Saturday, March 19, 2011

The bees are dead or gone

I don't know what happened. They were fine just days ago, coming out in groups for orientation flights, and zooming off for water and early pollen or propolis.

But I did notice their doorway seemed really dirty. They usually keep it pretty clean.
Yesterday the Sergeant wondered why there wasn't much activity, despite the warm weather. Just a very few bees coming and going.

I opened up the window today.
Looks like nobody's home.

We'll open the hive itself in a day or two and see what we can see. It's very sad.
Posted by Kitt at 11:11 PM
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14 comments:

  1. Rockquelle, the Rollergirl Next DoorSunday, March 20, 2011 at 7:44:00 AM MDT

    I was reading a farm blog the other day, and her bees were all gone or dead, too. She was able to harvest some honey, though.

    There will be more. You know how to get a swarm--you're the Local Neighborhood Bee Lady. Right?

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  2. Diana CapenSunday, March 20, 2011 at 9:21:00 AM MDT

    That is so sad! Any chance they left in a swarm? A secret swarm...I know nothing about bees, obviously, just that I like them.

    Diana

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  3. Indian Food RocksSunday, March 20, 2011 at 10:44:00 AM MDT

    i am so sorry, Kitt! is it possible that the queen died and they swarmed out? can it be cleaned and another swarm put in there? what do the bee trouble shooters say?

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  4. farmladySunday, March 20, 2011 at 2:27:00 PM MDT

    Did the queen die? What would happen to them. I've never heard of this.
    How awful!
    I'm so sorry.

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  5. Pam J.Sunday, March 20, 2011 at 2:39:00 PM MDT

    Oh Kitt. My heart sank as I read this. I'm so sorry. I know so little about beekeeping, having only 11 months of it behind me, but I know enough to know how mysterious bees can be to us. Hope you start another colony soon.

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  6. Pam J.Sunday, March 20, 2011 at 7:49:00 PM MDT

    http://books.google.com/books?id=RCNDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA283&lpg=PA283&dq=dwindling+bees&source=bl&ots=ERAQgbR3W7&sig=HHhNVRvse1tU0ppb35tvZFF1iBA&hl=en&ei=W6qGTcD1HoS4tgeErYXZBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CDIQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=dwindling%20bees&f=false
    This section from Langstroth's book, on spring dwindling, was interesting. Hope the link works.

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  7. KittMonday, March 21, 2011 at 12:06:00 AM MDT

    Thanks, everyone. The "dirt" appears to be a sign of dysentery, which could have been caused by any number of factors, most or all of them beyond my control.

    (Thanks, Pam, the link worked.)

    The bees didn't swarm, but died off. We'll clean out the hive (there should be some honey to harvest, anyway) and make some adjustments.

    And now I'm first on my swarm list.

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  8. BreezyMonday, March 21, 2011 at 2:57:00 PM MDT

    Hope you get a healthy new swarm soon Kitt it must be so disapointing when you thought you'd got them through the winter

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  9. PeggyTuesday, March 22, 2011 at 3:07:00 PM MDT

    So sad! you have had that hive for some time, haven't you?

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  10. Christo GonzalesWednesday, March 23, 2011 at 6:33:00 AM MDT

    I saw where you left a comment on a bittman article about octopus from 3 years ago in the NY times....

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  11. lisaWednesday, March 23, 2011 at 7:29:00 AM MDT

    So sorry to hear of your your loss! Began following your blog for the bees, though now I'm kind hooked on the dog pictures. Here's hoping you get a new swarm soon.

    Lisa

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  12. HBWednesday, March 23, 2011 at 2:46:00 PM MDT

    Can I be #2 on your swarm list? and kudos on your mention in the Sunset Team Bee Blog!

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  13. Jen YuWednesday, March 23, 2011 at 8:45:00 PM MDT

    Noooooo! I'm sorry, hon :( This makes me incredibly sad. I hope you'll have it repopulated soon. xoxo

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  14. ErinMonday, March 28, 2011 at 6:22:00 AM MDT

    Kitt! I just saw this about the bees. I'm so sorry!

    ReplyDelete

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