Jerry writes:
my loss of 90% of our research hives in MT happened in
February. 

Our CCD colonies still ended up with the majority of the
bees fleeing the hives .......  But,they didn't want to
stay in their hives.
 
If they can leave the hive, they will.  
 
What we DID see - no shortages of food (hives had plenty of
honey and stored pollen), no bees head first and dead as
would be expected if they starved,lots of brood for time of
year, queen's were overdoing it.  Brood was developing
nicely, then the bees fled.

Reply:
I can easily go with what you say here, having been up
front with losing 200 out of 300 or so hives in one general
area this past Sep just prior to fall 2007.I can equate Feb
with spring brooding up your area, like Sep is to fall down
here.But being warmer down here and in middle of monsoon
season and good bloom on in area where it happened, and not
cooler like in Feb in your area, and showing bees only
month earlier, to other beekeepers with brood and enough
honey/pollen stores, sure made me wonder what had happened.

 For some of the strongest had had 6 frames of brood in at
least two boxes when last seen; and even newly started
caught swarms and splits had had 2-4 plus frames of brood,
and stores enough, for me for getting ready for fall run.
This was August, and I expected to come back middle/end of
Sep, and have to start moving fast to stay ahead of
things,as I was expecting expanding hives for our fall
crops as normally come on. But opposite was what I found in
this one general area (7 yards). (Did not see this in rest
of yards 23 more) 

But no bees with heads in cells or basically on bottom
boards. The bees had gone, but where? and pollen and honey
that was stored with hives still left, was being thrown out
the front of many hives with a good bloom on, and the bees
acted like they wanted every thing out, and didn't care
about foraging. No brood left, yet only month before
plenty. LIke in the hives left, the queens shut down
completely, the bees threw out all they could in way of
stores that were there previous last looking, and were in
process of shellacing hives inside from top to bottom where
strongest populations had been, though smallest/average
populations I found in loose clusters inside the hives not
working. Something I had never seen before, loosely
clustered bees in a hive not working with a good flow on in
hot humid weather. But both didn't have piles of dead bees
out front.The bees were simply gone.

But stronger populations left seemed intent on cleaning the
inside of the hives from top to bottom, those that were
left, and were in a working mode inside, and not clustering
like the weaker ones. Both seemed not caring about foraging
which again I had never seen with bloom this time of year.

Yet, this is time of year with bloom on from the monsoon
taking hold for a month already in July, the bees normally
run for brooding up for fall (Aug), and socking in
honey/pollen stores for overwintering.Late start ups runing
for brooding in Sep. But it wasn't there for 2/3 of hives
with 200 of 300 approx lost. 

Brooding finally started around 1st week of Oct with
strongest and foraging finally, and weaker came on later by
end of month. But why 1-2 months late? and why did hives
stop to shut queens down, and get rid of stores, and
reclean whole hives inside, at least the stronger? Why
summer clusters like swarms hanging inside a hive? Why no
brooding up for fall until after 1st week of Oct, along
with new fall stores going in? Also, where did the bees go,
for if I saw swams it's not like I am not known to go get
them and put them in box with queen includer on. 

Now, is this CCD related? Dunno. It's not my call. But I
did pick up the phone and rant! Where would 200 of 300
hives go.

By the way, last time I looked the end of Feb following our
conference, the surviving colonies were still there hanging
on, waiting for spring to startup more, following my
bedding them down late last fall. Decided wouldn't look
again until first main week of April. or one more week.

D

  

 




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