ANYONE ELSE KNOW ABOUT HONEY BEES

[D-tiny-chicans]

For the past 4 years my Dad and I have tried to keep honey bees. Two of the years we got 5 gallons. Every year we get two packages of bees but in the winter they keep dying out. The queen stops laying or it dies or something. The population just goes down drastically in sept. oct. and nov. One of the hives this year had fully packed a brood box and two soupers. They were strong, but just died. This year we are getting two packages of bees but early in the spring.

ANY SUGGESTIONS?

 

[sourland]

Are you treating for varroa mites ?

 

[R2elk]

For the past 4 years my Dad and I have tried to keep honey bees. Two of the years we got 5 gallons. Every year we get two packages of bees but in the winter they keep dying out. The queen stops laying or it dies or something. The population just goes down drastically in sept. oct. and nov. One of the hives this year had fully packed a brood box and two soupers. They were strong, but just died. This year we are getting two packages of bees but early in the spring.

ANY SUGGESTIONS?

Are you spraying any pesticides in the fall?

Are you leaving enough honey for the bees to over winter?

There appear to be more beekeepers frequenting the sister site BackYardHerds. Check out their Bees & Beekeeping forums.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Just checked my hive this weekend and it didn’t make it either... I didn’t have time to investigate yet to determine my issue ... but here’s some reading on the subject:

https://www.beverlybees.com/how-to-autopsy-a-honey-bee-colony/

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Is corn or potatoes being grown near you?

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Me again... I had these links open on my phone still from looking it up last night...I thought the previous link was the only one... but here is another with some good info... along with a good instructional concerning wrapping hives for winter:


https://beeinformed.org/2015/03/30/i-prepped-my-honey-bees-for-winter-but-they-died-what-happened/

https://www.beelab.umn.edu/sites/beelab.umn.edu/files/poster_164.pdf