Bunch of dead bees outside of hives

[DuaneB]

This is my first winter and still learning. The other day, u noticed about a good size handful of dead bees on the ground, in front of the hives. My assumption is , these are dead summer bees and/or the hive reducing its size for winter.

Am I wrong? Do I have something to be concerned about?

Thanks,
Duane

[Jacobs]

I expect to see a larger number of dead bees on the landing board and in front of hives as weather cools and the dying can't crawl away and the dead can't be carried away. That being said, a large number in front of a hive may be cause for concern. I have a couple of hives like that in Brown Summit that I am watching. There are still active bees in them but significant numbers of dead out front. It may just be that I don't see those as often and the dead accumulate over time compared to home hives on my concrete driveway where birds, insects, wind, and easier crawling surface may cut down on the number of dead that I see. If 10 or 15 bees per day die in a hive and cannot crawl away or get carried away, and they get dumped in front, how long before those fairly minor losses start to look scary?