>>The other explanation is a virus, but I would be surprised
>>if one could come on so fast.
> ccd can spread quite quickly if there is a large infective load,
>through a WHOLE yard in 2 months, just from drifting
>Dead out equipment is worse, no drifting needed
Yeah, but we are talking two *days* here, not two months.
>On a warm day do a ramp test.
I may do that. We'll see.
For now, I think I may have overreacted. In the time I spent
in the house, writing and worrying, the symptoms seemed to have
moderated. I see a few bees around the entrance, but not an
abnormal number now.
I'm gunshy now after the Big Loss, and it possibly could be I was
just seeing the normal cleaning out after a few days of rain and
manipulations also seeing some young bees which had pupated
in chilly weather and were not able to get themselves fed properly
after emerging. I really don't know.
These bees are a lot more Italian than I am used to and raise brood
all over the hive. Could be some was chilled, and although the bees
emerged, maybe they were sub-standard?
When I was transferring frames, the otrher day, I noticed some young
bees did not seem to have much get-up-and-go. It was as if they were
starved or chilled and they did not warm up and fly. They just sat there and
formed groups which acted is if they were sharing. Some did not go
back into the hive when dropped on the doorstep.
We see dopiness when we surprise bees which are in a dormant
cluster sometimes. The same ocurs on rainy days.
It normally takes do[pey bees some time to wake up and warm up, but
they do warm up and fly if they have enough food in them and it is not too
chilly for them to build up heat.
I notice that the crawlers I collected seem to be able to fly once they are
bagged and it was hard to keep the samples in the bag. Again that seems
a bit odd.
Anyhow, no panic -- yet. I took some samples, though.
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