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Mon, 13 Feb 2017 18:59:16 -0700 |
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I went out to do a broodless OAV treatment and found two dead hives that I
can't explain. Maybe you can help.
I manage 8 hives on an organic CSA type farm in Boulder County, CO.
I'll admit that varroa management was was not what I would have liked due
to the hive owner not ordering treatments in time *%#&@&^%!. Treatments
(MAQS) were two weeks late and 4 other hives owned by the farm (including a
couple of TBHs) died sometime in the fall likely from varroa. We lost the
predicted 1/3 across all apiaries from the 2 week delay. No surprises
there. Mite levels were high for my liking going into winter, >6 in alcohol.
These 8 hives went into winter as double 19 frame deeps with 60-80#
stores. They were alive on 16 Dec. On 26 Jan they were dead. Each had a
nearly full deep box of honey on top and some below. There was about 5
pounds of dead bees evenly spread across the bottom board with only a few
dozen fresh (since the last snowfall) bees outside. Several dozen bees
with a queen were stuck to the frames. No brood. No weird smells. The farm
owner says he didn't spray anything and doesn't use pyrethroids. There is
a neighbor with apple trees, which get all sorts of bugs here. I can't
think of anything she'd spray in fall/winter except dormant oils. One hive
was one I marked "God save the Queen" because it had consistently low mite
levels and good production. I gave her CPR, but alas, she's gone.
So there's a typical varroa/virus deadout that I see in my mentorees
hives. Plenty of stores until they get robbed out and a softball sized
cluster with a queen and a few scattered capped brood cells underneath.
There's usually a "I didn't see any mites" in there too. Bees are dead by
the beginning of winter.
My 2 mystery hive had a lot of bees that seemed to die all at once and
when they weren't clustered. (We have warm days periodically in winter.) A
few others are describing the same thing.
In summer, I'd suspect a pesticide kill. In late March with no stores,
starvation. Any ideas?
Cheers,
Kristina Williams
Boulder, CO
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