Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Georgia Boy on January 12, 2014, 01:19:53 pm
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Checked on my 2 hives this morning and neither made it through the 5 degree temps of Monday night.
One was a double 5 frame nuc the other was a double 8 frame hive. All the bees are dead. Both hive have plenty of stores. Now I need to know what to do with the frames of capped and uncapped stores, honey and pollen that are in the hives.
Do I leave them in the hives and just put more bees in when they becomes available? I think wax moth and shb would get to them if I do. Or do I pull and freeze them until I get new bees and then give it to them.
Advise please.
Thanks.
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Freeze 'em!
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Why did they die?
If they were sick the next bees will also get sick
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Not sick just not enough bees in each hive going into winter. Both were new hives last year that never really built up.
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I had some trap outs that I hived.
I merged them in October and have a 2deep box 6 frame hive.
I placed a candy board on them in early December and they are doing good now.
It got down to 4 degrees F here and a stiff wind blowing.
We still have about 4-6 weeks of winter left here in Central Arkansas.
I merged the hives to have a larger cluster going into winter, to me the more bees the warmer they can keep it.
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Not sick just not enough bees in each hive going into winter. Both were new hives last year that never really built up.
david, post some pictures of the brood if there was any and the piles of dead bees if you can. i'm with edward, i'd be worried about what was wrong. i had a hive come through that was only covering 3 frames when it clustered.
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Not sick just not enough bees in each hive going into winter. Both were new hives last year that never really built up.
david, post some pictures of the brood if there was any and the piles of dead bees if you can. i'm with edward, i'd be worried about what was wrong. i had a hive come through that was only covering 3 frames when it clustered.
Excellent advise from 10framer and edward; X:X X:X We should use our dead outs as a learning experience. I always try to find the queen in dead outs as it is the usual cause. Lack of ventilation is another common one and remedies can be tweaked. Looking and performing simple tests on any remaining larva. Lack of stores or 'failure to build up' can also be 'remembered' for the following season, and 'new' remedies implemented.
While not fun, dead outs provide us with much information and experience.
Yeah, freeze those frames if the room is available, other wise 'protect' them in a cool spot by blocking 'all' entries.