Hello Mary Jane & All,
Thanks for your post but you may not like my answers.

>What's the deal?  I saved some dead bees and put them in the fridge- should
>I send them off to be examined by the state entomologist?

Missouri does not have a state apiary inspector and in my area could not
even come up with an entomologist to examine and take samples from the large
die offs in Missouri  since the spring of 2007.

>Puzzled in the Missouri Ozarks...

Reality:
The Missouri Ozarks are largely made up of rocky ground ,Oak trees and
fescue grass. I have seen many beekeepers fail to be able to keep more than
a hive or two *in those hills*.

 Add drought
and high heat and the problem magnifies.

For others on the list I will share the fact that most commercial beekeepers
from the Oklahoma /Kansas line to the gulf are not getting a honey crop and
many have been feeding bees in the extreme drought area for many weeks.
40-45 days of temps every day of over 100F.(Dallas area)

 The most southern areas of the Ozarks are also in the area.

A quick guess Mary Jane would be the four strongest colonies simply robbed
out the four weakest.
Allen asks the right questions but I would go out today and reduce the
entrances on the last hives and feed if light.

Time to test for varroa and treat if needed.

Supers (if any ) should be off by now or if to be left for feed queen
excluders pulled.

You need three brood cycles of winter bees for hives to survive winter.
Syrup alone will not produce those. *If* you go out and watch your hives
entrances each day for a few minutes and no pollen or very little coming in
I would feed pollen sub.

I have been advising commercial beekeepers from Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas
in drought areas for weeks.

Think *winter survival* now.
1.pull supers
2.control mites and disease
3.feed syrup if light
4.feed pollen sub if little coming in.

Fall flowers are down for our area and many beekeepers are moving hives into 
Iowa in places which received normal rain. I would not count on *fall 
flowers* to supply all the winter feed Mary Jane.

Feeding too late does not produce *winter bees*.

The good news is if you do the above *now* most likely you will save your
remaining hives.

After decades of diagnosis of beekeepers hives I have found the simple
answer usually is the correct answer. The last four weeks has burned up most
honey plants in your area and when flows stop the strong always try to rob 
the weak.

bob

Ps. My bees look great and I have to hire help to remove the crop. Lowest
late summer losses in years.

The hives which have had the supers removed are getting syrup and pollen sub
in the holding yard (large number of hives for the area with little pollen
coming in) and syrup as the supers are pulled in out yards. Pollen sub when
brought into the holding yard.

Those three brood cycles are critical for a hard winter in Missouri. My
queens shut down when the flow (as I was in a test sampling )stopped due to 
honey plants burning up and
only syrup and pollen sub will crank those bees back up!

Hope the above helps!

bob
Missouri area with only a couple weeks of drought conditions unlike those
south of Springfield, Missouri

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