Jason,

>My questions are as follows:
>
>1) Are the dead bees on the snow a normal phenomenon? They left the hive at
>an ambient temperature not above 20 F. None of them made it farther than 8
>feet, the bulk of them within 4 feet of the front of the hive.
>
I am not sure where you are, but here in Alaska what you describe is
perfectly normal.   In fact earlier this month we had some warmer
weather (around 20 degrees F) and one of my three hives did not exhibit
this behavior.   I waded through about 2 feet of standing snow to check
and sure enough that hive had died.   Don't worry about the bees that
die in the snow.   As far as the feces on the front of the hive, that
too is normal when bees must leave the hive at temperatures as you
report.   I have it every year.

>2) Should I try to evict the mouse or let the bees take care of him in the
>spring?
>
Tough one.   Depends on your situation.   This late in the season I
would probably say wait and take your loses.   If you can lift the
colony off an empty bottom box, you could probably get away with
evicting the mouse.   Otherwise, prevention in the future will be easier
when you see the damage the mouse does.

Tom Elliott
Chugiak, AK

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