Guilfordbeekeepers.org

Hey,
We have no hives left. The bees are dead. So, do we have the hive bodies sterilized (fi so where?) or do we burn them and start over fresh. The bees have been dead about 2 months, they are all there even the queen. So, I don't know if they were poisened by something a neighbor put out or what. I just know they are dead and there were a few hive beetles in there too. So, should we start from scratch or is it safe to reuse?

Sorry to hear about your bees.
I hope it wasn't something the neighbor put out.

What position are the dead bees?

If they are head first in the cells they may have starved and the equipment hive bodies will be fine to use after scraping down. Could even wash down with water and bleach (10% bleach in water).
The frames and comb could be reused again if starvation was the cause of death. You might want to freeze the frames for 48 hours to kill any larvae then scrape the cob webs out the best you can and reuse.

If they are all on the bottom board could be other reasons why they died.
Maybe the cluster got too small and they froze.
Maybe they were weakened by mites.
Maybe a moisture problem.
If they were poisoned from what ever source I THINK it would still be OK to reuse the hive bodies, frames and comb.

If it was a disease would be hard to tell unless it was sent to the lab for testing.

THESE ARE MY THOUGHTS BUT COULD HAVE MISSED SOMETHING

Look for capped brood cells that are dark brown and sunken. If you find any, stick a small stick into one of them and pull it out slowly. If the goo holds onto the stick like taffy, call Don Hopkins, your state inspector.

(919) 233-8214

If you don't find that type cell, or if it isn't ropey, go ahead and clean up the hive and frames and reuse them in the spring. Freezing has been done in the last week, so no need to do it again.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that if there is no capped brood and you look into the empty cells and see some residue on the bottom and a spike sticking up from the side of the cell that this may also be AFB? Or would this just be found in very old comb? Or am I confusing it with something else?

got some time to look it up and this is what I found:
Taken from the Hive and the Honey Bee:
The final stage of the disease progression is the formation of the scale. If AFB kills the pupa, the resultant scale may have the so-called pupal tongue, which is thread like projection that extends away from the scale toward the center of the brood cell. This too is a valuable symptom but it may not always be present.

So not a fool proof way of detection.

Talking about the ropiness test:
Again from THe Hive and the Honey Bee:
When the larvae are brown, the symptom of ropiness can be demonstrated. To do this, macerate the suspected brood with a matchstick or twig and carefully withdraw it from the cell. If AFB is present, the brown remains can usually be drawn out like a thread for two or more centimeters. One word of caution--this symptom cannot always be demonstrated in AFB diseased larvae.

GRRRRRR
now I am sorry I looked.