Well, I bought ten hives to rplace the ones I lost.  After a week, I noticed they needed feed badly and decided also that I need to get my my existing equipment into service.

I went through my deadouts and selected boxes that were full of feed and did not have any abandoned brood or dead bees and placed one under each hive.  I transferred the frames from each hive into empty but used EPS boxes,  I transferred the frames in the same order and orientation that I found them and reassembled the hives so that the colony was the same as before, except in different boxes (EPS with auger holes in place of wood with no holes) and above a full box of feed which they did not have before..

That was two days ago and done quickly and casrefully on a rainy day between showers and with very few bees dropped or crushed.   We have had cool, rainy weather until today, and the bees have been confined since the transfer.

Today I went out to examine the hives and immediately noticed small groups of sluggish young bees inm front of each hive and crawlers, also apparently young, in the grass crawling away from the hives.

This was quite a surprise.  I had said on examining the hives, that my losses looked just as if the bees had been poisoned.  This makes me wonder.  I don't knwo how it could have happened.

The other explanation is a virus, but I would be surprised if one could come on so fast.  My mite drops on one of these hives has so far shown zero! mites over almost a week.  The hives have a full ox of brood and a partial second box of brood and bees.

I'm wondering what to do next.

Pictures are at http://www.honeybeeworld.com/misc/puzzle.htm

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