Found another hive this week with no bees and there is over 60 lbs of honey so starvation is not a factor. I am not sure when they left they were there late in the fall and I swear two weeks ago when I listened to some of the hives in that yard with a stethoscope they were buzzing. I was listening in for fun winters are a little monotonous here. That was when I found the hive I wrote about last week that was abandoned. I was checking this hive today because I thought I saw mouse tracks in the snow going to the hive. Today was a sunny day so I pull the lid to check, there had been fox tracks near it last week which is good since they eat mice. There was nothing in the hive, no mouse and not a single bee dead or alive. 

There are around 12 full frames of honey, no sign of disease, it is two deep boxes and 16 of the frames were new this year with new foundation. This hive also was from a swarm as last abandoned hive was but I do not think that has anything to do with what ever is going on. . I am wondering if I can use the frames to feed other hives or will I run into trouble since I do not know the reason this hive was abandoned? Know that is a tough question to answer with out being able to examine the hive.

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