"All three hives had multiple frames of honey left. Just not where they were"
cold starvation is what i call it, bees with head in cells, big clump on the frames, with many fallen beneath the cluster, and on the bottom board, with frames of honey frames over on either side?
so, cold starvation i describe as this; weather so cold, with no let up, that the bees don't move to the honey stores in the frames nearby.