Hi all. Unfortunately I lost my colony this last winter. I’m wondering if I need to replace or remove all of the previous comb from the last hive before I add a new colony next month.
I think before answering your question you need to diagnose the cause of the dead out. Any evidence of disease or pests? Damp/wet? Starvation? Pesticide?
Any queen issues or concerns going into winter?
Sorry. I should have given more specifics. Unfortunately, I was negligent in insulating the hive for such a sever drop in temperature. North Texas has never faced the severe , sub freezing, temperatures the whole time I’ve lived here. So, taking into account that the poor creatures froze to death, will it be necessary to remove the old comb or will the new bees utilize it. Thanks in advance.
FWIW, many people in much colder climates do not insulate their hives. The bees are unlikely to freeze if they are dry and have enough food.
If the comb is not diseased, then you can clean it of dead bees and brood and use it. You might take the opportunity to give them an overnight in a freezer to kill off pests in all stages.
Depending on your hive configuration and what you are going to restart with, you may not need all your frames.
But it may be good to split that drawn comb between two new nucs and have two hives going forward.
Thank you. I will take your advise. I am planning on starting another hive next spring.
I appreciate you for responding. God bless!
Freeze time should be longer than I suggested initially to make sure you get the wax moth too - 48h at 0ºF…
Last time I read about this, 24 hours was plenty for wax moth:
However, with that nasty Texas weather, the duration of the freeze in nature may have been long enough already. The only thing now is to make sure that they don’t recolonize the comb before a new set of bees get to use it… 
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it really depends what the comb looks like. In many cases you would be better off to start with fresh comb.
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