In article <[log in to unmask]>, Walt
Barricklow <[log in to unmask]> writes
>Winter was progressing nicely, and I was happy in my work.  Some days 50 to
>60 F sunny, mornings
>cool 40F just a nice time to get things done.  Bees flying in the afternoon
>all hives looked good from
>the outside.  I went into one hive to remove the aspitian strips that I put
>in it. I had checked all the hives
>for mites using a Varroa trap the I got from Brushy  Bee. Only one hive
>showed mite infestation above
>the recommended per sq.in. of three.  I treated with aspistan. The hive
>that had bees flying in and out
>it, is dead.  I was seeing robber bees and didn't know. My inspection of
>the hive found that the queen
>was dead. I can find no disease, no strange odor. It was a first year hive,
>so the comb is clean. The few
>holes in the comb that had any thing in them were hard honey, like
>crystallized.  There were wax worms
>that had already started to take over. I cleaned them all off. The hive
>still looks to be in good shape. I
>scorched the hive, and scrapped the frames clean, but left the comb in it.
>QUESTION: should I strip out
>the frames and put in new foundation?  I have read the strings about
>possible diseased hives, and most
>say put in new. I have heard that a varroa mite can only live two weeks
>without a host, so could I use the
>hive come Spring with new bees and feel comfortable or should I scrape the
>frames and start new. Can
>a wax worm live through a scorching.?  There are some indentations in the
>wood.  I thought to store the
>hive with paramoth crystals, until Spring. I, only have nine hives now, and
>have been in bee keeping
>for three years. I thought that I was doing everything right, but I guess
>not.  Im the only one around here
>that has bees left.  Most have given up and moved on.  I still think its
>fun, and learn from the bees.
>Any help that anyone can give to me, will be greatly appreciated. I don"t
>want to lose any more.
>Walt in South Carolina.
 
Walt,
 
Just sounds to me like the colony went down to winter queenless,
probably due to either failure to properly raise a queen in summer or,
less likely with the hive being dead by Christmas, her loss at some
stage too late in the season to replace her. It happens, and I would not
lose too much sleep over it: we probably get 30 or more of these each
season because later in the year we just don't have time to check that
everything is queenright for winter.
 
Sometimes there are hatched emergency cells from late in the season,
sometimes just a few attempted pup cells, often on or around the pollen
arc.
 
You probably have no disease at all responsible for this loss and as
such it wouldn't be necessary to give the hive anything more than a
cursory clean up and sterilise. Although this is likely to be the case
from your description, if you can it would be best to show the box to a
local old time beekeeper who I'm sure would be glad to give you a
verdict.
 
Subject to confirmation of what I say, just protect the combs from wax
moths and fill it up with a fresh split next year.
 
Kind regards and good luck.
 
 
Murray
--
Murray McGregor