Dead bees, what to do

I live in SW FL. We had a very hard driving rain 2 nights ago. Next morning I had dead bees on the ground and landing board. The bees have been bringing out dead larvae for about a week now. Just not sure what is happening. The state is putting a fence up which is about 500 feet from my property. I called the state dept and they said that they have not sprayed any vegetation at all. Could this be Varro, the rain or??? I did look in hive last night and there is capped brood, uncapped brood, pollen and honey in the brood box. I have seen 2 bees with their wings messed up also.

I think it’s just normal bee die off. If the queen lays 1500 eggs per day, chances are that many bees die each day.

Its sad but that would really ease my mind. I thought I might be loosing my hive. I’m sure its not SHB because I only saw 2 while in the hive and saw a few bees with mites. I was going to do the vaporizing last night but the vaporizer tool will not fit in the front of the Flow hive. I have read where you can place in the back. Do you have any experience with that?

If you actually saw mites on bees then you have quite the infestation. In my opinion, that needs to be dealt with yesterday.

Ok, I read where I can put the vaporizer through the back, will that work or do I need to buy a different vaporizer?

If you take out the slider, you can hold the vaporizer under the screened bottom board. Stand out of the way of fumes, though, and realize that they will not get the full dose when you do that. A better option is to cut a thin sheet of plywood to the same size as the slider, and put that in the lower slot. The vaporizer should then fit on top of that (depending on which one you have). Seal up the gap with duct tape, or masking tape, and you are good to go. You will need to do 3 treatments - one every 5 days. Be aware that the vaporizer will scorch the plywood - this is normal.

DO NOT put the vaporizer on top of the original slider - it will emit toxic fumes from the plastic slider, and will probably melt it too.

Thank you so much. I will get that done tonight.

What are your daytime high temps in your location for the next week?

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Hey @lindabrower2016 I had no trouble putting the OA vape into the front entrance. Yes, there’s a slight step down onto the bottom screen but if you go slow you can navigate this by feel. And if you’re worried about it being trickier to pull out without bumping comb, bees etc with the hot tray end, you can unplug it & leave it til it cools off before removing.

Chili’s question about temps seems important - any updates?

@Anon, Highs will be 90 and 91 degrees with 70% humidity.

@Eva, Thank you. I was not able to get this done last night do to our very high winds. We are under a wind and storm advisory today and tonight:((. The weather is not helping me.

That’s too bad - always tricky with weather to factor in. You might want to take a look at Randy Oliver’s scientific Beekeeping site, he is actively researching mite control methods and his latest oxalic acid-glycerin soaked shop towel experiments are showing promise. I strongly recommend reading through everything about that experiment if you’re curious.

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@Eva, I sure will. I will look up now. Thank you,

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Ok, too hot for Mite Away Quick Strips (formic acid) imo. They would be a 7 day treatmemt.

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Thanks Ed, I couldn’t remember what treatment would be affected by high temps - can kill bees if too hot out, right?

If it’s too hot, all the bees will patiently wait outside the hive until the odor is bearable lol.

If it cools at night, say in the 70’s, I would try it after the sun goes down this way by the time the heat comes the next day, the worst of the formic acid odor is over and the bees have ventilated the hive overnight and all morning.