Hi all,
I got a late nuc this year (April). It seemed strong when I picked it up from the seller and he said not to disturb it during winter. The cold days went on late this year, to early September, then we had a sudden heatwave for2 weeks, then rain for 2 weeks.
I didn?t do any internal inspections, but when looking externally during the heatwave, I saw zero activity at the entrance and figured the hive was dead. 4 week slater when I opened the box, there was a wax moth infestation, although they had only invaded two of the frames, with lots of cocoons on the bottom of the frames, but only saw about 5 moths and no larvae.
The rest of the frames were like newly placed comb. There wasn?t a single bee, larvae, eggs or honey, just empty comb.
Any idea what the cause would be? Did the Queen die maybe, so all the bees hatched, took all the honey and left? I?m thinking the wax moth only moved in after the bees vacated, but I?m just guessing. My fault for not inspecting so long probably.