Winter Hives

Just before the big snow, I checked the hives.  The center one is dead already.   The other two [on either end of the row] are doing fine.   I seized the moment during the warm weather we had before the big snow to make some more bee candy and put it on the tops of the frames in each hive.  I figured it would be extra insulation when the temps dropped way down after the storm.  [The shortest darker blue box is just an empty super.  No bees in there.]

I'm thinking that the cause of the deadout was bees weakened by varroa.   I noticed some bees with deformed wings in the summer and fall.  The deformed wings are caused by Deformed Wing Virus [DWV], one of the many ills that varroa mites bring to a hive.   I didn't treat for mites in an effort to be chemical free and the hive was too weak to last very long at all.   Gone by the beginning of December. 

I hate losing a hive this way but I have very mixed feelings about treating with chemicals.   Maybe I should have done more sugar shakes. 

At any rate, the other two hives seemed good and active [and defensive] and now they have plenty of candy for the next two months.   On warm days I'll see if there's any action up there. 

We left the snow on the hives as extra insulation for the deep freeze that followed the storm. The lower entrances are covered with snow but the bees have a top entrance under the lip of the telescoping lids so they can get out if they really want to.  I doubt they do.  

Bee - Deformed Wings

Take a good look at the bee on the right.   See how the wings are just not right?   I found this bee in the center hive.   I looked for more, but she was the only one.   Whew.

Deformed wings are a sign of a virus called, appropriately enough, Deformed Wing Virus.

The virus occurs just like head colds and the flu in humans.   It is passed around in many ways, most notably via varroa mites.

So, the first thing I did was put a board under the hive for 24 hours to catch debris.   As bees groom and eat, things fall to the bottom.   In 24 hours, you pull the board and count the number of mites.   That'll give you an idea of the mite load the hive has.   If you count more than 60 mites in 24 hr period, then you need to treat the hive quickly.  Those mites are spreading more than DWV.

After 24 hours I pulled the board and looked for mites.   With my glasses on.  With a magnifying glass.   No mites.

That doesn't mean they don't have any; it just means that the mite load is small.  

So,  one case of DWV is not good, but it doesn't look like it's going to be catastrophically epidemic.