Dead bees
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Hana Gelman
May 26, 2026, 9:25:50 PM (3 days ago) May 26
to Alameda County Beekeepers Assn.
Just came home and that is what I see. A lot of dead bees under one of the hives. Most of them look like a drones. But I'm not sure. Any thoughts?
Nils Joseph Kauffman
May 27, 2026, 2:27:50 PM (3 days ago) May 27
to the-alameda-county-b...@googlegroups.com
It looks like it he drones are missing legs.
A few years ago I came across a hive with frame after frame of drone brood. A few weeks later I found hundreds of dead drones around the hive. I imagine the queen laid too many drone eggs and the worker bees took care of the superfluous drones.
Nils
Just came home and that is what I see. A lot of dead bees under one of the hives. Most of them look like a drones. But I'm not sure. Any thoughts?
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Claire Lussier
May 27, 2026, 2:30:18 PM (3 days ago) May 27
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Couldn’t this also be a result of a queenless colony?
On Wed, May 27, 2026 at 11:27 AM Nils Joseph Kauffman <njk9...@gmail.com> wrote:
It looks like it he drones are missing legs.A few years ago I came across a hive with frame after frame of drone brood. A few weeks later I found hundreds of dead drones around the hive. I imagine the queen laid too many drone eggs and the worker bees took care of the superfluous drones.Nils
Just came home and that is what I see. A lot of dead bees under one of the hives. Most of them look like a drones. But I'm not sure. Any thoughts?--
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Nils Joseph Kauffman
May 27, 2026, 2:47:37 PM (3 days ago) May 27
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To be franc, I did not witness the queen laying all of those drone eggs. Perhaps she had the assistance of an out of control laying worker.
Nils
Nils
Couldn’t this also be a result of a queenless colony?
On Wed, May 27, 2026 at 11:27 AM Nils Joseph Kauffman <njk9...@gmail.com> wrote:
It looks like it he drones are missing legs.A few years ago I came across a hive with frame after frame of drone brood. A few weeks later I found hundreds of dead drones around the hive. I imagine the queen laid too many drone eggs and the worker bees took care of the superfluous drones.Nils
Just came home and that is what I see. A lot of dead bees under one of the hives. Most of them look like a drones. But I'm not sure. Any thoughts?--
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Andre Kruglikov
May 27, 2026, 2:48:48 PM (3 days ago) May 27
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If th drone brood was laid in a nice, solid pattern, you got a queen that failed to mate and is laying unfertilized eggs. If the capped brood cells are situated haphazardly, you got laying workers (which means that the queen has been missing for several weeks.) Either way, the hive will perish if you don't introduce a new queen. If it has a decent number of workers, you can also consider combining it with a queenright hive, but if you have a drone-laying queen, you want to take her out first.
Good luck
Andre, Chief Bee Herder, Honey Squeezer and Beeswax Melter
On Wed, May 27, 2026, 11:27 AM Nils Joseph Kauffman <njk9...@gmail.com> wrote:
It looks like it he drones are missing legs.A few years ago I came across a hive with frame after frame of drone brood. A few weeks later I found hundreds of dead drones around the hive. I imagine the queen laid too many drone eggs and the worker bees took care of the superfluous drones.
Just came home and that is what I see. A lot of dead bees under one of the hives. Most of them look like a drones. But I'm not sure. Any thoughts?--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Alameda County Beekeepers Association" group.
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Hana Gelman
May 27, 2026, 7:56:56 PM (3 days ago) May 27
to Alameda County Beekeepers Assn.
It's a new Quinn from early this year. Up to 2 weeks ago she was doing just fine. Laying very solid pattern. Last check was May 17. I even added another super to give them 2 more weeks to work on it. Will try to go in early next week. Notice not as much traffic by the entrance as before.
Hana Gelman
May 28, 2026, 12:17:30 AM (2 days ago) May 28
to Alameda County Beekeepers Assn.
I think I have an idea what happened. This evening some guy knocked on my door and said that hi is from termix and he is working on the house down the road. And he offered me his help to get rid of spiders and mosquitoes around my house since he is in the area. I guess my bees already visited his work site. Hopefully it will be only one colony lost. Very sad, especially because that neighbor also enjoys my honey
Sung Lee
May 28, 2026, 12:42:03 AM (2 days ago) May 28
to ACBA (Official)
Hana
If your neighbor was sprayed then usually you will see more dead bees not just drones. Also you should see their tongues are sticking out. Poisoned. According to the picture those are all drones.
Here is my assessment.
Past few days have been windy and very chilly. Cold nights.
You know where i am going with this. These drones are kicked out due to colder nights. I am pretty sure it is more windy and colder where you live. Of course you are not gonna see this everywhere. But I do see this time to time. Some colonies over react to temperature drops. Who gets to pay for this? Drones. Poor Guys.
It is temporary. Not only they don't read books nor watch forcast on Channel 7.
Sung Lee The Bee Charmer
Hana Gelman
May 28, 2026, 12:52:16 AM (2 days ago) May 28
to Alameda County Beekeepers Assn.
Thank you, Sung.
It sounds reassuring. I hope you right.
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