Winter was progressing nicely, and I was happy in my work.  Some days 50 to
60 F sunny, mornings
cool 40F just a nice time to get things done.  Bees flying in the afternoon
all hives looked good from
the outside.  I went into one hive to remove the aspitian strips that I put
in it. I had checked all the hives
for mites using a Varroa trap the I got from Brushy  Bee. Only one hive
showed mite infestation above
the recommended per sq.in. of three.  I treated with aspistan. The hive
that had bees flying in and out
it, is dead.  I was seeing robber bees and didn't know. My inspection of
the hive found that the queen
was dead. I can find no disease, no strange odor. It was a first year hive,
so the comb is clean. The few
holes in the comb that had any thing in them were hard honey, like
crystallized.  There were wax worms
that had already started to take over. I cleaned them all off. The hive
still looks to be in good shape. I
scorched the hive, and scrapped the frames clean, but left the comb in it.
QUESTION: should I strip out
the frames and put in new foundation?  I have read the strings about
possible diseased hives, and most
say put in new. I have heard that a varroa mite can only live two weeks
without a host, so could I use the
hive come Spring with new bees and feel comfortable or should I scrape the
frames and start new. Can
a wax worm live through a scorching.?  There are some indentations in the
wood.  I thought to store the
hive with paramoth crystals, until Spring. I, only have nine hives now, and
have been in bee keeping
for three years. I thought that I was doing everything right, but I guess
not.  Im the only one around here
that has bees left.  Most have given up and moved on.  I still think its
fun, and learn from the bees.
Any help that anyone can give to me, will be greatly appreciated. I don"t
want to lose any more.
Walt in South Carolina.