BEE-L Digest - 26 Feb 2001 to 27 Feb 2001 (#2001-58)I recently checked our bee hives at my place of employment. I am presently working on a 20 acre Biodynamic farm in the SW tip of Indiana (Historic New Harmony to be exact). Of the eight hives, only one survived the winter. We had one period this winter when there were 20 consecutive days of subzero weather and high wind-chill factors. The rest of the winter has been seasonable for this area. 

All hives were started with 3 lb swarms of Italian bees/queens from Walter T. Kelley. Since we are a Biodynamic farm, we started all the hives with foundation strips rather than full sheets of foundation. This is per Demeter specifications. We also use no chemicals except oxalic and/or formic acids to control Varroa and Tracheal mites. We are discouraged from using wintergreen oils for tracheal mites.

When I looked into the hives the other day I found that there was almost no sign of brood in any of the dead hives. I did not even find remnants of queen cells. There was plenty of honey stored for the size of the hives going into winter (which I must say was weak because of the dry summer and the smallness of the swarms hived). There were many dead bees clustered near the honey stores in each hive. This leads me to believe that the bees did not abscond due to mite infestation. I found no sign of foul brood in any of the hives. I also did not find any sign of wax moth.

What I did find in most of the dead hives on at least two frames each puzzled me as a fairly new beekeeper. I found clusters of what appeared to be white eggs about the size of the end of a number 2 lead pencil scatted over the frames and in the cells. Have you ever had an experience with this phenomenon? If so what is it's cause? Please contact me on this as I have told my employer that I would find what I could from an expert in apiculture.

Gordon Hayes

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