> Anyway, there was evidence of starvation (butts out) in the presence
> of food nearby (still liquid and uncapped), there was a huge pile
> of dead bees on the floor, the dead bees we saw looked healthy
> (no visible mites, wings shaped correctly), (snip) there were a few spots
> that were probably bee
> droppings but no evidence of widespread diarrhea,


If they were near pine forests, the uncapped honey could be honeydew honey
which can be deadly to bees. Another test is to squeeze some dead bees and
see if you get loads of brown liquid bee poop.

Way back when my bees suffered from the honeydew honey and if they would
make it through the winter they were lethargic and small in number. So that
could be a factor.

Peter's posts  point to other things that we mamy be experiencing this
winter, but I go with the historical obvious for now. So far all the issues
I have seen have been around for years.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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