# Bees died. ..



## dvto2 (Feb 1, 2016)

This is my first year with bees. The end of august there were so many bees and they were so adhesive I couldn't examine the hive. Last week I couldn't find many bees and this week they are all dead. Any thoughts?


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

dvto2 said:


> This is my first year with bees. The end of august there were so many bees and they were so adhesive I couldn't examine the hive. Last week I couldn't find mentioned bees and this week they are all dead. Any thoughts?


That is a tough situation to be in. Actually quite common though to hear this from first season beekeepers. The biggest reason appears often to be lack of preparedness for one of the most common causes behind fall and winter colony collapse; Varroa mites. Do some reading on this topic. Meanwhile protect the drawn comb from mice, wax moths and hive beetles and put a nuc or package of bees into them in the spring. Next summer will be a better experience!

I see this is your first post: welcome to Beesource.


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## costigaj (Oct 28, 2015)

Mites/disease? Were you monitoring the mites and did you treat?


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## costigaj (Oct 28, 2015)

Don't give up. That drawn comb is gold for next year.


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## ruthiesbees (Aug 27, 2013)

I don't know if first year colonies in TBH usually fail to mites in the fall. I'd say that would be more likely to be a reason for a winter die out. I'd be more inclined to say that they starved in the late summer-fall dirth, unless of course you were feeding them syrup. Was there any capped stores left when you did take a look a them? And did you notice any queen cells?

Do preserve the drawn comb so that next year's colony can get a head start. Freeze it for 48 hrs and then store it in a well-lit area so the wax moths do not get to it. If it has uncapped nectar in it, then the freezer is the better spot for it so the ants don't find it.


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## dvto2 (Feb 1, 2016)

There is some capped and uncapped honey but not that much. I was feeding syrup in october. We had a draught and very poor nector flow in northern ct this summer.


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## Delta 21 (Mar 4, 2016)

**** mites!

My 2 hives were not crowded but getting plenty full in July/Aug, and I think I have good numbers in both hives still, but one has an increasing number of 'crawlers' with deformed wings in front of it. I havent done a sugar shake for an accurate count as I am just climbing this learning curve. I did an inspection 2 weeks ago and seen capped and uncapped brood and 1 or 2 mites on each side of each comb in the uncapped brood. Just a visual of the crawlers and watching closely at the entrance I can see mites on some of the drones.

My bees are new this year and I dont want to loose them. I did my second "crack pipe" Oxalic Acid Vaporization (OAV) treatment today to try to get ahead of the mites.

I wont have the proper tool for a few weeks and am shooting from the hip to help my bees. My buddy has a vaporizer but it is 3/4" thick I have bottom entrances on the end that is a gap 1/2" wide (tall).

There are good threads in the 'Diseases and Pests' forum.


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## trishbookworm (Jun 25, 2016)

Here is a thorough deadout hive autopsy procedure: http://www.beverlybees.com/how-to-autopsy-a-honey-bee-colony/

It's important you find the clues to narrow down exactly what happened for your situation. I find that I need to take notes (and I use my phone since pics are worth 1000 words...) so I remember when things happened (and to which hive! I only have 4 but still...). 

If you didn't treat and are interested in that approach, I recommend reading squarepeg's treatment free chronicle... on the treatment free page here.

It's important to protect the comb from wax moth infestation. I think that simply closing up the hive at this point will be fine, because the hive will start to get below freezing, and that kills wax moth eggs. Be very very sure there are no secret entrances. I have to use my hive tool to "peel" the propolis off the bars, because otherwise I can't get the bars back together right. And that propolis is worth something btw - worth keeping!

I like to keep a comb of honey/stores but harvest the rest of the honey (assuming you didn't treat with the honey in the hive). That way I have emergency honey for a new hive or swarm. June can be deadly if it starts to act like April...it is possible to keep that comb in the hive, and keep it safe from wasps. Though the honey can crystallize - then it's only good for people, hence my only keeping 1 comb!


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## trishbookworm (Jun 25, 2016)

for the sugar roll, I take out a big bowl to put the pwd sugar in, like a mixing bowl. then I brush the bees (with a big feather) into the bowl. Then I dump the powdered covered bees into a mason jar (I bought a canning funnel that fits), and got the canning lid on lickety split. You can use rubber band too! so many ways. I had old window screen, but cheesecloth works too. It's not too late to do a sugar roll.... if they aren't in cluster you can do it. Or even kidnap them from the entrance - you might be able to get 50 that way! better than none! You can do the math too with the mason jar - if 300 bees is 1/2 cup, but you have 1/4 cup... Mason jars are often labeled or you can pre-measure out and label for yourself.

I wasn't too careful about getting bees from broodcomb vs honeycomb this time - just aiming for bees. 

It's good to document the current state of mites, and the state after using the OAV, since if you don't know your numbers before... or after... you won't know if the treatment worked.


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