Author Topic: Need help with diagnosis  (Read 3305 times)

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Offline Bakersdozen

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Need help with diagnosis
« on: August 02, 2021, 07:25:26 pm »
Apologies in advance for the long story. 
I have kept a hive at a relative's house for about 5 years.  This spring I requeened and the population was very strong.  I was unable to check on this, or any of my hives, the month of July due to a medical condition.  Yesterday we went to the relative's house for a birthday celebration.  I walked out to get a look and they were being robbed out and there were dead bees everywhere and about an inch deep in some spots.  We threw a wet sheet over the colony to stop the robbing and I went back today to see the nitty gritty. The hive was setting at the corner of an old cinder block garage that had two garage doors that were probably 50 years old.  My in-law told me that he had bug bombed the garage last week.  Oh,  he had shut the garage door, but those old doors aren't air tight!.  There were dead bees, with proboscis sticking out, all along the front of the garage, in front of the colony, and beyond.  The landing board had white pupae mixed in with the dead and dying bees.  Some were doing the death spiral.  The bottom board was covered with about an inch of dead bees and white pupae along with SHB larvae crawling through the debris.  Not surprised about the SHB as it takes 24 hours for SHB eggs to hatch.

There was a few nurse bees left, some brood and a ton of honey.  I brought it all home and took a closer look.  I was 100% certain that they had got caught in the spray and that was their demise until I looked closer.  Here is a picture of most of the brood I found. There was just some very unhealthy looking brood.  No ropey brood but some of his looked similar to chalkbrood. I thought I smelled something strong and off when I opened the hive up.  I sure hope I am not seeing EFB or AFB.


Any thoughts?

Offline iddee

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Re: Need help with diagnosis
« Reply #1 on: August 02, 2021, 08:51:16 pm »
I say you had it right the first time. Definitely NOT AFB and EFB has yellow brood, not white. My guess is the surviving workers were opening and carrying out dead and poisoned larvae trying to get rid or the poison.
“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
― Shel Silverstein
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Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: Need help with diagnosis
« Reply #2 on: August 03, 2021, 09:37:08 am »
I say you had it right the first time. Definitely NOT AFB and EFB has yellow brood, not white. My guess is the surviving workers were opening and carrying out dead and poisoned larvae trying to get rid or the poison.

Is the comb and honey tainted with pesticides?  I don't think I should reuse it in that case. 

Offline iddee

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Re: Need help with diagnosis
« Reply #3 on: August 03, 2021, 12:15:57 pm »
It was, but shelf life has likely passed. I would reuse it next spring.
“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
― Shel Silverstein
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Offline Jen

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Re: Need help with diagnosis
« Reply #4 on: August 07, 2021, 02:56:52 pm »
Just Wow Baker! So sorry this happened to your hive. But ... these things happen and sometimes we have to clean up the mess and start over.

I like Iddee's idea of using the comb next year too. Although ... I have my moments when instinct tells me to not re-use anything that has been subjected to poison. But how can we control that? we can't, considering what chemicals the bees are already subjected to on a daily basis of foraging.

Good learning story here
There Is Peace In The Queendom

Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: Need help with diagnosis
« Reply #5 on: August 08, 2021, 10:21:40 am »
I have those brood boxes marked and will test by exposing a frame or two before I use them.  My bees found the brood boxes before I could get them in storage.  I had bees in and out of my shed doing the death spiral. It would help if I knew the chemical that was in the bug bomb, but I would rather throw away the frames than go there with the son in law.  He didn't do it on purpose and he and my step daughter are due to have a baby any minute.  It would upset him if he knew what he had done.  They have bigger things on their minds.