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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