I am located about 1/2 way between Montgomery and Mobile, Alabama.  Guess that makes me subtropical weather wise.   I had two strong hives moved from a sunny location to a shaded location in town.  First one hive succumbed to what appeared to a SHB infestation.  I combined what was left with the other hive beside it.  About a month and a half later, it too succumbed to a SHB infestation.  It is my thinking that the appearance of the SHB was due to the hives being overwhelmed by varroa; that the combination of shade, varroa,and SHB caused the demise of both hives.  BTW, I am pretty sure that the second hive absconded from the description of the owner of the house where the bees were locatd.  Previously the two hives had survived two winters and two summers in a previous sunny location.

What are the thoughts of this readership?  I'm thinking that I lost the hives to colonies that were not varroa tollerant when placed in the shade.  The combination of varroa and SHB caused the demise.   For the entire life of the two hives, no treatments were given.

Mike in LA


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