Dead Bees and Strange Landing Board Behavior

[Michael Bush]

https://bushfarms.com/beeslayingworkers.htm

[The15thMember]

If the bee looks sick. Euthanize.
If the bee looks healthy but were just acting a bit weird, shake them out. A day after the shake out there will be piles of dead bees on ground in front of other hives.  Those would be the laying workers whom the hives have refused entry and/or weird bees that the hive also rejected. 
Hope that helps.

Thanks, HP.  That makes good sense.  In my opinion, they don't look sick, so I'll shake them out when I get a chance.

One other thing...Make sure that you are not seeing a young queen.  Young queens can misfire when they start laying.  Sometimes people mistake the multiple eggs in a cell for laying workers.  Sometimes the workers will be trying to "guide" that new queen to do things the right way   
If you have laying workerS, you should be able to watch and see more than one trying to lay.  There's never just one.  Brood pattern matters too, although new queens can mess that up a bit too.

Just double check before you dump them. 

You can always take pics of the frames and cells and post them. 

This last inspection actually was my double check.  The first time I checked on them expecting a queen I saw a few cells with two eggs or eggs on the wall, and this inspection I saw more, not less, so I'm pretty convinced they are too far gone.  Although I will probably give them a cursory inspection when I go to shake them out, just to triple check, because I'm just that kind of person.   

[beesnweeds]

In a large apiary shaking out a laying worker hive is probably no big deal but in a small apiary it is.  It causes unnecessary stress on your other hives and potentially spreading a disease.  The other hives will be fighting them off when they could be focused on foraging. Just shake them over a tub of soapy water.  It may seem like a waste but when you see all the dead bees in front of your healthy hives it's hardly worth it.  They are old bees and drones anyway.

[Kathyp]

This last inspection actually was my double check. 

I don't know if you have ever shaken out a hive.  The first one I did was comical and I was glad no one was watching. Long story short, I took nothing with me for the empty frames and nothing to cover the box between shaking frames.  I ended up in a field of ticked off bees that just kept going back into the box and onto the frames.  So, an empty box, and a couple of towels later...

Anyway, keep us updated.

[The15thMember]

In a large apiary shaking out a laying worker hive is probably no big deal but in a small apiary it is.  It causes unnecessary stress on your other hives and potentially spreading a disease.  The other hives will be fighting them off when they could be focused on foraging. Just shake them over a tub of soapy water.  It may seem like a waste but when you see all the dead bees in front of your healthy hives it's hardly worth it.  They are old bees and drones anyway.

I hear what you are saying, but if they aren't sick, I'd much rather not waste them.  On top of that I'd actually rather let the drones go, since this hive's queen mother is a great queen, and if they are carrying her genes, all the better if they'll mate with my other new queens. 

I don't know if you have ever shaken out a hive.  The first one I did was comical and I was glad no one was watching. Long story short, I took nothing with me for the empty frames and nothing to cover the box between shaking frames.  I ended up in a field of ticked off bees that just kept going back into the box and onto the frames.  So, an empty box, and a couple of towels later...

Anyway, keep us updated.

I have done a shake out one other time, but the hive was very small.  I've never done a hive this large.  My plan is to do one box at a time from the bottom up (that way the bees won't just all end up in the box on the stand), and hopefully I can put the empty boxes in my garage so they don't just find them and get right back in.  It'll be a process for sure. 

[TheHoneyPump]

Lets not complicate a simple shake out nor raise unnecessary concerns that 15th has already considered.
The shake out, ousts the misfits and uses the bees in the apiary to sort them. It is the least work for the beekeeper and most effective at dealing with any hive condition that pushing the reset button is the best option. 
Take the hive apart, right down to the grass, boxes stand everything so they have nothing to come back to.  Take the boxes 20-50 yards away.  Dump the frames out on the ground, set the emptied box 3-4 big steps away. shake off and brush off the frames and put back jnto the box(es).  Put the emptied equipment into storage until it is readied to be used again.   Thats it.  The bees will aimlessly fly around for awhile.  The good queenrite bees will sort out the misfits over the next 24-36 hours.  The non contributors will be rejected and unceremoniously tossed off the landing board(s).
It is all fixed rather quickly and effortlessly.
Let the experts (the bees) do the work. The bees that should be saved, will be saved. The bees that should not, will not.

[The15thMember]

All right, I shook them out.  It really wasn't too bad, the hardest part was just lugging the boxes down the driveway.  This hive was 3 mediums, and I just took each box down along with an empty box with an inner cover.  I shook and brushed all the bees off the frames, and put the frames in the empty box, then took that to the garage, brought back the inner cover, and repeated using the box I had just emptied.  Unsurprisingly, the drones dispersed VERY rapidly, and the workers eventually flew back up to the apiary and started asking to come into the other hives, and it seemed that most were being admitted with little struggle.  When I go out to empty my pollen trap after supper, I'll check again and see what the state of affairs seems to be.  Next week I'm planning on making two little nucs from the original parent hive to try again to get a daughter queen or two from this mother, since I really like her.  Thanks for all the help everyone!   

[TheHoneyPump]