it before we start seeing a collapse. I would look at some previously-mentioned mitigating circumstances (robbing, poor queen, parasites & diseases).


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## seamuswildflower (Apr 2, 2011)

l put a jar of sugar water right over the cluster so it will not freeze and they can reach it. lf you use an outside feeder it may be too far away for them to reach it. l add a deep and a spacer so a gallon jar will fit. l also feed pollen patties.


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## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

throw the grease pattys away. trachael is not much of a problem anymore. Its hard to feed syrup until spring in your area. your best chance for feeding is to use a candy board. good luck


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## seamuswildflower (Apr 2, 2011)

you can make your own feed syrup. 1 to 1 sugar to water. heat till disolved


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## delber (Dec 26, 2010)

Guys, This guy is in New York. It's too cold up here to fee syrup regardless of whether it's 1-1 or 2-1. Dry sugar or candy board is the only option for feed at this point. Once temps are above 50 in a couple months you can start feeding syrup, but not now. In NC and Ga. things are different.


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

_*do not under any circumstances feed 1:1!*_ Even 2:1 if iffy, as Delber says. Get a recipe for a candy board, mix it up, cast it in foil, invert the feed over the inner cover opening, put an empty shallow super (if you have one) around it, and feed your bees. As has been posted previously, the bees will not be able to eliminate the moisture from their bodies with 1:1 syrup, even if it was warm enough for them to take it. You don't want to give them dysentery.
Regards,
Steven


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