Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => Pests and Diseases => Topic started by: tedh on August 04, 2014, 07:02:11 pm
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Hi Everyone,
Two hours ago I went out to have a smoke and watch the bees for awhile. All looked well with bees coming and going and several on the porch washboarding. I just went back out and now there are 24 dead and dying bees on the cement in front of the hive! As I sat there looking, smoking, and worrying two dying bees and one dead bee appeared on the porch. Any ideas? Wow, HELP!!!!! Ted
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Neighbor dusted their garden.
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Ted... it wouldn't be the OA. I'm thinking like Iddee :sad:
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When is the last time you popped the top to take a look? I had a similar experience with one of my hives last year, right about this time. Turned out it was starving to death. By the time I noticed, it wasn't 24 dead bees. It was more like 20,000. Luckily, I got some feed on the hive and managed to save it.
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Ab, did you find out what killed those 20,000 bees? Yikes
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yeah, they were starving to death.
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Interesting.. as to why bees would be starving in the middle of the summer, very curious indeed. So glad you found this situation before all was lost :)
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I am in North Carolina. We have a dearth in July & August. They make honey from April thru June and then eat in July & August. If you pull too much honey and don't feed around here, they will starve before the goldenrod starts blooming.
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Yes! I just learned that from Iddee on the other thread, I think "Gone". Now I understand. Thanks for explaining that :)
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The conclusion is in part, the no brood not even a laying worker that would happen in a normal queen-less hive but the hive stopped raising brood altogether over 3 weeks before because no or little nectar was coming in.
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Holy Cow! So that means because of our drought here in upper Cali, that if I wasn't feeding... my bees could die in July and August?
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It is a possibility that can happen almost anywhere depending on the year.
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Daaang! I had no idea that bees might not be able to find anything to eat... Crazy!
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Strange that I am not seeing a lot of posts until I click on ALL unread posts.. Sorry I missed it, but I cant add much more than Iddee did.
Seeing ten or twenty dead bees in front of a hive doesn't concern me a lot. Seeing 200 or more would make me a little nervous. The fact of the matter is, if they did get into pesticides there is not much you can do about it. Cross your fingers and hope they did not get too much of it.
My bees make it into town regularly, and they do manage to get into stuff I wish they would not. To date, I have not lost a hive to garden pesticides. A neighbor spraying his field on the other hand can be bad when the bees are foraging the wildflowers and clover in the fence rows that were covered with overspray. When that happens you will see the 200+ dead bees. If it ends there, they will still recover. If there are 2000 dead and dying bees, well, get on the radio "Houston, we've had a problem here"
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Scott- "My bees make it into town regularly, and they do manage to get into stuff I wish they would not.
Dang... just like teenagers ~
I live in town, so when I go to the farmers market on main street, I see my bees on the bouquets of flowers for sale :)
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Jen has a super full of red honey as a testament to bees getting into things that they should not be.
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No Pooh Pooh Sherlock! I'm in the process of posting my 'Hive #4 Inspection' which is full of hummer food! Still have the deep pics to post, which isn't too exciting.... well it's just more hummer food...
What's a girl beek to do for cryin out loud!
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Pull any good frames that have honey and extract them and leave the red ones for winter feed.
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Apis, there isn't one single frame with just honey, check out the pics on 'Inspection Hive #4'
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Take your baseball bat and go have a talk with whoever has the leaking hummingbird feeder would be my solution.. Nicer folks tham me might go buy them a new one.. fill it, take it to their house, hang it up where the old one was.. and SMASH the old one on the sidewalk for them to clean up.... ;D
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LazyBkpr if it wasn't for the leaking hummingbird feeder she would have to bee feeding or the hive could be close to starving.
Jen when we use to get knapweed honey in the hive we would rob the nice tasting honey out of the brood supers and let them store the knapweed honey in empty frames moved into the brood chambers.
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Scott- "Take your baseball bat and go have a talk with whoever has the leaking hummingbird feeder would be my solution.. Nicer folks tham me might go buy them a new one.. fill it, take it to their house, hang it up where the old one was.. and SMASH the old one on the sidewalk for them to clean up....
Oooh Scott my friend, you appeal to the fiesty side of me. Such as the neighbors I had about three years ago that had the worst yapping dog I had ever encountered. This dog had a sharp yap that lasted from 8am to 8pm Every Day right behind my house. I started out doing the right thing and putting a nice neighbor note on their door twice, 'Please Quiet Your Dog' and contacted animal control. Nothing. Yap Yap Yap! The third note I was not so nice and told them I was loading the .22
Ironically, they moved about 2 months later. I thought it was because of my brave .22 threat. But I later find out that other neighbors were also leaving nasty notes. Maybe they were threatening with a larger firearm. I wouldn't have stopped them ;D
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Apis- "LazyBkpr if it wasn't for the leaking hummingbird feeder she would have to bee feeding or the hive could be close to starving.
I haven't stopped feeding since spring, we have only had two good flos that I remember and they only lasted a week or more. So the bees are being fed 50/50, 3 holes... and they are still bringing in hummer food. They are taking a pint everyday. I wouldn't mind the hummer food if the keepers of the hummer feeder would stop using the dye.
We are hijacking this thread. If one of you could post a reply on my 'Inspection On Hive #4' we could continue with some answers from others about my hummer problem. Even tho I'm not sure there is anything I can do about it.
I understand what Apis is saying, it just feels like my hummer fed hive feels like they are being fed junk food.
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We don't exactly live in the middle of nowhere but we can see it from the backdoor! I agree that it was probably chemically induced deaths, but thought at the time "our nearest neighbors are a mile and a half away!". I realize that the bees can travel a few miles in search of nectar/pollen but thought they had plenty close to home. Watching the bees returning to the hive over the last week makes me think they look wore out. Like they've had a long flight. Many of them seem to have a hard time getting in the hive. For instance, they appear to misjudge the height of the porch, and end up on the ground in front of the hive where they rest for a while. Then eventually make it in. Anyway, to sum it up: I think the bees are going further than I thought and there are a few gardens around so a dusted garden probably is the culprit. They finally carried out the last of the dead the next morning. Man, I'm glad that's over! Thank you all! Ted
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"Many of them seem to have a hard time getting in the hive. For instance, they appear to misjudge the height of the porch, and end up on the ground in front of the hive where they rest for a while. Then eventually make it in."
ted, not discounting any dusted gardens or whatever your bees may have been into, but, bees laden with pollen and/or nectar will sometimes have a hard time flying straight into the hive, as you described.....they sometimes wind up 'crash landing' into the hive itself or landing elsewhere besides the front porch and then make their way in.
kinda of like stumbling home after too many pirate drinks........... :D
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Really sorry that happened to your hive Ted, a real bummer :sad:
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There's another kill off going on. It looks like 70 or 80 bees ...for now. What a drag. I'm not sure what, if anything, I can, or should do. Maybe an article in the local weekly paper? It could mention the plight of the honey bee, the importance of the honey bee, and maybe ways to protect your gardens AND the honey bees. Thanks, ted
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No Way! :sad: Ted.. I'm just as concerned about your bees as you are. That just hurts. Like my hive with all pink hummer food in them... I want to get to the bottom of it Right Now!
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Thanks Jen. I think the dying has stopped. There's approx. 150 dead bees in front of the hive. The girls will probably carry more out of the hive between now and tomorrow morning. That's what happened last time. Really too bad. It was a beautiful day for foraging, light wind, sunny skies...who'd have thought? Ted
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The problem is and will be hard to pinpoint and stop. Bayer 2-1 Systemic Rose and Flower Care, 3-in-1 Shrub Plant Starter, Complete Insect Killer for Soil and Turf, Fruit, Citrus, and Vegetable Insect Control, Seven Dust, Bug B Gone, Even the Provado Ultimate bug killer is being packaged with "free seeds for bees" making people think the product is "bee safe" at first glance. Nurseries and greenhouses treat with insecticides. Lowes, Home Depot, etc, etc, etc, etc.... Raising awareness is always a good thing, and it will stop some folks from using those things, but the choice usually comes down to their plants, flowers and gardens OR the bees.. Taking the time to figure out what is safe to use takes time and effort, compared to grabbing a bottle of the shelf and squirting it on.
Sending the bees in to be tested to find out what insecticide killed them is a complete waste of time. Even if you find out exactly there is nothing you can do about it legally. In this state if a commercial applicator sprays within a mile of registered hives you have a little recourse, but there is nothing to be done about a farmer spraying his own fields, or gardeners dusting their vegetables or apple trees etc..
Take a picture of the dead bees on the ground, and put it in the paper. Make sure to list facts and not gossip and hope for the best. As I said.. Most people will not care even a little. Not their problem. Their problem is keeping the bugs off their Tomatoes and cukes.
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Such a complex situation. And Grim. But once you have fallen in love with the bees, you find a way to maintain them so they stay in your life. Hang in there Ted! And, I do know that each year is a different story. This year for you, something is getting to your bees. Next year it may not be that at all, it may be a bumper crop of wax moth that you weren't counting on. Or, ruby colored honey/nectar stuff in the honey supers. The more years that go by the more you learn to help others.
PS. I enjoy your exuberance on this forum, it's always so refreshing to have new beeks that are all aglow. It's my fourth season and I am still all aglow. You will be as well ;) 8)
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I reduced hives here as soon as flow was drying up this spring, sold one off, and only gradually have picked back up to 3. Buy a lot less sugar. But we've been droughting since 2010