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  • Hive in trouble

  • General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #12591  by RDGBEES
 13 Apr 2022, 12:46
I carried out a very quick inspection today of my two hives.

One of the hives is doing well and building up nicely. The Queen is laying eggs and bees are returning with alot of pollen.

My second hive on the other hand is in real trouble. I found the queen but there was hardly any eggs. A small amount of capped brood on 1 or 2 frames but nowhere near the amount in the other hive.

The number of bees are really low but they all look healthy. Activity in and out of the hive is minimal.

They have plenty of stores remaining and the queen is still alive and laying eggs albeit not very many.

What could the reason be for the decline? Is there any saving it?

Thank you
 #12592  by Alfred
 13 Apr 2022, 15:49
As long as she's laying there's no need to panic.
(He says being a true hypocrite)
This is buying you time.
Stop and think-
Was she banging them out like a machine gun previously?
Is there a gap in the bias-a brood break- fresh eggs mean she has resumed and you need to leave her alone for a few days to get on with it.
If the demographic has been interrupted then there will naturally be a shortage of foragers
Maybe give them some feed/pollen sub for a week or two.
Check for supercedure cells as well as swarm cells this will tell you the colony has a solution.
If she is getting on then the breeders are now supplying new queens which is another option.
Or the classic frame of eggs trope ....

Good hive records keep things in perspective whereas your memory alone can invent or exaggerate a situation.
Been there
Got a season ticket.
They can run you ragged .Some colonies are way behind others.
I've just inspected today and one lacklustre colony that I was going to unite has exploded in population .
 #12593  by MickBBKA
 13 Apr 2022, 15:54
Possibly the result of a high varroa load in Autumn. Quite a few keepers here in the North East including myself have experienced the same thing this winter/spring. Colony eventually dwindles to death. Best advice I can give you is to put them in a nice snug nuc. If there is only a few frames of bees then put insulation either side of the frames, only give as much space as they need. Good luck.
 #12594  by AdamD
 13 Apr 2022, 17:43
Check outside the hive to see if there are lots of dead bees in front of the entrance; also check for soiling on the outside or on the frame top bars. Also check for shiny or trembling bees.
Of course it could be that the queen is on the way out which can happen; If there is no identifiable cause (check the brood is pearly white and the cappings are not sunken) I would put them in a small box if you have one and see how they go.
 #12598  by Cable_Fairy
 13 Apr 2022, 20:37
Had one hive almost the same last year which we put down to Varroa. I fed them all year and winterised the hive to keep the temperature up. In late spring they became very aggressive to the point of not wanting to inspect them, and over the summer they recovered and over wintered very well. I now have a hive of very quiet bees, I found the queen and it is the same one as last spring, hang in there you never know what will happen.
 #12599  by RDGBEES
 13 Apr 2022, 23:15
There is alot of soiling on the outside of the hive. Some of it is yellow which I believe is OK but some is also very dark. Is this a sign of dysentery?

I didn't notice any shiny or shaking bees today. The queen didn't look as plump as I remember her last year but there are definitely a few eggs so I know she's laying.
 #12600  by Alfred
 14 Apr 2022, 07:58
It darkens within a day,some is normal especially this time of year.
Get a photo up if you are still worried.
 #12601  by AdamD
 14 Apr 2022, 10:48
Might be worth looking at Beebase (nationalbeeunit.com) website and look up Nosema under Adult Bee diseases and viruses.

The standard BBKA solution is to carry out a Bailey Comb Exchange to rid the colony of the spores associated with it to encourage the colony to grow. However if the queen has nosema herself, she will perform poorly.
Transmission by the beekeeper can be a problem as you can move the spores from the bad colony to the good one.
 #12603  by NigelP
 15 Apr 2022, 08:52
I get the occasional hive as described by RDGBEES. Last thing I put it down to is disease. I assume (rightly or wrongly) that the queen simply started to lay eggs later than her counter parts. Went to put one like this into a nuc yesterday to find the 3 small patches of brood have now expanded into 4 very large patches of brood, hive is full of bees, so no further action taken. They will quickly catch up.
addendum.....on the other hand, just come back from an out apiary where I intended to put a similar sized hive with v.little brood into a nuc....alas these girls didn't make it. The cold spell finished them off. Knew I should have bitten the bullet and rehoused them even in the sleet.

On another note 2 hives that were going well are now without eggs and young brood, despite queens being present. I'm thinking these 2 took a brood break whilst we were experiencing snow and sleet and night time temps of -4 and -5 earlier this month. Hopefully they will start laying again. now we are into some decent weather.