Author Topic: Dead hive  (Read 12018 times)

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Offline Perry

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #20 on: February 12, 2015, 10:37:12 am »
I believe you are right Jack, when adding fumagillin to syrup you have to wait until it is lukewarm.
This agreeing thing has to stop Jack!  ;D
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Offline tefer2

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #21 on: February 12, 2015, 10:52:04 am »
Getting the bees to consume the treatment is going to be your problem this time of year.
Most use some sort of drench, the bees clean each other ingesting the treated syrup.
Sick bees normally don't eat a whole lot, that's the reason you dump it on them.
It is to cold to dump wet liquid on the cluster for you.
I don't know the success rate for treating after the fact, but I assume that it's very low.
I would just let nature take it's course and see if some make it through.
Plan on replacing those frames and cleaning up the hive components.

We used to treat every fall, still had some infections through the winter months every year.
It wasn't until we stopped using nosema treatments that it went away for us.
I could always pick out the frames that had fumagilin-B stored in them.
They were the ones that were hardly used during winter.
We ended up cycling those frames out of our operation.

I really don't know if our local genetics finally kicked in, or adding winter feed made the difference.
Our candy bricks have a shot of vinegar and Honey B Healthy added to the mix.

This is the time of year that you start to see sick bees up here.
It's a smell you never forget.
Sometimes they are able to get past it. Good luck!



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Offline Jen

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #22 on: February 12, 2015, 12:15:32 pm »
After reading Tef's comment, I wondered if the bees would take fumigil in a sugar cake?

Lindsay... was this your only hive?
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Offline iddee

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #23 on: February 12, 2015, 01:16:55 pm »
Original post "All 4 that are here at my house"
Reply #15   "I completely agree about acclimated queens, we just didn't do enough queens to the point where I would have replaced all 9 hives I had at the time. "
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Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #24 on: February 12, 2015, 01:28:34 pm »
Sunlight kills the Fumagilin, and excessive heat will as well, warm water from your faucet should not harm it.
   I suppose if your tap water is 240 degrees F it might be an issue..   :-\  Not sure what the breaking point is, Guess I better be finding out!
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Offline LindsayBrower1

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #25 on: February 12, 2015, 02:39:11 pm »
I'm going to try to feed them the medication in fondont.. But that's just it, how sick are they? Will they even eat? I can only try at this point. Here's a hive front that has looked this ugly since it got cold out...I'm going to collect bees and have them checked out under the microscope to check for nosema

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Offline LindsayBrower1

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #26 on: February 12, 2015, 02:42:37 pm »
A good read all of you may be interested in. Rob sent it to me. http://scientificbeekeeping.com/sick-bees-part-13-simple-microscopy-of-nosema/
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Offline tefer2

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #27 on: February 12, 2015, 05:11:20 pm »
Without a confirmed Nosema test, we are just assuming that they are infected.
Could just be a really bad case of bee Dysentery.
When bees reach over 30 to 40% of the body weight in fecal matter, it has an explosive effect.
Ingesting solids from dark fall honey helps them get there sooner.
Feeding on fermented honey is also thought to bring it on.
http://www.honeybeesuite.com/tag/dysentery/


Offline LindsayBrower1

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #28 on: February 12, 2015, 07:03:47 pm »
Thank you tefer2. Taking a bunch of bees to be looked at under the microscope tomorrow to see whether they have the nosema or not
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Offline LindsayBrower1

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #29 on: February 12, 2015, 08:07:13 pm »
Correction, Rob always did say   "even bad queens can perform like good queens when conditions are ideal,  it is when the weather turns that bad queens fail"
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Offline Jen

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #30 on: February 13, 2015, 12:27:34 pm »
Don't feel like the lone stranger Lindsay, I've been observing this hive of mine for the last week, seems something is going on inside here. And I did treat with fumigilin last Fall. Starting tomorrow the weather is supposed to be in the low 60's for a few days, haven't hit 65 yet this winter, so I'm pacing :\
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Offline Perry

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #31 on: February 13, 2015, 01:31:27 pm »
Don't feel like the lone stranger Lindsay, I've been observing this hive of mine for the last week, seems something is going on inside here. And I did treat with fumigilin last Fall. Starting tomorrow the weather is supposed to be in the low 60's for a few days, haven't hit 65 yet this winter, so I'm pacing :\

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Offline brooksbeefarm

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #32 on: February 13, 2015, 01:42:09 pm »
In the low 50's F here today ;D, but going down to in the single digits by Wed. with possible snow from Canada :o. Thanks Alot Perry. >:( Jack

Offline Perry

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #33 on: February 13, 2015, 01:45:41 pm »
In the low 50's F here today ;D, but going down to in the single digits by Wed. with possible snow from Canada :o. Thanks Alot Perry. >:( Jack

Anytime Jack, at least for next 3 or 4 months if you want! ;D
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Offline LindsayBrower1

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #34 on: February 13, 2015, 09:07:15 pm »
Update*
After taking my bees and having them looked at under a microscope they told me my bees do not have nosema... They were particularly shocked and said my nosema spore count was the lowest they've seen... less than a normal "healthy" sample. He even took another slide of my sample and still confirmed the count was extremely low... he let me get in and showed me what the spores look like under the microscope, it was neat and I learned a bunch  :yes:
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Offline tefer2

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #35 on: February 14, 2015, 06:46:32 am »
Google up honeybee Dysentery, and start reading. It can still kill off a hive.
The intense smell of it, disrupts communication between the bees.
Aren't you glad you didn't treat them with Fumagilin-B before confirming Nosema.
Off to work for me this morning. Let us know what plan you come up with Lindsay.

Offline LindsayBrower1

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #36 on: February 14, 2015, 09:37:28 am »
Here's what I have in mind.... I put a space heater in my shed and I may move the hives into there to keep the warm enough to just give them syrup to flush out there gut. I'm going to prop the hives up on a table near the window and run pipes out the window from the entrances and stuff the cracked window with an old blanket. I don't know if this is a good or bad idea but I'm not giving up.
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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #37 on: February 14, 2015, 12:52:42 pm »
IMO, NOT a good idea.
Disturbing  the cluster ( Jiggling the hive), when it's really cold out, COULD kill them.
The wind break, inside a building might work. The problem there is IF the bees get dis-oriented and try to enter the wrong hive you'll have a war.
Heat COULD cause them to break cluster and get stranded, due to a mechanical failure.

I would try to increase ventilation in the hive, drying it out some and pray for better weather.

Offline Perry

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Re: Dead hive
« Reply #38 on: February 14, 2015, 02:15:30 pm »
I'm with Ray, I would be concerned as well that some bees will come out and go to their original spot, remember, it's the only one they know.
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