a Baker's Bees snip followed by>my comment... 

Bees cluster that way in the winter (as I’m sure you know), so finding dead bees that way is only an indication that they died while clustered.  That can include starvation but does not necessarily indicate it. Most new beekeepers (which I’m aware you are not) think that dead bees in cells means that the colony starved regardless of other signals and we hear that parroted over and over again.

Perhaps Dr. Seeley was reacting to fighting this incorrect generally rather than your specific example. He even says "Yes, when a colony starves, we find lots of bees deep in cells, but they are not a sign of starvation.” 

> I must say this entire discussion is confusing to me. ie... It is a sign of starvation but not a sign of starvation?  Please enlighten me as to how this is not double speak? Is someone saying here that starvation was a part of the process but not the single and only cause? Would new beekeepers opening hives in the middle of the winter also be a secondary cause?  Does someone need to do the lesson concerning... do all you can do and then keep your hands in your pocket and do nothing? Or doing something is not always beneficial.

>Bee can (I have seen this on a number of occasion) reach a point where they appear dead in a small cluster but starvation and cold have reduced their activity to where it is almost not.  Push one or two bees at the top of the cluster and you will witness a very slow motion movement. This means the cluster is near death (and yes starvation is always the primary factor) but not totally dead. In such cases it is not that unusual to have feed in the box but just a wee bit too far away to utilize.  If you take a bottle of thin spray water and mist the hive down, in a few minutes the bees in the cluster will begin moving and then you can add a frame of feed. A bit of sunshine also helps in the recovery process. The first couple of times I did this (after being shown this by a very experienced old beekeeper) I tagged this as my Lazarus moment with the bees.  Such episodes does make me wonder how many northern beekeepers open up hives at totally inappropriate times and proclaims a hive dead when it reality up until the the time they popped the lid the hive was not dead at all?

Gene in Central Texas 

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