It seems as though the losses I've incured are due to failure of the
hive to properly re-queen after it has issued a swarm.this may be due to
the queen larvea being damaged by mites.I've found several hives to be
queenless after they have swarmed.after 2-3 weeks the population decline
leaves the hive vulnerable to robbing and eventual decimation.I have
some very aggressive hives mixed with mild tempered hives in my yards.I
treat for mites once a year in the fall when populations are at their
lowest and then only treating the hives with evidence of mite
infestation.only the fit survive.queen cells are produced from the most
productive hives with little regard for aggression.comb in brood boxes
average 3 yrs in age to keep cell size small.hygenic behavior is taken
into consideration but only as far as clean bottom boards are
concerned.by mid march all empty hives are filled with bees and queens
grafted from several survivor lines to maintain diversity also swarms
are collected each year from unknown sources and requeened,if not
productive,with cells grafted from survivor hives.last year only 50%were
treated with apistan strips losses were minor from both groups.four
hives have not been treated for mites in 4 years or more and are still
alive.these four are always included in the breeder group.presently I
have 6 empty hives 2 were swarms which didn't make it or absconded,4
died out after the honey was harvested from unknown causes probably
swarming.