astrobunchies Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 We have had our beehaus since mid August and things have been seeming to go well, the queen has been present and laying well. I have fed the bees to help them establish and they have drawn out four frames of new comb in addition to the frames they arrived on.And it has been filled with brood, pollen and food. I put the wasp guard in a week or so ago as we had several nosy wasps hanging around, but in the last week we have seen an upsurge in dead bees at the entrance of the hive. These aren't drone bees but workers carry lots of pollen. I have just removed the wasp guard as tonight the shelf at the entrance of the hive was covered completely with bees. It is as if they can't get back into the hive. I haven't been able to inspect the hive for three weeks due to cold/ wet conditions at the weekends of when I get in from work.But it looks like there is something stopping them using the wasp guard holes. I'm really concerned that the colony might be in trouble as a result. Can anyone advise on what sort of levels of bee copses is usual around this time of year. The numbers seem excessive and as I said they are workers with pollen. Many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrobunchies Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 That was meant to read "bee corpses" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I don't have a Beehaus so I can't really comment on the wasp guard, but I would say that the risk of wasp invasion is low this year as wasps have fared very badly in this summer. I'm afraid my immediate reaction to what you describe is that your bees may have been poisoned in some way. There shouldn't be large numbers of dead workers at this time of year, and dead bees at the hive entrance is a classic sign of poisoning. Can you contact your regional inspector for advice? Are you near agricultural land that might have been sprayed? You should be able to send a sample of bees off for testing -sorry, I'm writing on my phone and I can't look up the details but take a look at the BBKA website for advice. Edited to add: I have since spoken to my bee mentor, who points out that agricultural spraying at this time of year is unlikely (although that wouldn't rule out poison - if someone has destroyed a wild colony nearby, it's possible your bees could have picked up the chemical). His bet however is that your hive is being robbed by a stronger colony nearby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrobunchies Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 Thanks for the advice Olly, I'm hoping it may be warm enough to take a look in the hive over the weekend. To get an idea of whats going on. When I got home from work there were still bees arriving at the hive, but the ground below had another 50- 100 dead bees ( I had cleared the slabs it stands on this morning to get an idea of the rate of deaths) Will also contact BBKA. Ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 You MUST look in. Never mind the weather. If it's raining take a friend to hold a brolly and just get on with it. I've done many an inspection in rubbish weather when I had to. As an aside. Have you been feeding/treating for varroa? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
