Any Beekeepers out there? I've got a problem.

[D-tiny-chicans]

Hi fellow Beekeepers or people who clicked on this thread by accident.

I've got a problem.
For the past couple years my bees have died off over the winter. I would get two colonies in the spring. As I check them over the spring, summer, and fall they would be super strong. Filling up A tall brood box, and two supers. We took one of the supers for extraction and left the other one filled completely with honey for the winter.
However in the spring we checked them and there were no bees. There were still multiple frames full of honey. But no bees. Not in the bottom not outside the hive. And there were not anypredators either. No ants, or mice, or wax moths, nothing.

Anyone know whats happening?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Where are you located?
When is the last time you check in the fall?

 

[D-tiny-chicans]

Where are you located?
When is the last time you check in the fall?

Southern CT, Stamford area.
Last complete check around September. However fed them sugar water untill November.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I usually try to go in any time it gets into the 60s in late fall to double check everything is OK. Do you feed candy or pollen during the winter?

 

[D-tiny-chicans]

I usually try to go in any time it gets into the 60s in late fall to double check everything is OK. Do you feed candy or pollen during the winter?

No, not candy or pollen

 

[Jerry H]

You say you fed them sugar water if you left a super of honey on them did they take the sugar water you were feeding? How do you feed the sugar water? If it's to cold sometimes they often won't break the cluster to move up into the super to feed.
When do you treat for mites?
Sorry for all the questions but it could be one of several things

 

[MandaH]

I have bees too. Their population naturally decreases over winter as bees have a limited lifespan. That is where you see the bees dead on the outside of the hive. Sometimes I still find dead bees on the bottom of the hive, sometimes I have found next to nothing. It depends on what population you had in the fall. Mites are reallly hard on bee colonies in the fall time. Do you treat for mites? I don't and i lost quite a few hives this winter. I lost 2 to starvation in the Spring. Most of the bees were carried out prior to me finding the hives empty

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Losing to starvation is depressing. I hate opening the hive and finding dead bees with their heads buried in cells.
I try to feed syrup in fall till a hard freeze and then put candy boards on with pollen patties.

 

[Jerry H]

Here's pics of some of my hives

Catching a swarm

Got the queen so in they go

A bee yard after Hurricane Michael

Still trying to recover from that

 

[ChickenCanoe]

How many colonies did you lose in the hurricane? Or perhaps easier to answer, how many were you able to save?
You have many different bee keeping challenges than I do. I've needed to get into my hives but it hasn't hit 60F this week and was in the low 40s at night. We're much slower warming up this spring than normal.
I'm curious if you get much drift with so many hives in a row all the same color.