Guilfordbeekeepers.org

i just took a quick look at two of my hives from the outside. there are a lot of dead bees all around the hives and on the front porch. there are some walking around the ground real slow like too, some on their backs slowly dieing. its kinda raining so i didnt want to open them up to see whats going on, but i did peak underneath and there are dead ones all over the screened bottom board too. the one hive has a full honey supper and the other about 4 frames. there are a good many bees still going in and out too. the dead ones are real black too. they really dont look like the normaly expired ones. any ideas?

Just a guess:

Robbers may be dragging the hive bees out.
Cold bees move slow maybe that explains the slow moving bees.

Just a guess but if there is some activity Robbers may be at work. Check to see how much of winter stores are left.

i looked inside the hives today and everything looks normal. i think they might have been zapped by the cold. the one hive did have a slight moisture problem. they might have had a little water dripping on them.

I am glad it wasn't robber bees and that all is well.
I have put news paper on top of the inner cover covering about half the hole. This seems to soak up the moisture. Just a thought.