Hello Jerry & All,

Thanks for all the help!  For this letter, I wish to place colonies with 
associated absconding type symptoms in a separate category, and consider 
for a moment only colonies that tend to have symptoms of small clusters 
with egg laying queen.  Since there is such a wide ranging of associated 
symptoms, I feel it is essential to separate and categorize them 
accordingly.  Looking to gather some opinions and first impressions 
related to observations described below so I can better focus on symptoms 
I find interesting,  and observed earlier this season in some colonies.  
Sorry bout so many questions. 

Review again, observations by Jerry: = *

* NO old bees
* nor are there any dead bees in the hive or in front of the hive 
* often not even the normal die off
* In most cases, the queen is still present, and a cup or two of young 
bees are working hard to re-establish the colonies

Would those having observed similar symptoms, especially the emphasis on 
NO old bees and small clusters in the hive.  In your opinion, do you think 
it is suggestive of broodnest worker depletion due to intense forager 
recruitment  (reassignment in division of labor)?   In my view, it is not 
suggestive of an inward reinforcement due to young bee depletion caused by 
broodnest disease.  Which one might expect to see forager bees in the 
broodnest, reassigning to fortify failing broodnest fundamentals.  
Instead, the lack of old bees suggests an intense outward forager 
recruitment behavior.

I’m also interested if those observing these symptoms noticed signs of 
fresh nectar near the brood, (indications of very recent foraging)? ,,,, 
and proximity and quantity of very recent pollen?  Were ‘old pollen 
stores’ located within the broodnest area (apx distance of 3 or so frames 
each way) near the small cluster tending to be depleted?  

* Brood chewed out, emerging adults stuck in cells, some with tongues out. 

Just wondering what better describes this symptom, to get a better feel 
for what is happening.

1) Is this symptom more suggestive a chewing out of pupa for the purpose 
of colony clean up and expansion?  In other words, a recovery event, and 
clean out advancing towards the broodnest peripheral? 

If so:

Is it  suggestive of a rapid contraction of bee  population and 
abandonment of brood, followed by chilling or malnourishment of the brood, 
and re-expansion, cleaning out of this chilled brood in a recovery effort?

OR

2) Is this symptom more suggestive of an attempt to remove dead brood for 
the purpose of containment of some disease,  In other words, a clean up 
towards the core of the broodnest and not for colony expansion?

Also wondering, in the observation of  “cup or two of young bees are 
working hard to re-establish the colonies”,  are we also observing 
an ’obvious’ lacking of larvae in any particular stage of development?,,, 
or an unbalance level in the egg, larvea, and pupa stages?  

I know that you stated these bees were “working hard to re-establish the 
colonies”.  Please define more clearly,  does this statement mean there 
was a ‘recovery’, in progress?  In other words, were they on the upswing?

OR

Do you mean,  working hard to reestablish the colony that is best 
described as in decline, or on a down swing?

OR 

Recovering with no clear inclination of colony growth or decline?

Very Best Regards,
Joe

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