🐝💗Our Backyard Beekeeping Journey!💗🐝

[Baymule]

Took advantage of the sunshine and 53° temps and did an OAV treatment. We'll check in a couple of days to see what the count is.

Our package hive sure wastes a lot of sugar. They go through it much faster than the other two hives. There are also a lot of dead bees on the ground, not surprising.

Why so many dead bees!

 

[drstratton]

Why so many dead bees!

Bees only live so long and then they die off. I think they probably cleaned out the bottom of the hives with the warmer day, so it's been cumulative. Hopefully we will still have plenty once spring arrives. We're trying to give them their best chance.

 

[Baymule]

Makes sense. Who wants a bunch of dead bodies in their house for the winter anyway?

 

[drstratton]

A better explanation about the dead bees. R2elk shared this on my thread on BYC in answer to someone's inquiry about it. Dead bees around a hive in winter are a sign that you still have live bees in your hive, so it's a good sign. In warmer weather the bees will carry off the dead before dropping them somewhere away from the hive. (We've seen them do this and it's pretty impressive). In the colder weather they just drop them near the hive.

 

[SageHill]

A better explanation about the dead bees. R2elk shared this on my thread on BYC in answer to someone's inquiry about it. Dead bees around a hive in winter are a sign that you still have live bees in your hive, so it's a good sign. In warmer weather the bees will carry off the dead before dropping them somewhere away from the hive. (We've seen them do this and it's pretty impressive). In the colder weather they just drop them near the hive.

Perhaps that's why I find lots of dead bees on our driveway - it's their dumping/burial ground

 

[drstratton]

Perhaps that's why I find lots of dead bees on our driveway - it's their dumping/burial ground

It's funny you say that, because, I had that exact thought, about you finding bees on your driveway.