Dead hive

[quentin]

Have 2 hives, 10 months old. One is doing fine , appears strong, the other has complete die off.

Opened dead hive today, found small dead cluster,about 30 bees, around dead queen. 3 mediums above first medium (where queen was) were 80% full of capped stores.

No slime or evidence of wax moth. Comb looks well formed in first medium but dark brown and no larva.

Any idea what caused the demise? My guess is queen failure or Veroa and the cold finished them off.

Can the dark brown comb be reused or is it trash?

[Wally]

Die off could have been weakening from varroa, or nosema cerranae.

Yes, store all frames safely and reuse in the spring.

[quentin]

Thanks Wally

Glad I started with 2 hives as recommended

[herbcoop]

Mine left as well, only had one hive, everything you stated on what you saw mine was the same.
My boss lives in Blewes creek and went to the Forsyth class this Saturday and said there were a lot of bee keepers that were saying they lost their hives and have no idea on what happened
I live in Thomasville and noticed another guy that had 4 hives that are gone as well I'm thinking since they are on their sides that you can see the frames.
I called John at Triad bee supply and he has said he has heard alot of this lately

[quentin]

The Queen was still there along with about 30 other bees in a small bunch.

Looks to me like they died from cold temperatures.

There was no sign of any eggs, larvae, or debris in the empty brood cells.

The empty brood cells are very dark colored and brittle. May have been brittle because it was cold when I opened the hive.

But spring is just around the corner and we will have another opportunity to try it again.

[herbcoop]

I've sent an e-mail to Tate's Apiaries to see what bees are available and told them about what happned to mine this is what they said
"Sorry to hear your Carni's up and left, We hear that everyday"
So this must have happened to quite a few beekeepers this year