Tag: dead bees

Nosema – Advice Required

Nosema – Advice Required

Synopsis: Colony has died. Evidence of dysentery (photos below). Possible Nosema. Not wanting to use acetic acid – should I destroy all the frames and boxes or use hot air gun? Details below. Grateful for advice.

A month ago this hive was looking quiet, with a few flying bees. There were also signs of dysentery (see photo below).

Hive One - Dysentery - Feb 2015
Hive One – Dysentery?? – Feb 2015

At the weekend I found there were no flying bees and opened the hive.

I found signs of dysentery.

Dysentery on frame
Dysentery on top and middle of frame
Dysentery on top frame
Dysentery on top frame

 

Dysentery on hive floor
Dysentery on hive floor (in middle of photo)

I found the dead queen (who was 5 years old).

Dead Queen
Dead Queen (with blue spot)

I found some dead bees ready to hatch out.

Unhatched bees
Unhatched bees

Nosema

Due to the presence of dysentery it is possible that the colony died of Nosema.  Nosema is a parasitic microsporidian fungal pathogen that invades the gut of the bee. There they multiply rapidly and are then excreted by the bees. Spores are picked up and swallowed by other bees.

The only way to diagnose Nosema is by identifying the spores under a microscope. I don’t have a microscope (yet).

Dysentery is also often associated with Nosema. But the dysentery I found in the hive might be as per usual levels of winter excretion. Hence, I cannot be 100% sure the colony had Nosema.

If it was Nosema the spores can last 12 months and infect new colonies of bees placed in the hive.

Conclusions

The hive could have died due to one of the following reasons, or combinations thereof:

  1. Poor performing queen (as she was 5 years old)
  2. Cold (due to lack of insulation)
  3. Nosema (due to the signs of dysentery)

Reason 1 could have led to a weak colony and then to reasons 2 and 3.

Next Steps

Freezing frames does not destroy Nosema spores.

I have a hot air gun (heats up to 600C and does destroy the spores) but don’t want to use acetic acid as I only need to sort out one hive, don’t have the space for fumigation and don’t want to get involved with acetic acid at this stage in my beekeeping.

I am struggling to find good advice on the following options.

  1. Destroy all frames and boxes? This seems over the top and expensive.
  2. Destroy all the frames and use the hot air gun on the boxes? This will give near 100% piece of mind. But again looks over the top for a diagnosis of possible Nosema
  3. Destroy frames which have dysentery and use the hot air gun on the tops of other frames and boxes? This is my current plan but will not eradicate all the spores
  4. Hot air gun tops of all frames and boxes?

As ever – grateful for advice.

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Colony Post-Mortem

Colony Post-Mortem – First 2015 Winter Loss

Post-mortem: An examination of a corpse in order to determine cause of death.

I need your help with the determination. There are comments and photos below and a video at the end.

Beekeeper Inspecting Dead BeesBeekeeper Inspecting Dead Bees
Me Inspecting Dead Bees

Was It A Weak Colony Going Into Winter?

No. This hive had 11 frames of bees in September and there were live bees in the hive over Christmas. That said, there only appeared to be about 500 dead bees in the hive (see photo above). Had the others absconded or died over the winter and been removed from hive by the live bees?

Was It Starvation?

I don’t think so. The frames were heavy with stores and I don’t think the bees could have been isolated.  A few bees had died head first in the comb – but very few.

14x12 Frame Of Stores
14×12 Frame Of Stores
Sugar Stored In Comb
Sugar Stored In Comb
Pollen In Frame. Is that white pollen on the left or sugar stores?
Pollen In Frame. Is that white pollen on the left or sugar stores?

Was It Disease?

I don’t think so. There is mould in the frames (see photo below) but no chalk dummies. There was no foul smell.

Mouldy Frame - But Not Chalk Dummies
Mouldy Frame – But Not Chalk Dummies
Frame With Pollen (& Sugar Stores?) On Left; Mouldy In Centre
Frame With Pollen (& Sugar Stores?) On Left; Mouldy In Centre

Was It Varroa?

Maybe. Despite a (low/middle) varroa count of 130 in mid-July (I counted 30 mites over 9 days in July and put this into the NBU calculator which estimated I had 130 mites), followed by Apiguard in August and Oxalic acid in December, there did appear to be lots of varroa on the frames and on the bees. See photo below – I count over 20 mites in a small area. Did this contribute to some sort of colony collapse?

Varroa On Frame
Varroa Mites On Frame

Did the Queen Stop Laying?

Maybe though I saw capped brood and dead bees about to emerge out of cells (see photo below). Cappings are a bit ragged which I think might mean varroa.

Dead bees emerging from cells
Dead bees emerging from cells
Dead bees emerging from cells (2)
Dead bees emerging from cells (2)

Did They Get Too Cold?

Maybe. The location is quite exposed. I have not put insulation under the roof of this hive. The entrance points into a prevailing wind (but it has narrow entrance plus mouseguard).

Was It The Move?

I moved them 100m over Christmas. Perhaps some of the bees returned to their old hive location?

Conclusion

A lot of maybes and no certainties. Frustrating. Such is the life of a beekeeper.

On a positive note, I feel like I have done as much as I could for this colony. It seemed to be strong (and aggressive).  Hence, I’m not as upset as when I feel like it has been my fault. Overall, I’m sorry for the bees that have gone through this experience and disappointed as it means less bees and honey this summer.

Video Of The Inspection

Hmmmm. Not sure if I should expose myself as such a novice? I struggle to just get the frames out. And I seem to be wearing a bee suit when there are no bees. Apologies for the out of focus shots of the comb.

And if you want more information, I have my notes for the last 12 months on this hive: Hive Five Record Card.

Over To You

  1. Grateful for your thoughts on why this colony died?
  2. What should I do with the frames that are mouldy in the hive? Leave them and let next bees clean it up? Or cut out the mould?
  3. On some of the photos above, is it white pollen or sugar stores?

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Post-Script

Based on comments to-date and my experience of this colony, I am minded to think that the main issue was the high varroa count and that insulation and the move whilst not helpful were not the prime causes.

Lessons learnt: I’ll apply Apiguard correctly next time. I didn’t seal the hives as per the instructions to get the best efficacy.

Next steps:

  1. Freeze and reuse the frames (getting rid of the dark comb frames)
  2. Apply MAQS strips to the other hives when it gets to 10C and 6 frames of bees (I’m worried about the other colonies now)
  3. Insulate the roofs and get solid crown boards to reduce drafts in winter
  4. Perhaps insulate the walls further for the hives that are more exposed

Grieving For Bees

Yes, for people like my wife, grieving for bees may seem a little overdramatic and when I’m forced to watch another episode of ‘One Born Every Minute’ by the missus, I can appreciate that it is. Still logic doesn’t account for emotions, and my marital comeback is that ‘it’s my hive and I can cry if I want to.’

The death of a hive is not even a subject I can expect much matey compassion for down the pub (well not before five pints when even the chip shop being closed can seem slightly heartbreaking). Nobody seems to understand that I have been going through a grieving process but let me explain…

Grieving For Bees
Hopson B & Adams J (1976) Transition – Understanding and managing personal change

Please refer to the dotted (b) line on the graph above as the (a) line is for positive events which this most certainly wasn’t.

My Grief Cycle

Day 1. 6pm. Distress – Gut wrenching moment when I realised there was no bee activity. Compounded when I opened the hive and found dead bees. Thousands and thousands of dead bees burrowing into their comb looking for food that wasn’t there and starving to death. It turns out a mass insect grave is pretty horrific to look at. (See: Starving Bees)

I went back home, barely mentioned my heartbreaking discovery and went on as usual. Perhaps opening that bottle of Sloe Gin barely five minutes after taking off my bee suit might have been a hint something was up.

Day 1. 6.30pm. Disbelief – I couldn’t believe it. I thought the bees were tougher than this. I proceeded to do a good Victor Meldrew impression – i.e. “I don’t believe it”.

Day 1. 6.45pm. Denial – I needed to feel that the colony could live on. I made up some sugar syrup and went back out to feed their dying bodies. It was like armageddon in there but I didn’t feel at all like Ben Affleck.

Day 1. 7.00pm. Guilt – I was responsible for these bees and I obviously couldn’t be trusted. This was the worst feeling to handle especially as I couldn’t share it with anyone – least of all my wife who was wanting me to look after our daughter the next morning. I still had to maintain that illusion of competent carer…

Day 1. 7.05pm. Loss of confidence – My improving self-image / esteem as a beekeeper was at an all time low. Just as I had started to think that yes, one day, I too will be mingling confidently with those bearded old pros at the associations, it was now clear that would never happen. I would have to give back my ‘Brilliant Bee Keeper’ badge which I say my wife made me (but I so obviously helped with).

Day 1. 7.10pm. Anger – I was angry with myself. I had no one else to blame but myself. This was worse than when I rolled my parents car two weeks after passing my test and was consequently car-less for the rest of my teenage years. (Though I do have to admit, the loss of a hive probably doesn’t stunt my middle-aged sex appeal quite as much as the loss of wheels did).

Day 2. Bargaining – Just as I was about to take the hive apart, I found the Queen alive. I felt I could do something. I fed them again. Maybe I could be Ben Affleck after all…

Days 1-5. Chaos – Yes I had about as much success as Tony Blair being the Middle East Peace Envoy. After I fed them they were robbed, fights broke out, wasps had a go, there was carnage. I then decided to block the hive up. I then unblocked it a few days later. I did everything I could think of.

Days 3-5. Resignation – I began to accept the probability of this colony not surviving.

Day 6. Depression – There was nothing else to be done, this colony was not going to survive.

Day 9. Acceptance – I took the hive apart. I was now a beekeeper with just one hive. It is unlikely I will be making 50 jars of honey next year. My local monopoly on all things honey-related will have to wait.

Day 10+ Partical recovery so far, rather than a new confidence. I am now able to write about it at least.

I am starting to think about lessons learnt. Ironically, one may be that despite my aim to be as natural a beekeeper as possible, in this case more human intervention was needed. Those bees needed to be fed earlier.

Beekeepers Anonymous

I feel like there is a need for a beekeepers support group which can help us deal with our grief and help us on the beekeeping journey. I have created a page called Beekeepers Anonymous for this purpose. I’m happy to be the first to stand and say ‘Hello, I am Roger and I miss my bees’. Let me know how you guys have handled any loss of your own (and make me feel a bit more sure that I’m not alone!).

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I find the Queen alive and create a “nuc”

Day Three of finding starving and dead bees and I am still gutted.

In my angst, I poured too much sugar syrup over the starving bees in Hive One and the result yesterday was a frenzy of other honey bees (perhaps mine) robbing this hive.  It made me feel even worse.

I set out yesterday evening with the plan to dismantle the hive and throw any live bees in the grass so that they might enter Hive Two, but as I was doing a final check, I saw the marked Queen … and she was alive.  There is less than a cupful of bees to look after her, so 99% this colony is doomed, but in a last ditch attempt to save her and the remaining bees I decided to try and create a “nuc”.

I started trying to pull out all the dead bees out of the comb with tweezers but it was taking too long.  So I shuffled the frames to give the bees there best chance.  I also moved the one dummy board to help keep them warm.

I fed them this evening and blocked up the entrance for the next 24 hours to prevent any further robbing.

The weather forecast for next week looks good but I will be surprised if this colony lasts long.

Has anyone else nursed such a small nuc of bees with no eggs or larvae, so late in the year, through the Autumn and Winter? I would love to hear from you.

23/09/31 update: There were no bees in the feeder last night. Today the hive was being robbed again. The feeder was full of robber bees this evening.  I have blocked them all in for three days to prevent robbing and perhaps the robber bees will make it home?

Further Reading

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Starving Bees

I am in shock. On Saturday (just 4 days ago) I was really happy as my bees were busy and there was lots of activity. In two days time I would have removed the Apiguard and fed them. There are still lots of flowers about and the weather has been pretty good, until the start of this week.

Today, I popped down after work to find Hive One was very quiet.  I opened it up to find lots of dead bees and a few bees moving around very slowly.  I pulled out a frame to find dead bees with their heads in the comb.  I lifted off the brood box to find a pile of dead and dying bees. They had starved to death.  There was nothing I could do as all the brood had died and the Queen was probably dead. Note: I did not harvest honey from this hive (I harvested from Hive Two).

This had been a healthy hive with a 2013 Queen.  In my dreams it was going to produce 50lb of honey next year.

In my shock and state of denial (the first stage of bereavement) I have fed this hive. By tomorrow I will have accepted the inevitable, I’ll pour their syrup into the Hive Two feeder and clean up.

The videos and photos below say it all. So sad to see the remaining bees moving around slowly trying to do their chores.

I’ve now fed Hive Two (which seemed OK).  Check your bees.

Starving Bees
Starving Bees With Heads In Comb
Dying & Dead Bees
Dying & Dead Bees

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