Hi all,

I stopped at my two hives yesterday an hour or so before dusk to see how
they looked. I didn't go into the hive or anything, just wanted to observe
from the outside. I found something odd going on in front of and underneath
one hive. There were a number (150 or so) of dead and dying bees directly
underneath the hive. There were also about a dozen dying bees half a meter
in front of the hive. Finally, there were about 2 dozen bees hanging on to
the underside of the hive, which at this point is a screen bottom board.
Though there were a few drones, most of the bees were foragers with baskets
full of pollen.

A little background: I am located in SE Georgia. We have been having mild
days and cooler nights. By cooler, I mean hovering above freezing by a few
degrees. The temperatures during the day have been confortable enough for
the bees to forage. The last time I went in was 2 weeks ago. At that time I
added a super and everything looked normal (good brood pattern, solid
stores, etc). The only other factor that I changed was placing Spanish moss
over part of the entrance (a trick I learned from a local beekeeper) to
help with the cold nights. Could this have confused the foragers? I removed
the moss yesterday and will be going into the hive this afternoon.

I know it is difficult to diagnose online, but anyone have any thoughts on
this?

Cheers,

-- 
Gabe Andrews
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