I have a couple of hives in my backyard, first winter. So, I've been checking on them quite regularly and there have been dead bees piled up at the entrance. I checked with another local newbie (also first winter) and he was seeing the same thing, which we both thought was a good sign (there must be some bees alive inside to carry the dead bees out, right?) Today I checked on them, and saw this: bees scattered in the snow, some quite a distance from the hive, also signs of nosema on the ground. The local beekeeping expert that I usually check in with, is busy with his mother's funeral tomorrow.
So, what do you guys think? I'm about a 2 hour drive away from Perry in Nova Scotia, garden zone 6b, if that makes any difference. We have been having some wild swings in temperature, but not much snow until this week. Maybe this has been going on for awhile and I'm just noticing it now because of the snow?