Agree that the most likely explanation for the disappearance of the  
colonies is from a high infestation of varroa.

Kristina Williams explained very well the challenges for the myriad of  
beginners trying beekeeping all over the place.

Another trap that new beekeepers seem to be falling into is the idea  
that by using alternative hive designs they can give bees an edge over  
parasites.  There is no logic or evidence for this.  "Alternative"  
hives were designed as "poor man's (or woman's) hives" - the Warre  
design many decades ago, the top bar designs starting in the 1970s for  
use in beekeeping development programs.  In some of the programs they  
were even considered as "transitional"- a step to be taken between the  
fixed comb hives traditional in many areas and the unaffordable or  
inaccessible movable frame hives.  The cost of alternative,  
transitional hives is lower,  but the management more complicated,  
unless one uses minimal management and mostly just takes honey.  And  
unless one is lucky or happens to have bees that can cope with  
parasites, the final outcome of this misadventure is dead colonies.

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