Hello bee friends,
So sadly my hive was very quiet. Yes it’s winter here in VA but we’ve head some warmer weather recently and I decided to see what was going on. Initially I was planning to add some fondant to the top. As I opened It up I realized they were all dead. As I took It apart here’s what I discovered:
It’s a 2 deep and there was plenty of honey left. 5 full frames.
The queen was still there, and she had a small number of bees around her.
Most of the bees had fallen down and were on the metal grate.
There was a group of bees whose heads were in the cells and it looks like they died right there.
No sign of disease or pests. There were about a dozen small hive beetles in the tray but I don’t think that’s very much at all correct?
So I guess I’m going to conclude that the frigid cold we had a few weeks ago for an extended period might have done them in.
Thought appreciated.
Thanks
So sorry for your loss. It always hurts to lose a hive. The most common reason for what you are seeing is varroa. The giveaway is the intact honey stores. Here is an article for you. It is quite long, but well worth reading and learning:
https://beeinformed.org/2016/03/08/why-did-my-honey-bees-die/
I had treated but having read the article, maybe it wasn’t early enough. It was a big strong colony.
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I have found that it is important to do counts after the treatment too. Sometimes treatment needs to be repeated or extended, and you can’t tell unless you do a good sugar roll or alcohol wash count after the end of the treatment. Accelerated mite drops from vaporizing oxalic acid are good too, but you have to have the right equipment to do that. 
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