Gordon <[log in to unmask]>  wrote:
>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.

I had a very similar experience.  My 2 hives were started from 5 lb York
Italian packages last spring.  Hives were treated with Fumadil and formic
acid, packaged in the original leaky packs, in October.  There was a
significant 24-hour varroa drop on the sticky boards the first week of
treatment, virtually none after 3 weeks, when the spent packs were removed.
Both entered the winter with ample (>80 lb) stores of honey, and bees were
observed poking their heads out of the ventillation holes I drilled whenever
the temperature got even close to 50 F.  (It's been a tough winter in eastern
Massachusetts, with no real flying days since before Thanksgiving.) Hive
exteriors show bee feces, not surprising given the winter weather.

I peeked in one hive on March 1 to find thousands of dead bees on the bottom
board and 2 1/2 or 3 frames of honey in the upper hive body, but no live
bees.  No sign of brood of any kind.  Most frames had dozens of dead bees
fully inside the cells, head-first.  Sometimes these bees were in tight
groups, sometimes spread across the frame.  The second hive had a cluster
about the size of my clenched fist and more thousands of dead bees.  No wax
moth or other vermin damage was evident in either hive.

The strange thing was the small white objects, about 1-2 mm diameter and 2-4
mm in length.  I don't think they are bee eggs, in part because I see them
all over the frames and the top bars, not in the cells.  I don't have a
positive ID on these objects, and would appreciate any help.  They may or may
not be related to the death of the hives.

I plan to conduct a hive post-mortem, looking for varroa, tracheal mites, and
Nosema spores, as well as some microscopic examination of these objects. I'll
report any substantive findings to the list.  In the meanwhile,  any
suggestions or educated guesses would be appreciated.

I have ordered new packages (3 lb. Carniolans this time) but need to
determine if the comb is safe for use.  I plan to use acetic acid fumigation
if I find evidence of Nosema, my current personal guess as to the cause of
these dead-outs.