We noticed just after Christmas that there was very little activity from the main colony. Further observation indicated that there were no dead bees being put outside the hive. On a rare sunny day, the roof and crown board were lifted and a torch shone into the frames in the super down to the brood box. There were no alive bees anywhere.
Subsequent removal of the super indicated that the capped honey did not appear to have been touched.
The brood box was a sad sight. A light blue mold was evident and the brood was in a huddle in the centre frames all dead.
Moreover, there was no apparent reason. The entrance did not show any diarrhea and there was none on the frame tops. The bees did not look shiny and there was no evidence of a major varroa infestation. No bees appeared to have any deformed wing problems.
Furthermore over 12 kilos of honey and food remained in the brood box and they had taken a 500 grams box of fondant. No bees appeared to be headfirst into cells. There was no brood but as it was late December we did not expect any.
Our main hive full of strong bees going into the winter had perished. before the winter had begun. Furthermore, we are unable to clearly form a judgment on what caused them to die.
A mix of sadness and frustration has pervaded us at present. We should have been able to save this colony as it was strong with plenty of stores. However, we feel that our lack of experience has been a factor in the situation.
The future and the way forward
Looking forward we will adopt a different approach next year using two brood boxes as a means of controlling the swarming urge which should mean we go into the winter with strong colonies and plenty of food. Of course, we are hopeful that there will be a good nectar flow to provide the bees with the food to overwinter on.