> But, in the past 10+ years that I haven’t covered them, this is the first
> time I have seen this happen to every hive.  And, this winter was milder
> than the last one (lowest temp: -5F/-21C vs. –16F/-27C, and avg. temp
> warmer).  And, this spring was the earliest I have ever seen them start
> bringing in pollen: 15 March (only the survivors, all of the ones that
> starved were gone by then).
>

One other thing that was common to the area was a lousy spring and summer
last year with little nectar until the fall. So many overwintered on fall
honey. Add an early spring followed by a short span of winter and we had a
lot of factors that contribute to possible starvation, especially the return
of cold. Sort of a perfect storm here in the NE.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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