Guilfordbeekeepers.org

When I look up from the bottom of the hive I see 30-40 dead bees laying on the screen and I see a few on the ground. This is more than I'm accustom to seeing. The hive is strong, full of bees, the mite count is very low, SHB are present but less than 20 or so I counted last week. So I don't see a danger there. (Unless I'm missing something.) I did have some robbing going on, then I got a screen and it stopped. The bees are staying pretty close to home now with the cooler weather. I do see some at the water source when the temps rise. My top two supers are full of capped honey. The bottom two are brood area.

Maybe I'm seeing more dead bees simply because they die inside the hive rather than outside somehere where I don't see them? Or is there something more sinister going on? Any insights would be appreciated.

dmiller

What you are describing sounds perfectly normal. Sick or dying bees will sometimes fly away or crawl away from the hive. Dead bees are often removed and carried away by "corpse carriers." With rainy weather or cooler weather, none of the removal techniques go on like in warm flying weather. My home bees are on my concrete driveway pad. I swept dead bees from in front of the hive for the first time this season just this morning.

Thanks for your coments. While I'm feeling better I'll keep a close watch over it.