"Several colonies had floors covered by freshly dead bees (presumed so
due to the colouring of the cuticle, absence of other debris
intermingled with bodies, no apparent compaction of the pile) - they
looked as if they had just fallen.
The piles were 2 - 3 cm deep and covered most of the floor area."

Hi Peter.
I had a similar experience with my bees a few weeks ago.  The hives looked
like they had lost about 20% of their population, and those 20% were all in
the bottom of the box and out the front.  This happened just after I had
moved my bees some distance by vehicle.  It seems that the bees engorged on
honey because of the stress and developed a case of hyperglycaemia.  I now
spray water into the hives every 100km I travel to try and prevent this.
Could this be the case with you also?  You talk about moving away from your
winter apiary?

regards
Paul

Paul Collett
Makana Meadery/Department of Entomology, Rhodes University
www.iqhilika.co.za
Apis mellifera capensis

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