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Author Topic: Huge Losses with No Bees Left  (Read 11197 times)

Offline The15thMember

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Huge Losses with No Bees Left
« on: April 15, 2021, 08:48:01 pm »
A couple of weeks ago I went with my sister and father to get some hay for our goats, and the hay guy's son is a beekeeper, and he used to keep bees himself when he was younger.  He was saying how almost all their hives died over the winter, and the hives were completely empty, no dead bees in the hive or around it, just comb left.  Today we had a guy come to help my dad cut down some trees, and he's a beekeeper as well and he told a similar story, about how he had 12 hives going into the winter and now he has only 2 left, and the hives were totally empty of dead bees.  I didn't have an opportunity to speak to either of them at length about it, so I'm not sure if there was brood or stores left or at what point "over the winter" this happened.  But an overwinter deadout with no dead bees seems strange to me, and it did to them as well, and they are both pretty experienced beekeepers.  Any ideas about what happened to their bees?
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Offline Acebird

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Re: Huge Losses with No Bees Left
« Reply #1 on: April 16, 2021, 08:47:18 am »
There is a virus carried by varroa that makes the bees suicidal.  They fly away from the hive to there death.
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Huge Losses with No Bees Left
« Reply #2 on: April 16, 2021, 09:19:05 am »
The bees are absconding the hive. It could bee because our bees have some Africanized genetics in them. In Africa, when the dry season comes, the bees have to move to greener pastures. They cannot survive 6 to 8 months of hot dry weather with no food coming in.
Jim Altmiller
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Online Ben Framed

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Re: Huge Losses with No Bees Left
« Reply #3 on: April 16, 2021, 10:12:01 am »
Brian might have nailed it. Not disputing or dismissing Jim. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070906140803.htm
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: Huge Losses with No Bees Left
« Reply #4 on: April 16, 2021, 10:59:34 am »
Quote from: sawdstmakr on April 16, 2021, 09:19:05 am
The bees are absconding the hive. It could bee because our bees have some Africanized genetics in them. In Africa, when the dry season comes, the bees have to move to greener pastures. They cannot survive 6 to 8 months of hot dry weather with no food coming in.
Jim Altmiller
We don't have Africanized bees here (yet) so I doubt that is it.

Quote from: Acebird on April 16, 2021, 08:47:18 am
There is a virus carried by varroa that makes the bees suicidal.  They fly away from the hive to there death.
Quote from: Ben Framed on April 16, 2021, 10:12:01 am
Brian might have nailed it. Not disputing or dismissing Jim. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070906140803.htm

I agree, this sounds very much like a possibility.  Thanks for the answer.  I did some quick googling about IAPV it sounds like a potential match.       
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Huge Losses with No Bees Left
« Reply #5 on: April 16, 2021, 06:09:58 pm »
Member,
We have had Africanized Bees in this country for over 2 decades now. A lodge number of bees are raised in the south and then sold all over the country. Most of the bees in the US now have some Africanized genetics in them. When bee inspectors take samples to determine if a hive is Africanized or not, do not get a yes or no answer, they get a percentage.
Jim Altmiller
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: Huge Losses with No Bees Left
« Reply #6 on: April 17, 2021, 01:39:14 pm »
Quote from: sawdstmakr on April 16, 2021, 06:09:58 pm
Member,
We have had Africanized Bees in this country for over 2 decades now. A lodge number of bees are raised in the south and then sold all over the country. Most of the bees in the US now have some Africanized genetics in them. When bee inspectors take samples to determine if a hive is Africanized or not, do not get a yes or no answer, they get a percentage.
Jim Altmiller
Oh, okay, I see what you mean.  It's not something that is generally an issue here though, so I think a virus of some sort is probably more likely.   
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I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.
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Offline TheHoneyPump

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Re: Huge Losses with No Bees Left
« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2021, 08:53:55 pm »
Imho, virus.  Which one is the mystery unless a sample is taken and analysis is done.  The most common unseen disappearing bees virus are KBV IAPV ABPV.  It is a widespread problem of 2020/2021 winter losses. Many are blaming it on a mite population explosion, but where there are mites there are virus which can still quickly take hold and kill off a hive after the mites have been dealt with.
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When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Offline Bob Wilson

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Re: Huge Losses with No Bees Left
« Reply #8 on: April 24, 2021, 11:39:28 pm »
Great. More colony troubles to anticipate.
Pretty soon the skunks will figure out how to organize themselves into roving gangs, and the brown bears will learn how to carjack our trailer trucks in the middle of the night, and transport the entire apiary up to their mountain dens.
The longer I keep bees, the more trouble seems stacked against them.
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Offline TheHoneyPump

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Re: Huge Losses with No Bees Left
« Reply #9 on: April 25, 2021, 02:05:51 am »
Yup, there are alot of things out there trying to skim off of or outright kill the honeybee. Including man ;)
Beekeeping gets complicated quickly.
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When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Offline yes2matt

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Re: Huge Losses with No Bees Left
« Reply #10 on: April 26, 2021, 04:22:11 pm »
Quote from: Ben Framed on April 16, 2021, 10:12:01 am
Brian might have nailed it. Not disputing or dismissing Jim. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070906140803.htm
Good job linking that study!

If I was into rearing queens, and maybe I had read some article which suggested to put a little royal jelly in the bottom of the cup to "help "... and I had maybe been thinking of ordering some off Amazon.

Well then I would read this study and choose not to do that! It would bee a sketchy business,  maybe putting all my apiary at risk.

Sent from my SM-J737P using Tapatalk

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