Why Did My Bees Die?
Dead-outs: that dreaded event in a beekeeper’s world when an entire colony of bees dies in the hive.
It was a heartbreaking day in mid-December when we found that one of our colonies had died out. Every few weeks throughout winter, a day rolls around that’s warm enough (50 degrees Fahrenheit) to check the hives. Typically, we add candy boards during these checks as a supplemental food supply. Two of the three colonies were thriving, but the third contained only dead bees.
After taking a moment to apologize to the queen and feel sorry for ourselves and the bees, I decided to learn from this unfortunate experience.
Causes of Dead-Out Hives
It seems dead-out hives are a winter malady. They can be related to the cold weather or evidence of a weak colony. The best way to find out is to take the entire hive somewhere and complete a thorough post-mortem examination. Here are some things to look for.
Look for
