Author Topic: Sad season  (Read 1310 times)

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Offline Les

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Sad season
« on: March 05, 2020, 10:25:00 pm »
Well, out of seven hives I have one remaining!  Most of the deaths occurred in early December.  We had a very wet period and then the bottom dropped out temperature wise.  Not sure if they got wet and cold and succumbed.  I did a alcohol wash on the dead outs just to see where the mite count might have been.  Only one hive was loaded with mites and the others had very low numbers.  I treated with Apivar (42 day) so I don’t know what happened.  Honey still in the hives too.  Onward to Spring and I pray the last hive pulls through. :'(

Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: Sad season
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2020, 06:20:36 pm »
Oh no!  Sorry to her that Les.   :'(

I would recommend doing an autopsy, if you haven't disassembled the hives already.  I had a colony, a few years ago, got themselves worked into a corner and couldn't break cluster to access the honey stores.   Did you see any eggs, larvae, or brood?  When did you treat with Apivar? Any signs of disease?
Just some thoughts.

Offline rober

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Re: Sad season
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2020, 02:37:51 pm »
collect a minimum of 100 bees per hive & send them to the U.S.D.A. lab. way more accurate than a back yard alcohol wash.
https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/beltsville-md-barc/beltsville-agricultural-research-center/bee-research-laboratory/docs/bee-disease-diagnosis-service/

Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: Sad season
« Reply #3 on: April 13, 2020, 10:49:45 pm »
Sorry to hear that Les...   My situation went from bad to worse, and I didn't even touch my bees last year. They went all summer and into winter without treating, without feeding, without wrapping, and no insulation on the covers. I JUST didn't have time to even look at them in passing...  I have to say i am surprised ANY of them survived..   But I will say, the survivors will be the basis for repopulating all of my yards!  I hope you can make a miraculous comeback with your bees!
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