BEEKEEPER ERROR - WHY did my Honey Bees DIE?

Beekeeping is not always fun. Sometimes it can be downright discouraging. At time hives are lost. At times I make critical mistakes. This is one of those times. What happened to these bees? Why did they die? Watch and see. I am always a little bit sick when I lose a colony of honey bees, especially when it is 100% my fault.
Hopefully the information here will be informative and helpful to help others avoid making the same mistake I made here.
If you think the video is helpful or informative, please share.
Thanks for watching brucesbees🐝🙂
#beekeeping #beekeeper #brucesbees #deadout #beehivedeadout

[@SquirrelsForAll]

Thank you for posting this. It's really a learning experience and will help all of us.

[@brucesbees]

I hope so. Thanks for checking out the video.

[@Solar_Apartment]

live and learn...we learn the most from our failures... thanks for sharing so we all can learn

[@brucesbees]

You are right...live and learn. Thanks for watching and for your comment.

[@desmondsimmons1436]

Sorry for your loss, you are not alone had this happen to a couple of my hives last week with the very cold snap and not enough food for them.

[@brucesbees]

Oh no that’s too bad. Unfortunately I think it is pretty common this time of year.

[@RS-lv2lk]

Brave move posting this. Very honest.

[@brucesbees]

I try to be “full disclosure” here. Maybe others can learn from my mistakes. Thanks for checking it out.

[@KatieParker2651]

My heart goes out to you. It makes me sad, but thank you for sharing. Hopefully, the spring season is a successful one!

[@brucesbees]

Thanks for your kind words. I too am hoping for a good year. The honey flow needs to get here already! It’s been a strange year, but it seems like I say that every year here in the south!

[@brucesbees]

I don’t believe I have ever seen true Nosema but I have seen pictures. I hope your remaining hives make it. Remind me where are you located?

[@brucesbees]

Sounds like a good location. Good luck.

[@brucesbees]

I am located in Southeast Alabama

[@dennisanthony8335]

Sorry Bruce,that’s just terrible. Thx for posting this. Huge lose but we are always learning from our mistakes right. Am going heading out now to double check mine. Thanks brother

[@brucesbees]

Yes not a happy story but worth it if someone else can save some bees.

[@BamaFishn]

Found your Video. We just lost one to exactly this. Sickening.... Were up above Montgomery. Thanks for the video.

[@brucesbees]

Yeah it happens. But all we can do is learn from it and move on. Thanks for watching!

[@jamieramos8079]

This breaks my heart but i appreciate ur openness... as a new bee keeper i want to learn everything i can thx

[@menace2584]

It was hard to hit the like button on this video. Good video and hopefully it will help other beekeepers, especially new ones. Feel for you as it has happened to me also.

[@brucesbees]

I agree. I guess most people who have bees have had similar experiences, but it is never fun. Thanks for tuning in.

[@ernie2214]

I have done the same thing, this year and before, I keep saying I will learn. The 26 degree nights last week are hard to allow for, especially when they have been bringing in some nectar as they were.

[@brucesbees]

Yeah I know. It is crazy sometimes. Exciting time of year but also difficult. I am ready for the real honey flow to come. Should be here soon but it can’t get here soon enough. Two or three weeks ago I my bees were booming. Now they seem have backtracked some. Hopefully can get through the next few weeks with minimal to no losses. I don’t worry too much about losing weak hives but I sure do hate to lose strong ones, especially when I could have averted the situation with a little more vigilance. And this hive is in my backyard, unlike many of my others. Would have been so easy to walk out there and feed them. Oh well...live and learn. Still lots of exciting things happening right now 🐝🙂

[@wpankey57]

Boy, that was crushing to see. Really sorry for losing your bees.

[@brucesbees]

Yeah it was tough. That was a strong colony. But with every loss there are lessons learned. Have done a little better job of keeping them fed since then.

[@Beesgatheringthyme]

Really, thank you for sharing. I will use it. On those days I feel a little too tired I will push though it and go out and do it. Because I watched this.

[@brucesbees]

Thanks for checking on!

[@brucesbees]

Yes many days it is hard to keep going.

[@stevesoutdoorworld4340]

Lots of bees but i don't see any honey stores.Make sure they have lots of spring honey or you have got to feed them.Good luck this year Bro. Beekeeping is a great hobby or a great living.

[@brucesbees]

Yep. No stores. Lots of bees. Not a good combination. Hopefully the flow will kick in pretty soon.

[@brendawydeven2934]

That hive is huge. Weird they starved. All that brood you would think they had resources somewhere. 2 to 1 or dry sugar syrup next time. But wow. So sorry.

[@cricketscreativecorner6401]

It’s so sad! I understand how you feel! I got my first hive last May. Went through summer and early winter alright. Then I noticed they weren’t as active during the first of this year. So when it got warm enough out I decided (last week) to open the hive up from top to bottom and check all the frames. As I did, I noticed lots of dead bees. I also noticed no honey or brood. Then I got to the bottom of the last box and found thousands of bees dead. So I put everything back quickly. I brought out a 5 gallon bucket of half and half sugar water. They really went after that bucket! So far they are doing great! I’m just thankful I found this out when I did. Hoping to have a successful hive again! Oh and I did see my original queen, so that was the best!

[@brucesbees]

Great save!!! Hopefully they will recover and turn into a booming hive for you! Thanks for checking in!

[@lamairepr]

Thanks for sharing, that’s sad. I lost two of my three hives this winter. First year bee keeper, I live in Michigan and we had a few warm days this week and was able to get an entire medium with 7 full frames of honey on them. Now it’s getting a little colder again so glad I got the honey on them or may have lost them too. Thanks again for sharing even the not so good videos, we can all take something away from videos like this. Hope you and all been keepers have a great spring.

[@brucesbees]

Thanks and I wish you the best as well. You guys have a whole different set of problems up there. So cold!!! Hopefully the rest of your bees will pull through the winter and come on strong in a few weeks. Thanks for tuning in. I hope we can all grow and become better beekeepers together. That is my goal with this thing. I still have a lot to learn and want to take others on the journey with me. We can all learn from each other. I hope you stay tuned. I hope to have many more videos coming in the future. 🐝🙂

[@lamairepr]

Sure will enjoying your channel, and yes it’s very cold here. We had -25 to -40 for 3 days in a row. So this will be some good genetics I’ll want a few splits off from. Thanks again.

[@brucesbees]

Yikes. I couldn’t do it lol. I lived in Utah when I was in college and it got cold but not like that!

[@louaymasri7873]

@@lamairepr I live in the Michiana area and lost both my hives. Plenty of honey too! I think the winter was just too brutal. -50 wind chill probably did them in, followed by the constant freeze and thaws we've been experiencing since the polar vortex :(

[@lamairepr]

Louay Masri, yes that’s for sure and sorry about your bees. This has been an up and down winter and really got a late start to getting cold, I feel this is what has caused all the food shortages that they need coming out of winter. Good luck with this years bee’s if you plan on keeping more this year!

[@ahumbleservantofYHWH]

Up north here in NY we run candy boards on our top supers if they get to the top super they have some emergency food. In the South that may not make sense. Was out in the hives for the first time today and had to put some 1:1 on them. Best of luck this honey season Bruce. Dont let it set you back. Learn and overcome!

[@brucesbees]

Yes I will. I may try some candy boards or sugar bricks next year, or even this year if I need to. Another person sent me a recipe I may try. It was a little chilly here today. Went out and fed some more. I am thinking the honey flow will kick in soon here. I hope so.

[@blueyes043]

Thanks for the video !!!

[@brucesbees]

You’re welcome. Thanks for watching and for checking in!

[@beasbeesrva2615]

I feel for ya. I just did the same thing to a five frame nuc of my own. Sunday all was good, Wednesday they were dead. Not a drop of syrup in the hive and I had let the feeder go empty. Felt sick when I realized what I had done. Picked up another 100# of sugar at Wally World today.

[@brucesbees]

Yes it happens very quickly. It’s a hard time of year. Just gotta get them through a few more weeks and the its game on!

[@kimberlysavino5712]

So sad. So sorry.

[@brucesbees]

Yes it’s rough but unfortunately it can happen quickly. Thanks for the comment.

[@alphaxanon]

That really sucked to see a nice healthy colony die like that. On the other hand, I learned what those hivetop feeders that Barnyard Bees are always pushing are for!

[@brucesbees]

Yeah those look like they would work. Actually my old fashioned mason jar top feeders work just fine but it doesn’t do any good if I don’t put any food on the top of the hive! I have fed more this year than in the past. Next year will probably commit to feeding even more. My bees were booming about 3 or 4 weeks ago. Now some are holding on for dear life. It’s crazy. Live and learn. Thanks for checking this out. Hope to provide useful information but good and bad. 🙂

[@CluelessHomesteaders]

That sucks, but with that many bees, understandable how they depleted all the food! I had one do the same, but not as many bees as yours...

[@brucesbees]

It happens unfortunately. I would have been totally devastated a few years back but now I just kick myself and move on. Was going to split this thing into 3 or 4 nucs. So it goes. Learn from it and move on.

[@natserog]

thanks for being honest and humble. Its a breath of fresh air. keep up the good work!

[@brucesbees]

Thanks for your kind words and thanks for watching. I will be honest in my videos whether good or bad. Not going to cherry pick only good things. I am pretty raw. What you see is what you get. Some things will work. Some won’t. We can all grow together in this thing!

[@natserog]

@@brucesbees hey bruce are you on Facebook sites? I make a soft sugar brick i make that is super easy and is not like making sugar candy..It is my go to to emergency feed bees ....bees love it and stay alive!!.take care......---stan

[@brucesbees]

Yes my Facebook page is Bruce Jenne. I need to make a brucesbees one now that I am trying to get serious and grow this KZbin thing. I am also on a few Facebook groups such as Beekeeping Techniques and Hillbilly Bee Company as well as a few others.

[@brucesbees]

Would love for you to share how you make and feed the sugar brick. Sounds like something that could be of use to me and to my subscribers!

[@mohhor4998]

So sorry for your lost i would like to ask you why the bees did not left the box for searching food in my beekeeping experience when the bees starved and they had no food they will leave the colony in searching for food Am thankful for your sharing with us God Bless you

[@brucesbees]

Good question. The bees were very busy but I guess there was just not enough food available for them and the population was so high that they just starved out. For a couple of weeks I guess there was just nothing significant blooming and that is when they died. Now things have picked up and my bees seem to be happy and busy. Just wish I would have checked these in time to feed them for a little while to get them through this situation. Thanks for watching and thanks for your comment!

[@paulahello7435]

So sorry!

[@tonydankers1842]

I know the feeling. I'm in the Northeast and my strongest hive died out . Same thing, I was timid in opening the hive in cold weather and waited for a warmish day to feed. Found that they had bubbled over on the top box on a super I left them, all dead. Need to feed quickly even on colder days .

[@brucesbees]

Yeah it’s frustrating and always a judgement call. Sometimes things get away from me a little bit. I imagine it is pretty difficult to avoid this problem where you live with extended periods of cold weather. Thank you so much for checking in.

[@eng.knowledgeseeker]

Oh man , Im very sorry for the loss They should not be dying they were a strong hive .

[@brucesbees]

Yes it was sad. Have been doing a better job feeding them this year.

[@212acres3]

Dang it sorry for your loss.

[@brucesbees]

Yep it happens. Live and learn right?!

[@beebob1279]

Many of my colonies died this winter. Just watched them fly off when it was 28 degrees in December. Nothing I could do. After speaking to a beekeepers who researches this type of situation he believed that it was the result of virus's in the comb itself. Virus from Varroa (even though I had low numbers) can live in the comb for 15 years or more. Even if I didn't have mites the viruses that were still there killed the colonies. This year instead of taking the equipment to be irradiated to kill pathogens, I decided to burn and throw away the comb and frames and just use up the new frames and equipment that are in storage. I'll work harder to rotate out my comb every three to four years to keep those viruses under control. Can't live in the past. Only learn from it for the future.

[@brucesbees]

Thanks for the comment. Probably not a bad idea.

[@chrisseghers1381]

I feel your pain. I lost 6 booming nucs in early March from starvation. The real travesty is beekeepers having a real job!

[@brucesbees]

It is tough losing bees but unfortunately it happens. I hear ya about the real job haha! I think about the bees a lot. I am obsessed and now I am always thinking about what I can do for these KZbin videos. It seems like much of what I do with the bees is potential video material. The bees rarely disappoint, and even when they do it’s a learning experience, which makes it worth recording. I am a physical therapist in real life and I must admit that my career has been good to me. I enjoy working with my patients as well and I have an awesome wife, family and church. Add to all that the world of beekeeping and I must admit that life is good...BUSY...but GOOD. 🙂😎

[@wisdombear4965]

Just found your site today. You said here in the south, what part are you in. Central Alabama here. Building new boxes this winter. Have access to one hive in a house wall if I can help it to stay alive till spring. Had 1 hive last year that a ground fire took out.

[@brucesbees]

I am located in Dothan, Alabama so not too far away from you. What town are you from? Thanks for tuning in to the channel!

[@CentralKyBees]

Dont take this the wrong way but seeing this made me feel better about my colony that just died. Mine was like 1/3 that size. Its really disheartening when you loose bees no matter the cause. I try to take the best care of them that i can but sometimes life just gets in the way, we dont always have the time to give every colony the attention they need and sometimes it bites us in the tail. Thanks for swinging by the channel bruce, meant alot to me to grasp some knowledge from ya!

[@brucesbees]

Yes it was my pleasure. I am always learning. And sometimes the lessons are hard. Good luck with the channel and with your bees

[@CentralKyBees]

@@brucesbees thanks brotha, I'll see ya on the next stream team chat!

[@regner6825]

I learned to check my bees twice a week sometimes three times a week depending on the weather

[@brucesbees]

Yes it is a good idea to check often but I usually don’t check as often in the winter.

[@zolumpus]

I been Watching" Richard Noel" bee video's from uk. Very smart man,knows a lot.Just watch on his queening

[@brucesbees]

Ok. May give it a look.

[@jennyhemfjell8876]

sad that u lost a good working hive. i wonder if u could make playlists. 1 year, 2 year and so on or something. i love wacting bee vids. and having a colected playlist are the best way, when there are a lot of vids.

[@brucesbees]

I am just learning how to do this KZbin thing. I need to learn how to do playlists. That is a good idea. Thanks.

[@amykrell9984]

I am so sorry...thanks for posting. I have a colony that doesn't have much honey..i have been feeding, and they are surviving..but now I am freaked out..should have checked them today! I will do it as soon as I get off in the am..ugh...

[@brucesbees]

Hopefully they will be ok. Hang in there !

[@amykrell9984]

@@brucesbees thanks!! checked on them Friday, so far so good still alive!

[@brucesbees]

Awesome!!! Good luck!!!

[@Les0613]

Sadly, I joined the dead bee club. They went through the fondant faster than I could get back to the hive 😪

[@brucesbees]

Yeah it’s rough but unfortunately sometimes it happens. I don’t mind it so much in weak and struggling hives but strong hives like this really bother me. Live and learn... Thanks for checking out the video and I wish you the best moving forward.

[@kenhedges]

As a new beekeeper, the reality of this happening scares me to the point of rethinking whether to move forward with this hobby.

[@brucesbees]

I would encourage you to go ahead and move forward. I would start with at least 2 hives so you can compare them with each other. Find a mentor to help you through the process. It is a fact that you may lose some bees but the silver lining in this case is that it was avoidable. I just should have fed them. Easy fix. It might also be a good idea to find a beekeeper in your area and go through some bees with them to see what it is really like. Though there is a risk with beekeeping the rewards can be great. Don’t give up on the idea. If you go into it knowing that most people suffer losses at times it can actually help give you confidence and keep you motivated when everything is not perfect. I wish you the best in your endeavor. In my case I am so glad I decided to give it a try with those two original colonies back in 2013. It has been a great, but busy, 6 years! I am absolutely obsessed! 🐝🙂

[@kenhedges]

@@brucesbees thank you very much for your encouragement and reassurance. I have been working with a group of mentors through a local university. It's a year long program and we meet each month. I've been involved since November. I've also caught the bee bug. I'll be taking delivery of two nucs in about 10 days. Thank you again.

[@brucesbees]

That is great! Best of luck to you!🐝🙂

[@michaelgilbert7851]

WOW! That was a Heart Punch!

[@brucesbees]

Absolutely. Live and learn. Thanks for watching.

[@karinhillery9788]

So sorry! I know how you feel. We had the same thing happen to one of our hives. I think it's this weird Spring weather they started feeding brood early and then it got too cold. Craziness!

[@brucesbees]

Yep. The bees and another Nature will always keep you guessing. Thanks for watching!

[@alblakesley511]

Yes that is what I'm trying to tell you in order to get enough food stores for winter u need to use queen excluders or they will fill it full of brood i know this because i have been a Missouri beekeeper for 37 year's

[@brucesbees]

Ok thanks for checking in and for watching the video! I always appreciate hearing ideas from different people. That is one reason I do these videos...so I can get input from other people and see how they do things. I hope you have a great year up in Missouri! 🐝🙂

[@brendawydeven2934]

Strong hives can have huge mite count.

[@mikeries8549]

Run about 40. Worst year was back a few where I lost 27/40. It's not as bad as it sounds if you're prepared. Make up nucs a year in advance and somehow the nucs live to replace deadouts. Another thing I've discovered in 40 yrs of beekeeping is that a 3-yr-old queen is rare up here in Illinois. Color code mark queens and see.

[@brucesbees]

Yes I am beginning to be more of a believer in nucs. Having a bunch more nuc boxes made now. I am going to start splitting and making more when the time is right. I want to be sure to have plenty of production hives to make enough honey but would also like to start maybe selling some bees and possibly would ultimately like to do a little pollination. Not big enough for that yet.

[@mikeries8549]

@@brucesbees good plan but..selling bees exposes you to enormous risk. You have to be inspected and given a health certificate for your bees and if anyone gets sick bees just after buying from you ... you can be forced to buy and burn their stuff after the fact. It happens. I thought about it myself because local raised survivors is what we're told to buy. Bee careful.

[@mikeries8549]

My last post , in a sneaky way, describes exactly why most smart beekeepers keep most of the details of their beekeeping activities to themselves. There are failure beeks that want to blame their failure on others. Go to a big bee club meeting and ask , "should I treat for mites?" and see what happens. I dare you. :)

[@brucesbees]

No doubt man. Ask 10 beeks how to do something and get at least 10 different answers.

[@chrisbgarrett]

Same here bro. I lost 5 last week with nice brood frames left in hive. Thought it was my O/A treatment being too heavy,or the last cold spell a couple weeks ago making chill brood and the smell made robbing. I also fed pollen sub all winter and open fed when warm enough. When you think you got them all figured out,NOPE! Keep at them!

[@brucesbees]

Absolutely. Always something to learn. So many variables. That’s one thing I love about beekeeping. The challenges that present themselves keep it interesting for sure.

[@Wemius61]

I'm so sorry.

[@brucesbees]

Yeah it was rough. Live and learn...

[@markblack4532]

Had the same thing happen to me this year. Opened the hive and no food. It was my fault. I should have been more diligent in my bee keeping. I almost cried it was just heartbreaking.

[@brucesbees]

Unfortunately that happens. Live and learn...🙂

[@user-wv5ks8zr6u]

Wintering bees in Siberia in - 50 Celsius. Regards your subscriber.

[@brucesbees]

Wow. I can’t even imagine how cold that is. Thanks for watching!!!

[@corinneseaside2512]

Had same thing happen with LG hive. I had surgery and didn't c k on them thought they were doing good. Other hive surviving so now feeding heavily

[@brucesbees]

Yes it can happen fast. Sometimes life gets in the way.

[@corinneseaside2512]

Think it's possible other hive of Russian bees robbed them? They're very aggressive. The hive that died out were Italian bees.

[@brucesbees]

Could be I guess. Really hard to know for sure. A tell tell sign of starving is dead bees in the hive and also dead bees’ abdomens sticking out of cells

[@PaulHigginbothamSr]

Makes me sick too. My bees disappear like right after I open hive to put fondant or use oxalic acid I can go look a couple days later and just gone or just a few.

[@brucesbees]

Hmm that’s a bummer. I wonder why? This hive was packed with bees but had no food. 100% my fault. Made me sick.

[@TheHmye]

I think it’s because starvation plus ventilation, so many bees in nucks boxes, the sudden death can’t be because of only starvation, i had the same situation before but my bees had 2 honey frames. best regards from Sweden.

[@brucesbees]

Thanks for checking in from Sweden. Stay warm!

[@StickyDankFingers]

Had a thought about the 4 or 5 foundation frames that barely had any comb. You might have fared better if you hadn’t used them and reduced the colony to three stories. Then just monitor the feed situation. Please understand I am only 3rd year beekeeper. The way I see it those frames were useless to the bees and worst of all just created more surface area for them to heat ... with no return for the space. Like empty comb they keep each other warm or comb with honey n pollen. Anyway I had some huge losses this winter. Maybe you can look at some pics bc I can’t think of why they died. Plenty of stores in a consolidated space. I just don’t know. Thanks for your videos :)

[@bencrain7083]

I've seen bees starve with full frames of honey. The honey was just 2 frames away but it was so cold they couldn't break cluster to get to it and starved. Even seen were mice get in and eat the bees and eat the honey as far as they can reach.

[@brucesbees]

Hey thanks for your comment. Just a few weeks ago the bees were crammed into 3 boxes and absolutely packing them out with brood and I thought they needed more space. I extended it to 4 boxes and put the new frames of foundation in there anticipating that they would draw them out. I think they started to. Had the flow not shut off I think they would have been fine. If I would have fed them they would have drawn out the frames and had plenty to eat. Looking back on the situation you are probably right. Could have kept them in 3 deep or maybe given them drawn comb to fill out in the 4 boxes but either way I think they needed to be fed. The queen simply outlaid the food stores and they starved. Thanks so much for watching and for your thought provoking comment. 🐝🙂

[@brucesbees]

Send me some pictures at bruce@brucesbees and I will take a look. Not sure if I can be of any help but can take a stab at it. 🙂

[@brucesbees]

Thanks for the input Ben. Good stuff. Typically does not get or stay that cold here for long but I imagine it is a common thing up north when it says cold for weeks on end.

[@vk4vsp]

What will happen to the brood that's left? Will they hatch out and be used to get the hive going again? Obviously it would need re-queening if that was the case.

[@brucesbees]

No I think it was a lost cause. The colony was already beginning to smell bad. I might have been able to put them on another hive and have them cleaned out by the bees but I opted to throw them out. I preserved all the comb that didn’t have brood in it though for future use.

[@vk4vsp]

That's a shame, although the comb is still useful. We keep a couple of Australian native stingless bee hives here. They're very low maintenance, but only supply about 1kg of honey a year. Still working no my wife, trying to talk her into getting honeybees.

[@brucesbees]

They are fascinating but they definitely can pack a hard punch if they get angry!!! I love it though🐝🙂

[@vk4vsp]

Haha. Ours bite and it hurts, but only when they're actually biting you. Shorts and t-shirts when we're working on the hives.

[@brucesbees]

That’s interesting. Didn’t know bees could bite. Sounds like it’s time to try out the stinging kind lol!

[@426superbee4]

They froze! this winter been so crazy! HOT COLD, HOT COLD and it put bees into shock to wake up got back to sleep, wake up go back to sleep. JUST LIKE IT DOES YOU > i lost 2 hives too cause of this> i wasn't expecting 0 deg weather and teens off and on all winter mine even had dry sugar in the hives.They didn't close up the vent like they suppose to too. SO THEY FROZE. SORRY FOR YOU LOSES cheer up there more FIND THE QUEEN USE HER FOR LURE BAIT

[@brucesbees]

Well I think they were hungry and then the cold snap helped to finish them off. There were plenty of bees to stay warm and they had survived colder temperatures earlier in the year. Has been such a strange winter but that’s the south for ya. Didn’t take the time to find the queen. Nor the bees are pretty much decomposing. I use Swarm Commander in my traps and have had tremendous success over the past few years.

[@426superbee4]

@@brucesbees sounds to be true. mine just plain froze

[@timHclem]

Wow, that was a lot of brood. They won’t come off the brood when it’s cold. It probably wouldn’t have made a difference if you had feed on them or not. They’ll just set there and starve. It only takes a couple days. Don’t know if you did or not but you have to be really cautious about feeding pollen too early. Sometimes Mom Nature just kicks you in the jimmy.

[@brucesbees]

I hear ya. Here in the south we are never more than a couple of days away from a fairly warm day. Especially this time of year. There really was no nectar or honey in the hive for them to eat even had they come off the brood. After the fact I remembered that I had heard this particular strain of Italian bee needs to be fed in the spring or they will brood up so fast they starve. Exactly what happened here. Thanks for the input and thanks for checking out the video.

[@timothyhollmann8571]

Bees need a frame of honey for each frame of brood they are raising, so when you create a vertical stack that has 6-7 fr of brood, the feed needs for that hive need to be supplimented. I would suggest using a pail feeder on top to maintain combs in box for max performance. Rule #1 in bees if they dont have some capped feed in hive either a frame or around brood, means they are slowly running out of feed. The live bees you have in hive is from the brood still hatching given you warm conditions.

[@brucesbees]

Yeah I goofed. Could have saved them for sure if I would have fed them. Thanks for watching and thanks for the comment. Good information!🐝🙂

[@docash2107]

So sad.

[@brucesbees]

Absolutely. But is this video can help someone else then it was definitely worth sharing.

[@p.markmcgonigle4568]

What happens to the brood in a starved hive? Can it be revived at all?

[@brucesbees]

Maybe initially but I don’t think this was salvageable. I threw the brood out but it might have been worth a shot to put in some other hives to see if they could salvage it since I think the hive had just died out. I am just not sure exactly how the other hives would have reacted if it was dead. I guess they probably would have cleaned out the dead brood and reused the wax. I am just not sure on that. Don’t know if I have ever experienced a hive this strong with that much brood dying out. If anyone else has any thoughts on this would love to hear you opinion. Great question Mark! Thanks for watching!

[@woodchucktinman9893]

I am far, very far from expert. But I was curious about the same thing. I would have put the capped brood with a frame or two of honey if I had it and as the brood emerged they would then be able, after 1 week, to take 1 frame from another hive with eggs and make a queen. If you did not have any frames of honey to use from another hive lay a frame of comb on its side and pour some thick maybe 3 to 1 sugar syrup and it will mostly stay in the comb if you brushed it in. Either way, it happens to most beekeepers. Thank you for sharing it will help many be aware to watch in the spring!

[@brucesbees]

Thanks for checking out the video and thanks for your comment. My thoughts were that the brood was probably no good but it couldn’t have hurt to put it on other hives I guess. If it didn’t hatch out the bees would probably just clean it out.

[@rafaelgil8348]

When you say “feed them,” do you mean feeding them sugar water?

[@brucesbees]

I use sugar water with a couple of supplements mixed in. Beekeepers Choice and AminoB

[@brucesbees]

What’s up Rafael!?!

[@rafaelgil8348]

brucesbees ....man I can’t believe they starve out and die just like that! You told me bees were temperamental but dang!!!

[@brucesbees]

And each hive is different. Each location is different. I have some that have plenty of stores. Others...nada. Just trying to get them through the next couple or three weeks. Next year will have a different plan.

[@paulahello7435]

Starting beekeeping this Spring in New England. This is a fear I have as well as mites. The past couple of years we fluxated between warm spells and freezing through the entire winter season. I wouldn't want to open a hive either because the weather changes on a dime. My question is on the nice break of warmth (we reached in the high fifties in February) could I set up an outside feeders as a "just in case?" I see so many reports of hives that crashed right before Spring.

[@alblakesley511]

Bruce it looks like to me u didn't use a queen excluder to get them to draw some food resource always use queen excluder

[@brucesbees]

Not sure I understand how a queen excluder helps them draw food resource? I have not had great luck with queen excluders in the past though I do use them at times for various things.

[@brucesbees]

These bees just starved because I didn’t provide them food when they needed it. Too many bees, not enough food coming in. Thanks for checking in and I hope all is well with you!

[@nancynolton6079]

Lesson learned - won't repeat that one again will ya?! Had a few such lessons myself.

[@brucesbees]

I hope not.

[@alexk4233]

Among other reasons, there is the main one - the death of bees from viral epidemics. This is well shown in the new film "So Said the Swarm"

[@brucesbees]

Yes viruses cause a lot of death with bees for sure

[@popsbeesgut3275]

Doesn't seem to me that it was starvation. I had 5 hives that starved out this winter here in Mid West and most died with their heads in the cells.

[@brucesbees]

If you look at about the 6:00 mark there were some bees with their tails sticking out. I think most of the bees just fell down between the frames. There were so many bees in that hive my view is that their weight just pulled the other ones down if that makes sense. There were no honey stores at all in the hive and it was booming previously. It had warmed up some so I don’t believe the bees were in a cluster though it had been cold earlier in the week. I have had hives that have starved with a lot of them having their tails sticking out of the cells but they seemed to be smaller and weaker hives and in cluster. Thanks for your comment though. It was a good observation. I just don’t know of any other explanation for why they would have died. Thanks for checking out the video and best wishes to you.

[@wadebarnes6720]

I can say one thing I am proud of you being and it look like she got even. LOL

[@brucesbees]

This was a hard pill to swallow but I think been a better beekeeper because of this experience.

[@PaulHigginbothamSr]

this is truly horrible bruce. I hope never to repeat this mistake.

[@brucesbees]

Yes it was tragic. Hopefully by sharing this others will avoid the same result. I have been watching more carefully and feeding as needed this year.

[@Mizai]

how many bees where there

[@brucesbees]

I don't know for sure but would guess at least 25 or 30 thousand. Sad

[@Mizai]

@@brucesbees thanks for reply

[@brucesbees]

You’re welcome. Sorry it took so long...

[@cemaltuncayokcu1585]

I thing so. 1 st : Is there a ventilation area in the bottom board of the hive ? If there is no air circulation at the bottom of the hive brood nest bees that die in front of the light board, bees that have closed the entrance hole, may be suffocated due to lock of oxygen and the accumulation of carbon dioxy (Co 2 ) gas. 2 th: There is no honey left in the areas covered by the framed bees. Bees continued to die. I am very sad

[@brucesbees]

These bees had plenty of ventilation and no food. They starved.

[@cemaltuncayokcu1585]

@@brucesbeesI guess ! The number of bees in the hive colony is high and if they are stuck in a narrow space, it may cause bees to drown.Solution ? Same changes may need to be made in the ive type. I am sorry that your bees are extict........

[@brucesbees]

There was an upper and lower entrance, plenty of ventilation, just not enough food.

[@cemaltuncayokcu1585]

@@brucesbees I have trouble understanding? There may be no ventilation problem in the hive while there is a hatchery and a honey chamber in the hive. But how did the bee colony multiply in the 3 .ncü and 4.ncü honeylands when there was no food? I accept the hunger in this development cycle.

[@brucesbees]

The bees grew into a strong colony when there were sufficient food stores. There was a lot of brood that hatched into new bees. When the population exploded they ate up the food stores that were in the hive and no longer had any food. There were no flowers or blooms for the bees to forage that time of the year. I did not check them in time to realize I needed to feed them. So the hive starved out. In this area the winter is difficult because the temperature changes between warm and cold. When it warms up there might be a short nectar flow of red maple or other flowers so the queen will start to lay but then many times there is a cold snap and no nectar coming in which can cause the bees to starve. The key in this area is to watch them closely and make sure they have enough food stored in the hive. If not then feed them and these problems can be avoided.

[@johnnywright1592]

Put them in sun and let them warm up

[@brucesbees]

There were a few bees beginning to move around but 99.9% were already dead. The hive had already begun to stink.

[@brucesbees]

Thanks for checking out my channel.

[@unisol2287]

Clean that mess and start all over again, I don’t know if you was on the military, that’s an order

[@brucesbees]

That’s the plan haha

[@valimancu2119]

I think that these bees had not food, moore exactly these not had eny honey gram. I have a friend wich had the same situation: in the migle of june month all the bees died in beehive because was a cold and rainy wheater and in wich beehive he found 5 kg dead bees.

[@brucesbees]

Yes they definitely starved. It was a sad day.

[@valimancu2119]

@@brucesbees I apologise to you for my wrong writen english! I would like to conversation a time on week with youabout bees on facebook or yahoo: facebook: vali man yahoo: [e-mail]

[@brucesbees]

No problem! You can email me at [e-mail]

[@sergepajcin1255]

yep they starved

[@Ciara12234]

Poor bee keeping, why do u always pull out the middle of the box

[@brucesbees]

Um. This hive was dead. The poor beekeeping happened when I failed to feed them. I mention that in the video. But I really see no harm in pulling the frame from the middle of a dead hive. Thanks for watching though.