CANADIAN WINTER WEATHER!
It was a longer colder winter with a spring that took forever to show up. the bees shut down about the same time every fall but if bad weather keeps them from starting to build up early enough. the overwinter population becomes to old and the die off of old bees is greater than the new replacement bees being born. The small amount of brood will keep the cluster from moving with the depleting stored honey and they can starve while the hive still has honey in it. Mites and the virus they bring to the hive also will effect how long the winter bees will live for.
