100% after winter BUT........dead white bees????

[Bobbysbees]

Went out to check what resources were left in my hives. Both my hives made it through winter. To say I'm pleased is an under statement . BUT I found ALOT of not dead white brood, or rather Bees not larva out side one of my hives.
by a lot I mean as good dozen. They seem to have more than enough to see them through till first full inspection (weather permitting I was told not to go through them till the day the clocks change.) Both have been treated with oxalic acid vapor about a month ago. A quick glance between the frames showed that there was still still honey at both edges of the cluster and I spotted a little brood on the top of the center frames. but didnt look further.
Does anyone have a suggestion as to what the cause may be?

[Alfred]

Diseased pupae (emitting an unusual aroma) being removed by a hygienic colony?
Go by the actual temperature on the day at the apiary, rather by a calendar.
In an emergency you can dig in quickly to have a look at below 16 degrees centigrade which is the widely accepted minimum temp for inspections.
It touched 17 here today but I was stranded at home with no transport.

[Bobbysbees]

The pupa look fine. Possibly a little on the small side. but almost fully developed and amongst them even a few fuzzy darker heads and thoraxes with white abdomens. No unusual smell though and( having just collected) a few 0 sign of varroa mites.
On a side note I was always told 12`c was ok for a quick inspection so long as they were flying. I suppose it depends on who your mentor was lol.
They are the more hygienic out of my 2 colonies but the front of there hive was littered with dead in all stages i just assumed they were cleaning house till i saw all the pupa

[NigelP]

Just something that happens. Bees produced more larvae than weather conditions allowed them to rear, so they kicked them out.

[Steve 1972]

As per Nigel..in some of the smaller over wintered colonies i find the Queens can go into overdrive when the first early pollen starts getting piled in..on these mild days/weeks the bees do not cluster so tightly (even more so in poly)..this expands the brood nest and then all of a sudden we get another cold snap in the north east..the bees tighten up again into a cluster and the remaining brood on the outside edge of the cluster get chilled and eventually die...i have seen chalk brood and white under developed bees dumped out of the hives on many occasions but when the weather warms more regularly this stops..by the back end of April and into may the bees are kick stared again with the warmer weather and it is all uphill from then on..

[Bobbysbees]

Thanks for the info. I was worried that i had messed up by oxalic vaping them rather than using the dribble technique i was advised to use. It just seemed too messy and a bit of a faff on with syringes and stuff and i dont think drowning the queen by accident after getting her through winter would be a good start to my year lol. iv managed to make up a very affective rechargeable electric vape utilizing a solids smoking vape and a tiny vacuumed pump . Very cheep and very affective compared to the rather useless wand things and a car battery. i should try marketing it considering the next cheapest i could find on amazon was over £100. I looked at some of the gas powered ones but always figured if bees dont like hot smoke blasting a blow torch near the entrance is not going to make them very happy.

[Steve 1972]

Crack on..you will find what is best for you..however if you listen and absorb you will benefit ten fold..

[MickBBKA]

As said, it sounds like abandoned chilled brood. Good thing is the queen must be a good layer.
As for inspections, if I had to wait for temps above 16C I would not be able to inspect until July.

[Bobbysbees]

Its the same where i am Mike i think we have had maybe a week where its hit double figures here.
Both boxs have brood and i spun out a few deep frames of honey and dropped them either side of the brood nests to give the girls a bit of room to lay and to stop the two legged queen complaining about lack of freezer space.