Winter loss

[badgerbeekernube66]

Hello again people!
Hope everyone's new year has started well enough.
We finally had weather warm enough to open the hives enough to see how the ladies did, and it looks like we have one survivor of two hives. Which is better than none.
Question with the dead hive is what should I do to prep the hive for spring package arrival? Do I clean the comb of dead bees or will the new tenants take care of that?
I'm fairly certain the bees died due to moisture build up which tells me I didn't ventilate well enough. This hive had a solid bottom board where my survivor had a screened bottom.
We still have a month or so of cold weather up here, so the survivor still has to deal with that.
Thanks a bunch guys and gals!

[Bakersdozen]

Hi badger!  Sorry for your loss.  I have a couple of losses as well.
You should clean out the dead bees.  They will eventually mold in there.  Use a brush or tap the frames to remove.  You need to remove the hive or at least seal it up to keep it from being robbed.  Mice might still find a home in there.  I observed some recent mice chewing yesterday on an entrance reducer.  No mouse, thankfully.  Clean the bottom board as well.
You didn't mention why they died.  Your description leads me to think their heads were in the comb, which means they starved.  If there is any brood in there, you should check for foulbrood.  If a toothpick, or similar tool, inserted into a larvae comes out ropey, you might have foulbrood. 

[badgerbeekernube66]

Hey Baker's! It was raining off and on yesterday so I didn't go through frame by frame, I will do that today. When I opened the top the inner cover was froze to the top, I freed it and there was a bunch of ice inside. I'm pretty sure I didn't give them ample ventilation. Though a thorough inspection may give clues to something else. Hoping it was moisture build up.
If I remember I will take a few pictures and post them. There was no sign of disentary and very few dead bees outside the hive.
Thanks for the insight, and will post results later today of inspection.

[apisbees]

A sheet of Styrofoam insulation greatly assists the bees by keeping the moisture from forming horror frost on top of the cluster.

[tecumseh]

as Bakerdozen suggest the first think I do is to try and establish cause.  this will not help the dead hive in anyway but it may give you a clue as to what to do differently next time.  beyond Barkersdozens analysis (which I suspect is right on) I normally also look for any signs of excessive varroa infestation < normally around the clustering area there will be little white stings of varroa poop in the cells and if the hive has a solid bottom board you can also use a magnifying glass and look on the bottom for dead varroa amongst the debris.

[riverbee]

what bakers said and what apis said badgerbeek...........

"I'm fairly certain the bees died due to moisture build up which tells me I didn't ventilate well enough. This hive had a solid bottom board where my survivor had a screened bottom."

just a comment, moisture is and can be a killer. i have never used screened bottom boards, have always used solid bottom boards.  don't be quick to think that this has anything to do with not using a screened bottom board on this hive.  i think what tec said (varroa)is also another possibility for the demise of the hive, and/or a combination of things. 

once you have a chance to get in there and take a look, let us know what you find.

[Perry]

Did you have any upper ventilation in the dead out?

[Ray]

I would avoid taping the dead bees out of the comb. New comb and is very brittle, frozen comb is worse. I shattered some of my comb tapping on it. Brush the bees off and wait for the new tenants to finish the job. Good luck.

[badgerbeekernube66]

Well I must say cleaning out the hive yesterday was about the most depressing thing I've done in a while!
The hive was almost completely empty of food stores. The bottom brrood box had a 3 frames of bee butter, unfortunately they were below the cluster.
I saw no signs of rampant disease.
Regretting taking the super off this fall. I left a full one on, thinking I had the weight needed to winter. Oops.
I didn't ventilate the top any more than the top entrance through the inner cover.
So that's that I guess.
Baker's, sorry to hear you also had losses! What a tough part of the job.
Thanks again to you all.

[Bakersdozen]

I would avoid taping the dead bees out of the comb. New comb and is very brittle, frozen comb is worse. I shattered some of my comb tapping on it. Brush the bees off and wait for the new tenants to finish the job. Good luck.

I use plastic foundation and gently tap. That's a good point, Ray.  Especially if you are aren't using plastic foundation.