Just found my Colony dead, and it’s not even winter.
Looking for some help/ advice as to what might have gone wrong.
I have a top bar hive, with a new Queen and 3 lb package installed this year.
We installed into the top bar hive that we used last year but lost our bees in winter due to cold. There was approximately half a hive of honey left which we installed into.
Everything was going well. Capped brood, increasing numbers. No signs of disease infection.
We had a few frosts recently and temperatures have dropped.
Suspected there was an issue today and found the bees all dead.
There were hundreds of them and they had built plenty of comb but NO HONEY.
None of the honey we gave them was left. We were feeding them also.
Very likely Varroa if you didn’t treat. I assume you are in the US, one of the northern states? Please fill in the profile with your approx location, it will help us to help you. Here is an article on what to look for in your hive:
If you look at the floor of the hive and see a lot of wax cappings, that is probably from robbing.
The other possibility is that they starved, but my understanding was that NY had a great flow this year, so that is pretty unlikely. I still think Varroa is top of the list. I assume you didn’t treat?
One other thought. If you can take some photos of the comb, especially if there are dead bees in it, we might be able to help more with a diagnosis.
Here are a couple of photos. One shows mostly just bees with their bums stuck out of the comb. The other shows some bees with their tongue stuck out. I believe that is sign of Varroa.
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No problem. I think that photo is very helpful. Now I am 99% sure that was Varroa. You are not the only one. I lost a hive to it this year, and I was treating.
In the second photo, I think I can see guanine deposits (Varroa poop) and melted larvae. If you are willing to treat, I would suggest Oxalic acid vapor in August or ASAP after your last harvest next year. It works well, and can be repeated without worrying about resistance. It is also organic.
As you have a top bar hive, you will need a package. I would not treat before installing personally, but some package providers do this before selling the package. Let them build up to reasonable strength, then consider treating. I would also highly recommend joining a local bee club. See if you can find somebody who is familiar with top bar and Varroa, and ask if they are willing to mentor you. Most beekeepers love to talk and teach bee stuff. If you are a new beekeeper (less than 5 years), top bar hives are actually probably one of the most difficult types to start with.
Meanwhile we will help as much as we can. I really hope that you try again next year. This is a valuable learning experience, and if you allow it to do so, it will make you a better beekeeper.
In my humble opinion, I would treat a package with Oxalic acid vapor within a week of installation, this way there is no sealed brood yet. Most packages come with plenty of free mites
The only problem is that you risk an absconding. If you have a frame of brood and drawn comb to give them, that risk will reduce a lot, but I like to let them make it home before adding noxious stimuli.
