I lost a hive.

[Jonathan Smalls]

My hive survived the winter, but never built up their numbers as the
spring progressed. I thought that the queen was simply not laying
enough, and killed her a few days ago. It seemed like there were not
enough bees to sustain a new queen though, so this might be a total loss.

Has any one else seen this? I grabbed a dead worker bee just to compare
it to the queen carcass, and verify the difference. The worker bee died
with its tongue out, which I have heard could indicate pesticide loss. I
am just interested to hear any thoughts, and also grab any swarms or
packages that others can spare.
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[Alex Bostian]

I only have two winters under my belt, but it sounds like varroa mites. They continue to feed on and weaken the hive during the winter. I lost 4 out of 12, 2 of which survived into spring but were also too weak to sustain brood. 

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[Tal Reichert]

I'm sorry, but how can you tell it's varroa, as opposed to (for example) nosema apis or nosema ceranae? 

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[Alex Bostian]

They didn’t mention any signs of dysentery or diarrhea in the hive or at the entrance, so I assumed varroa

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[Alex Bostian]

And mites transmit viruses, such as the bee paralysis virus. They cannot fly, which means they cannot cleanse or forage, nor do they move very well, and usually die within a week

[brendaw321]

To test for mites, do an alcohol wash on the dead bees. Also look for mite signs on the brood comb. Mite signs are white specs, clustered together in one spot, just inside the cells of the brood frames. 

Brenda 

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[Tal Reichert]

Here's one source

Quote:

Bees infected with nosema either show no symptoms, or none specific to this disease. Many of the so-called symptoms attributed to nosema disease apply to other diseases or conditions of adult bees. Examination of adult bees using a light microscope is the only reliable method of diagnosing the presence of spores of nosema.

Infected colonies can lose adult bees sometimes at an alarming rate. Infected bees often die away from the hive and only a few sick or dead bees may be found near the hive entrance. The term 'spring dwindle' is often used to describe this condition. However, this should not be confused with the normal weakening of colonies caused by the natural dying of old, over-wintered bees in early spring.

Sick or crawling bees outside the hive entrance, dead bees on the ground and excreta (dysentery) on hive components may be associated with nosema infection. However, these conditions can equally be caused by other diseases and abnormal conditions.

On Mon, May 8, 2023 at 3:11 PM Alex Bostian <abos...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[paul mueller]

Not all varieties of nosema show dysentery. I remember hearing that nosema ceranae does not or it's much less obvious. That kind of slow demise sounds like nosema ceranae 

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[Jonathan Smalls]

It sounds like there is little I could have done for nosema, but I can still check for mites with a wash to verify the cause. However I would think that the mite count should already be low since mites rely on brood cells to breed, and there is not much of that in a winter cluster.

[paul mueller]

Yes, don't beat yourself up about it. Nosema is a hard disease to fight.

Unfortunately most large commercial queen providers are NOT selecting for hardiness and good immune systems. They are selecting for honey production and gentle behavior, which are probably opposite genetic traits than hardiness and good immune systems. VSH behavior does not fight nosema either. On top of that all the roundup (glyphosate) people spray indiscriminately on their properties has a impact too. So, even if you are doing everything right, you are going to take losses.

Ang Roell does an awesome job of providing hardy survivor stock and is very knowledgeable. I would source your bees from Ang https://www.theykeepbees.com/ , it will probably improve your odds. 

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[brendaw321]

Since in the winter there is no brood, the adult bees overwinter on the adult bees.

-------- Original message --------

From: Jonathan Smalls <ressecun...@gmail.com>

Date: 5/9/23 8:38 AM (GMT-05:00)

To: Boston Area Beekeepers Association <boston-beek...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: Re: [BABA] I lost a hive.

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