Bob Billson and all, are you ready for more thoughts?
 
HBTM is indeed indemic, but I'm not satisfied yet that grease patties will
keep them below the economic threshold.  There are many things going on in
a colony at the same time but they have not been identified in a manner
which would determine if any correlations exist between them.  I think this
is true with grease patties and HBTM.  I have been using only Terramycin
(TM), and grease, patties on my colonies for the last ten years.  My HBTM
levels have only been about 10 to 15 percent, but the brood patterns have
been less than ideal, i.e. spotty.  This lack of larval survival could
account for keeping the HBTM levels low.  This year I'm going to withhold
patties (using only TM dust) on some of the colonies and see what will
happen to the HBTM levels in the treated and control colonies.
 
The dead pollen collectors on the hive entrance in February may suggest
that the colony was collapsing at that time.
 
I would recommend that next time you remove the hive cover, if the hives
are not wrapped, and look down between the frame top bars to determine the
visible size of the cluster.  One can count the number of combs with bees
on both sides and what percentage of the length of the frame is covered.
The top brood nest can be lifted to see if the cluster hangs down into the
bottom brood box, and again estimate the size of the cluster in the bottom.
 This data can be converted into an estimate of full combs covered with
bees.  This will not chill any brood but give you a quick (two minute)
observation and estimate of the colony size, shape, and cluster density.
 
You saw some larvae in the cells.  It is sometimes difficult to determine
how long the dead larvae have been in the cells in cold weather.  It could
have been for a week or a month.  Sometimes the queen has been gone for a
long time and laying workers have laid the eggs.  The difference between
the two is that the queen lays in some semblance of an elipse (normally)
while laying workers just place eggs in single cells scattered over the
comb and their cell caps are slightly to mostly bullet shaped.
 
I am more enclined to think that your problem was HBTM from what you have
added to the discussion.
 
A queen retinue, as seen in pictures in ABC-XYZ and The Hive and The Honey
Bee and other places, is when the workers form a ring around the queen when
she stops on the comb face.  They lick her and touch her with their antenae
to remove queen pheromone which they then distribute to other bees in the
colony.  This pheromone cues most of the behaviors of the bees.
 
From what you say I might think that your Italian queen started off slow at
egg laying, or she was poor and possibly superceded, which resulted in the
delayed start of the colony.  This may be indicated by the poor temperament
you mention which happens because of genetics and also when colonies are in
trouble.
 
It is important that beekeepers pay more attention to bee behaviors.  If
they encounter the aberrant behaviors they may need to requeen, or take
their chances with wintering.  I would make some value judgement about how
well your current Buckfast does this spring.  I usually recommend that all
colonies be requeened the second spring.  I do this with a top nuc which I
combine down by July 4th.  That way I usually have a young queen going
through the winter.  It can also be done with a top nuc which is combined
with the bottom colony in 30 days if the lower queen is failing.
 
I agree that it is hard for a beginner to know what is important.  I try to
educate beginners to think like an investigator, i.e. a) what am I looking
at, b) what is happening, c) why is it happening, d) what do I hear in the
hive, e) do other colonies behave the same, f) and what are the differences
between colonies?
 
Some of the things I assess when working a hive are:
a) how many combs of pollen are there,
b) how many combs of honey, or feed,
c) how many combs of bees,
d) what is the ambient temperature,
e) how are the bees clustering - elliptical or chimney shaped at 55-60 F.,
f) do they cluster tightly or loosly,
g) does the queen have all her body parts,
h) is she wide and long,
i) do the bees quickly turn towards her as she passes by, and form a
retinue around her when she stops on the comb,
j) does she lay eggs in an ellipse with brood of different ages appearing
in concentric ellipses,
k) is the brood pattern tight with very few skipped cells,
l) do the bees remain evenly distributed over the brood rearing area and
face of the comb,
m) do the bees remain quiet on the comb or do they slowly or rapidly move
off the brood rearing area,
n) does some level of a queenless roar occur even though the queen is
present (60-85 dB),
o) do the bees stick their abdomen in the air and scent fan on the combs
and throughout the hive.
 
How is that for a list to challenge your psyche?  They are the things I
think are important to note because they reflect the health of the colony
and ultimately its ability to survive.
 
Best wishes,
James C. Bach
WSDA State Apiarist
Yakima WA
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