NEAR TOTAL HIVE LOSS... What Happened?

[@vinofarm]

I really appreciate the outpouring of support over on Instagram last night ( instagram.com/vinofarm ) and it was sad to hear so many of you also had devastating hive losses this winter. I wish you all the best in your rebuilding efforts. We're going to rebuild and we will be OK. Your support means a lot. Thank you so much for following our journey and being there in good times and bad! Viva Balboa!

[@benjamindonaldson3506]

Very sad. The timing reason definitely sounds logical. Good luck for 2021.

[@ThatGuy-br8py]

@vino farm Sorry for your losses. I am in PA and managed to get through the winter with 4 out of 4 hives going strong. Unfortunately, I now have to get rid of the hives. I am willing to transport donate the bees to your yard. Reply to this if interested, offer stands until 3/19 and then i will have to sell them locally.

[@thomasbacon]

PS Check your neighbors for their losses. They could have had some mite bombs go off in late fall that caught you after your treatments.

[@julieenslow5915]

@@ThatGuy-br8py Generous offer. Best wishes for your future.

[@elfargo]

Eastern massachusetts, 1 of 7 still alive, and barely. Worst year yet.

[@samuelbriere5739]

I'm a beekeeper in Quebec, Canada and I never lost more than 15% of my beehives and we have longer and harsher winter. There is a lot you can to improve your bees to overwinter. 1) Varroa count : lower the varroa as much as you can. You shouldn't be afraid to go with 5 formic acid treatments and you should always do an oxalic treatment around early to mid-november. 2) Always tilt a little bit your beehives : that way, water drops from condensation will leave the hives and not stay in there. Using a level meter helps ! 3) Pack them in group of 4, next to each other : Beehives will warm each other and it will be easier for them to overwinter. 4) Maximize your population in the fall. Mid-august to mid-september, you should give patties to your bees : you want them to raise a lot of bees. A big cluster helps to evacuate the moist and is more likely to overwinter. A colony with less then 15 frames should be overwinter in one box, if you have more, two boxes are fine. 5) Feed them early with 2:1 syrup ( 2 kg of sugar, for 1 L of water ) I start feeding around the 2nd week of september : you don't want your bees to gather honey. It's too rich in minerals content and they have higher chances to defecates, and thus, increase the spread of diseases when they are stuck in the beehives. Fill the on top feeder twice ( around 35L of 2:1 syrup ) 6 ) Wrap them with Ayrfoil and add some styrofoam on the top. Most of the heat leaves from the top and having a nice layer, like styrofoam, helps to retain heat. Poke hole near the top entrance, to allow cleansing flight and make incision near the entrance on the board, for the same purpose. 7) Leave the entrance wide open ( no entrance reducer ). Have a second opening in the top of your beehives and take out the bottom board of the beehives. Heat leaves from the top, don't worry about the fact that there is no bottom. Humidiy and moisture kills the bees, not the cold. Therefore, having a good ventilation is crucial. 8) Put them on one pallet, with styrofoam ( in order to avoid humidity from the soil ) and then add a second pallet. Put your beehives on the second pallet. 9) When snow comes, you should lightly shovel some on the side of the beehive. Snow is a nice protection for beehives and you should use to your advantage. 10) Pick a good queen breeder ! I hope you'll recover from that and best of luck ! Personnally, for the first time, I have a 0% lost, but winter was soft ( for a canadian winter ).

[@atrentals8162]

Sounds like we would like you to do a video too! I live at 57.7 north but on the coast, so I would watch it....... And I really feel your pain Vino Farm..... Cheers

[@samuelbriere5739]

​@@atrentals8162 Alright, I will keep that in mind. The winter is kind of over, but I will try to prepare one for next fall showing the whole set up and the different steps at the different dates !

[@aidar5650]

I keep hearing cold does not kill bees over and over and that's incorrect information. Cold does kill bees! his hives are dry thanks to the burlap and the vivaldi opennings. Hives without boottom boards and wide open in winter !!!??? well, that's interesting. I agree with you on the varroa treatment and without an autopsy it's hard to tell but I think that's the culpirt. When he treated I instantly thought that's not going to work. Not all bees were in, hive had openings, and only one round of OA treatment is never enough.

[@samuelbriere5739]

@@aidar5650 Strong and healthy beehives can survive -40C, as I witnessed. The issue is moisture. If you add the factor of moisture, cold is increased by a lot ( temperature vs apparent temperature ). Consumption of syrup will be heavier if the temperature is colder altough, as more energy will be spent to maintain the temperature in the cluster. And yes, we take out the bottom board from the Apinovar board. I only put it when I do formic acid treatments or in early spring, to monitor varroa ( otherwise, I do alcool washing. ) For the entrance, taking out the entrance reducer allows more ventilation, and it's easier for the bees to evacuate their dead outside the beehive. On the other side, I was just mentionning a lot of techniques that could improve his overwintering. I totally agree with you that it's hard to make a diagnosis when you don't have a lot of information. As you mentionned, maybe his varroa treatments were ineffective. Maybe some beehives were sick prior to overwintering. There is a lot of factors weighing in !

[@karlt750]

Samuel briere. Excellent advice, makes sense. Ian Steppler (Canadian beekeeper's vlog) does very similar things to you in Manitoba

[@robertbeining141]

So sorry for your loss. This breaks my heart. Wishes for a quick and healthy rebound. Stay Strong, Be Well.

[@FrederickDunn]

OOps, I left a comment and it went away. I'm sorry about your profound losses, but wondered if you'd consider just working from that survivor stock, as they made it against all odds? Sorry if I offered unsolicited advice in my last post. I'm wishing you all the best going forward. You're spot on with the varroa concentrating on remaining bees as their numbers dwindle, which is why mite loads often seem to increase as the forager numbers decrease going into fall. I'm glad you're remaining optimistic.

[@vinofarm]

Thanks, Fred. (Not sure what happened to your comment. It wasn’t me!) I will definitely be doing everything I can to propagate this surviving colony. It defied all odds and came out stronger than some of my colonies looked last summer. It’s some kind of genetic super colony. I appreciate your support and all you do for beekeepers everywhere. I hope your winter was better than mine.

[@houssembenabdallah6599]

I strongly agree with you. But if I was him, I willl not bring another stock of queens to the appiary, I will just buy bees and add eggs/larvae from the surviving hive. The resulting queens will be mated with drones from the same area and from hives that survived the same hard conditions which help to keep the genetic strong and even improve it.

[@LarryLeesBees]

Hey Fred! So good to see you here Sir! 😃

[@masterbeekeeper30years18]

@@sergepajcin1255 Sounds like you have all the answers Serge. Maybe Jim will listen to your wisdom. I agree with Mr. Dunn's suggestion that Jim continues with the remaining colony over bringing in anything new. Clean House!

[@masterbeekeeper30years18]

@@vinofarm I feel bad for your losses. Education can be expensive. Learn from past mistakes. Continuing to do what you do, and expecting a different outcome, is a poor path. Loading them with sugar and treatments just might not be what works? You can't fix what you don't acknowledge.

[@kuceracm]

I had to pause around the time you opened the Adrian hive and just grieve. This is absolutely heartwrenching. I'm so sorry and as devastating as it is for all of us who have watched your journey thus far, I can't imagine how horrible this is for you. Just know that your viewers are also sharing in your loss....we have all become emotionally invested in your hives and care greatly about the bees. I hope you dust off and start again because you are such a great keeper and every good keeper is so important for the bee population.

[@princenephron7546]

You had to grieve?... Are you seeing a shrink by chance?

[@DreamyDuskywing]

It's really sad that you lost so many but I am really glad that a Balboa colony was the one to hold on

[@johndough29]

It's nice to see the highs & lows of beekeeping. Keeps us humble. I Love the honesty... I love your channel. Looking forward to the 'recovery' story!

[@chrizetterossouw7193]

Hi, I'm from South Africa and binge watched all your bee videos from year 1. I was waiting in anticipation for you first video for 2021. I'm really sorry for your loss. It felt like it was my bees... Your positive response and still planning for 2021 has really inspired me. Your a awesome bee keeper and I really enjoy your videos. It inspired me to get my bee gear and a box, just waiting to get some bees. We started with autumn so the chance of getting a swarm is low so I'm getting ready for spring in September with a great hope of getting my first swarm. At least I can watch your videos as you will be starting to be more active. Good luck for this year, rooting for your plans and hope this year will be even better than 2019.

[@timmo7913]

No words my friend. Hold your head high. Your rebuild will be stronger than this past yard ever was.

[@Coolness59]

Sorry to hear that you lost almost all of your hives.....Devastating...... Your observations are quite correct. Weak hives going into the Winter with Varroa. Deadly combination. I have one hive (I just started last year) that survived quite well, but I'm in Central Virginia where it doesn't get as cold for so long. They're thriving and I'm probably splitting it soon. The best to you, my beekeeping friend. I hope your new bees grow quickly into many hives!!

[@TheHoneystead]

I am so very sorry to hear this news :( this year was a challenge for many keepers. I heavily combined my weaker colonies do to lack of resources. Don’t give up- KEEP KEEPING 🐝💛

[@vinofarm]

Thanks, Kaylee. Not giving up at all. Re-evaluating and rebuilding.

[@stevemotter865]

Sorry for the loss and for some of the comments. I’m always amazed that people can diagnose a problem without ever seeing the situation. Like politics, beekeeping is always local. You have demonstrated you can successfully manage overwintering. Hang in there and rebuild.

[@bethbsn06]

I’ve never binge watched on KZbin, but I was recommended your channel on Thursday and just made it through all the years of bees. I have bees on order and my hives will be here this week. I’ve learned a lot and appreciate you taking us through the highs and the lows. Thanks

[@robertflindall4692]

I lost both of my hives this winter. It was devastating. I feel like I let the ladies down. I now have to start all over again from the beginning. So I feel your pain brother.

[@celinecormier2060]

So sorry for your loss. May this year bring much strength and joy to your bees and hives

[@Joy35]

The Russians too ?! Something thought I'd never say but im sad they are gone. Im sad they are all gone but BALBOA for the legacy win.

[@filipvernica258]

And one more thing which I want to add it I have a strong colony was from a tree in one of the city around a strong colony last year was full of mites I cannot take any honey from because I keep treating and I make mistakes I am a beekeeper for this is the fourth year I treat like a say the last time in December first week I check bottom board this year three weeks ago I find 90 varroa mites actually after the first oxalic acid treatment. After that I was checking Bottom board I clean up and I put little bit of oil so the varroa can stick on and every day I find 40 and 16 then I treat again after seven days I find another 15 the first day and then I’m still checking on the bottom board but after two more treatment I have to take 300 bees put in the alcohol wash them and see if I’m through with , that may help somebody who doubt about the process of getting serious about varroa treatment that the reason why I’m telling you what I’m doing that may help you and or people like me 4 years in the bees keeping I want to share with you guys and use a special and reality see in your video,overall I think that was the main problem varroa.

[@m.willow11]

With as many mites as you found on the lost bees, your infestation % was likely beyond the point of recovery going into the fall, unfortunately. I'm so sorry you lost so many hives. I think if I were you I would focus most if not all of my resources on the one surviving colony. Potential mite-resistant hive!

[@johnportnoy5312]

It most likely was not the cold, or the drought since the bees had plenty of carbo thanks to feeding. You must control mites before winter bee production, I.e. in the bees who rear the winter bees, ie in August. Otherwise winter bees can be severely stressed by virus infections- All winter, (or until they die).

[@sinisterhipp0]

You gotta “farm” those winter bees.

[@thatguy3456]

I TOTALLY agree. I wrote a really detailed comment about this above.

[@Noodlepunk]

The bees just may not do well for winter. I heard European bees do well in colder weather. So I may go with them since my area gets a lot of snow.

[@thatguy3456]

@@Noodlepunk All bees that you buy are really muts unless they are artificially inseminated. They are marketed often as a breed bu they are all open mated meaning they could be anything.

[@princenephron7546]

@@Noodlepunk .... You DO know that the "honey bee" we are all talking about are EUROPEAN honey bees, right? What do you mean you "heard european bees do better in the cold"??? As opposed to African honey bees?

[@bee-u-tifuladventures4771]

Man, I am soooo sorry to see/hear this video. You did everything you could and nothing wrong that I have ever seen. Please don't give up from here. I lost one of my colonies about a month ago also. So, I am feeling your grief.

[@jpsuper]

No idea about beekeeping. I can only say it is great what you and other beekeepers do. These little workers are just so important, thank you, I am sorry for your loss and keep it up. Thank you!

[@sybilsinclair5614]

Hey Vino. We're in Ashburnham. Lost 5 out of 6. Similar experience. Our queens really stopped laying in July - some brood, but not typical, healthy levels. Minimal food stores. We started feeding and feeding and feeding. We put in Apivar mid-August and removed 6 weeks later at the beginning of October. Fed sugar water as long as temperatures allowed. Candy boards. Quilt boxes. Found golf ball sized clusters surrounding the queens. Some candy left; no honey in the top deeps. We've ordered two packages of Saskatraz. Planning OAV and Apivar this year. I'm sorry for your loss. Know you're not alone in Northern Mass.

[@vinofarm]

Thanks, neighbor.

[@ΜελισσοκομίαΣΤ]

This is very interesting that you put apivar strips mid August and you have the same rates of survival as vino.. I believe that both of your hives dont brood enough before winter to make the winter bees to keep the clusters strong and healthy so they fail.. Sory for your losses..

[@martinogden]

It must be heartbreaking to suffer such losses. Here in the UK we don't have much experience of a savage winter like yours. I know you will turn this around with your positive attitude. I doff my hat to you.

[@billastell3753]

That is so depressing. That's why I quit beekeeping, Back in the day when my Dad had bees for 50 years things were easy. My nephew still struggles with them. Hope things get better.

[@deepdragon2]

You have a human heart bees have a different survival strategy then us and one hive survived... in the wilds they would repopulate the entire area eventually. Yes from a human (we care way too much sometimes) it is suckage but one hive lived. Bet you a swarming or two is coming.

[@janakkerman4714]

try too get some help also i help from the Netherlands

[@janakkerman4714]

never stop whit the bees we have to survive too

[@houssembenabdallah6599]

I am really sorry for what happened to the bees. I have been following you since 2016. My condolences.

[@wheelsmcdealsace]

I dont have any bees but i am fascinated by all of the work that go's into them. sorry to hear everyone having a hard winter.

[@heathertebb645]

Oh gosh, dont quite know what to say. You are such an inspiration to all us beekeepers and to have such a devistating winter loss ..... I only keep three or four hives, and only lost one this winter, they were too small a colony and despite support it was always going to be against the odds. But still wish they had made it. Small solice, but I used your advice about correx wraps and burlap this winter and feel it did make a difference to the colonies that survived. And the correx stopped the woodpecker attacks that we usually get, they damaged the correx but then seemed to give up. Good luck for this year. Heather in the UK.

[@gileshoney5796]

We had devasting losses last winter as well. Unfortunately, ours was due almost entirely to falling behind on our beekeeping routine in late summer and just not being able to get caught up before snowfall. Fortunately, we had a few hives that survived, so we will rebuild this year without too many issues.

[@staceydenson9936]

So sorry for your loss. But you are a strong keeper and will have strong colonies again. You are the reason I love beekeeping, you did out of live not greed. Your yard will be full of buzzing again, I'm sure if it. New beginnings and New memories to start. Can't wait to see them. Take care, it'll be OK.

[@jamesharman7266]

I'm really sorry for you loss of bees. It is devastating and I would be very discouraged. I appreciate your desire to continue on with your beekeeping. :)

[@Grabbearjet]

You were so much more positive than how I would've been in your situation. Im so sorry for your loss! But I know your new Bee Barn is going to be slamming!

[@zimrasawyer1881]

Im so sorry, this is so sad. Im glad that you had at least one legacy colony survive. I hope this year's a little easier on the bees everywhere.

[@ronaldstilwell3464]

That is really, really tough. I am terribly sorry for this exceptional loss. Of course, you are already on the right track with focusing on the varroa. Please hang in there as many folks have learned from your journey.

[@dianashoemake7372]

This truly hurts my heart. I hope this year has large growth for you.

[@TammieYoMammie]

What a devastating blow! I'm so sorry! After all that work! Kudos to you for already ordering new bees and not allowing this to discourage you. Hang in there!

[@timmiller2192]

My heart goes out to you! Not a good feeling. However I know you will bounce back stronger and better because of it! I lost 2 of 4 but excited for what 2021 will bring. Wish you all the best!!!

[@markmadison146]

So sorry to hear about your terrible loss. I have five hives I over wintered in central NY and a couple days ago with the nice weather all five hives were looking great. It looks like you took plenty of precautions on your hives for the winter. I’m hearing about losses everywhere. I feel very fortunate mine have made it so far. It’s not over yet. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[@weatherlady9666]

You are NOT alone. We lost all ours in the Nebraska Cold Snap, as did all of our neighbors. The local apiary lost just over 1/3 of his long established hives. It's sickening.

[@WhistleThicket]

4 out of 5 of my hives made it! I live in the mountains of wnc and have been using quilt boxes to limit moisture problems in the hive. Good luck this year! Beekeeping is part science, part art, and part luck! You can do everything right and still have bad luck.

[@LadyEzri]

I am so sorry for this news. But I am glad that a descendant of the famous Balboa your first named queen continues her legacy in the bee yard as you rebuild.

[@shevaspshojai6483]

My first thought..... what abaut Balboa???? Oh NO!!!!!!!!! Happy to hear good news ❣️

[@carlycreagh1473]

Please know that you are an absolute favorite of mine, and your videos have taught me a lot. These videos are an absolute highlight in my day. This particular video was shared in a Beek group online, and the outpour of love people have of you and your bee yard was incredible. Know that you have a huge fan base cheering you guys on! Thank you for sharing everything along the way.

[@vinofarm]

May I ask where it was shared? Thank you for the kind words.

[@tedjackson5272]

Sorry to hear about your bees. Did you think about contacting MDAR for an inspection? I had them at my house at the end of August last summer and the told me one hive had washed a 25-30 mites per sample. I had checked the same hive a month earlier and had a count of 4. Mites are the #1 enemy. I treated on September 1st with Apivar and feed each hive about 2 gallons of 2:1 sugar syrup. All five hives Made it so far and will be watching them closely. Fingers crossed.

[@Holdfast]

This was my first year bee keeping and I have followed your videos closely - it's clear to me that you put great care and thought into every action you take. It's still hovering around freezing here so I haven't been into my hives but am pretty sure I have lost 1 of 2. Thanks so much for the hugely generous video series and particularly this one. Others might have thrown up their hands and withdrawn from sharing these details so well.

[@poep567-y5u]

I am so sorry!! :( Devastating and a little scary watching someone who takes such great care suffer such loss. :( You will rock it again this year, just keep moving forward and chalk it up to part of the learning curve. My ❤ goes out to you!

[@jaredm2988]

So sad to see this! I am also a beekeeper in Massachusetts (southeast) and find your videos incredibly helpful. I know you’ll rebuild your apiary and I look forward to seeing the progress. Thanks for making these videos!

[@samiyarossini]

Winter has been awful this year. I’m sorry to hear you lost so many hives, but I’m glad that Balboa’s line lives on. Fingers crossed for 2021 bee luck!

[@sharoncarlisle7089]

So sorry for the losses of your beautiful bees...praying for a strong year.

[@thatguy3456]

Vino farm I think the mites killed your hives and not the drought from last year. I would treat with oa on your live hive ASAP.

[@lailaapiary]

This is devastating. Agreed. I would have also treated another time in November once the cluster forms especially if the bees were still flying out. Could have gotten mite bombed versus the bees catching it from going into nearby hives.

[@jeffreycraig7880]

My sincerest condolences on your losses. I know you will be back stronger this year. You have inspired me to start bee keeping this year. I appreciate all he great videos.

[@garydungelman6530]

You had to have a Mite infestation going into winter,,, my condolences

[@undergrounddojokeyboardcag701]

At least it wasnt covid.

[@undergrounddojokeyboardcag701]

@@bieneulm1982 Are you saying my bee's might have actually died of a Corona virus variation... possibly called Covid-B?

[@billiamc1969]

The guy treats for mites...treatments also weaken bees and make them susceptible to other problems like lower immunity.

[@larrynoe6276]

My uncle several years ago told me that he killed several hives of bees with some bad sugar I didn't really know if it was true but 2 years ago I feed my bees sugar water and they died every hive I gave the sugar water. I found out later that beet sugar has a higher count of pesticides and I had bought the cheaper beet sugar . This is just my opinion that the sugar you used might have been the problem. I always use pure cane sugar now I am not advertising for anyone but I usually get Dominos cane sugar where I live here in east Tennessee. I am not a pro bee keeper just got 5 hives. I am so sorry that you lost your bees may God bless you to recover your losses. I hope some of the bigger bee farms will donate you some packages. My name is Larry Noe and I am praying for you.

[@billiamc1969]

@@bieneulm1982 I DO NOT use any treatments and don't have severe mite problems or reinfestations from dying colonies. Please stop trying to make the case that untreated colonies are responsible for killing treated colonies...it is simply not that easily explained away. Artificial diets have a great deal to do with colonies dwindling away in fall. There is a great deal of slack that needs to be taken up by the human through proper seasonal management. I have been with bees for over 25 years and in 3 different regions, experience is another lacking aspect in seasonal management.

[@kurokitsune9516]

its so sad your left with only one hive right now but so amazing that the survivors are decedents of Balboa! and its good to hear you'll have 3 more hives come May...cant wait to see them in your bee yard

[@bradwahlin9625]

Lack of varroa management! Sorry for the losses. Got to treat aggressively all season starting in spring!

[@sunspot42]

Agree with this. From what I’ve read any varroa are a ticking time bomb. Also recommend more be done to stop raiding, as it spreads varroa like crazy.

[@RobertStrahl]

Poor varroa management....agreed

[@YeNnieMEoW]

I'm just really glad the balboa line lives on. Its the one you started your bee keeping journey with and I'm happy that's the one that survived (if only one can survive that is) It has a sentimental value that other bloodline cannot relate. I'm looking forward to your new journey!

[@jcrroadie]

Devastating. I decided to keep bees (should be here within the next week or so) from watching your videos. I also started making sourdough by using your exact methods and based off your recipe. Heartbreaking to see this. So glad that you have one hive of super bees. Hopefully you can spread their genetics throughout the bee yard.

[@daniellelarson4151]

I have been watching for such a long time. I am so sorry for what happened. Regardless, of what has happened and will happen in the future, your content has made me very passionate about everything related to bees!

[@lindalechristenberry7321]

I’ll be praying for the bees this year. 🥰

[@chickentonight7773]

Let's pray together

[@samantha7384]

Oh no I am so sorry. I can see ur pain..this is 1 reason why we are loosing honey bees at an alarming rate. Thank u for all the hard work u do put in.

[@smitt76]

I’m in central NH and dropped apivar strips in mid-September. I experienced a 25% loss but still have 25 hives going strong at this point. I had a big wake up call when I started doing washes and my actual mite loads smacked me in the face. My OAV only friends all experienced severe/total losses. I think this year I’ll shoot for apivar or apigaurd treatment mid-August with some OAV cleanup treatments once hives are broodless. Also, more regular alcohol wash spot checks.

[@OrlandoG]

agree. monitoring is key

[@paulchristu996]

That’s the ticket.

[@kateboydell5592]

So sorry to see what's happened. Your videos are always really informative and non-preachy. I hope that you manage to get your bee yard back to strength. Thank you for being brilliant

[@TallPaul1288]

October seems a little late for treatment, imo your mite levels were past the point of recovery by October. Maybe treat earlier.

[@beemannjohn3920]

October is definitely too late, in my area (central MN) the queens are shutting down for the year so at that point all the winter bees they made would've been affected by the high mite levels.

[@christopherhiemstra1070]

@@beemannjohn3920 our organic mite control starts in August, we have low losses. because we learned the hard way many years ago.

[@TwoTreesFarm]

Oct is too late for a single treatment, but it's not too late for a supplemental treatment (I don't recall if he treated earlier in the year as well or not). The winter bees are growing and hatching in late Aug/early Sept around me (I'm in a similar climate to Jim), so you want a mite treatment finished by early Aug to get your numbers as low as possible for the winter bees. Then in Oct/Nov (I usually do it whenever I wrap for the winter) you can hit them with a Oxalic vapor treatment to knock the numbers down again.

[@simonblakeway559]

I'm in the UK but I try to get my oxalic capes done by mid September at the latest. Also, I vape 3x with 5 day intervals to get the varroa as they emerge. Additionally I vape once around Christmas time when my colonies are hopefully broodless.

[@mikemadasafish]

@@simonblakeway559 I also am in the UK: I do my varroa treatment August after harvest. And then OA vaporisation around 20th December when my hives are definitely broodless. Winter bees are produced in August/September. If the bees that raise them have an excessive varroa load, the winter bees will as well and be compromised.. often fatally. Winter survival requires strong colonies (no late splits) and healthy bees (treated before they are eggs.)

[@wildman166]

That’s terrible news buddy ! I am so sorry for you Sir ! We lost a couple colonies to mites last year . But I live in Sarasota, Florida so we really don’t deal with the tough winters ! You are a smart guy , and I am sure you will make a plan for 2021 !

[@annielafreniere4034]

Summer 2020 was tough indeed. I had 8 hives. Five died by december, the 3 others died during the winter. Lots of food stores, reasonable-sized clusters, but dead. I live in the province of Quebec, Canada and winters are cold but, it is the first time that I lose all my hives. Many experienced beekeepers faced heavy losses which makes me think it is not just about what we have done right or not. Let's start again and keep learning :)

[@BaneRain]

Mine died in quebec too.

[@andrelacombe2131]

I lost all my hives too over the winter 😭 Ontario Canada

[@CastleHives]

Jim, I went into winter with 5, down from 8 in the summer, and lost them all. I started Beekeeping when you did, watched you putting the Flow together. This has been the worst Winter. This year will be rebuild for a lot. Such a bummer.

[@AllanGyllingOlsen]

In Denmark we treat against varoa in oktober and in december. Just open the hive and spread oxalicacid sugar mix directly on the cluster

[@davidryle1164]

Could you explain more about oxalic acid sugar, proportions acid to sugar, thanks.

[@martprice7726]

@@davidryle1164 we used to dribble oxalic acid and sugar on the bees in the winter and we lost so many colonies also very weak in spring we no longer treat in the winter we treat the varroa in august-september and then the bees are healthy to go into the winter also do a full treatment in March if you mix Sugar and Oxide acid together the bees will eat it and die we have only lost one hive in a hundred hives this winter that one swarmed in September and was weak.

[@ME_MeAndMyBees]

In the UK we use Oxalic Acid via a Trickle method.* Trickle OA is a set mg of Medication (OA) to % of Syrup. Sold in pre-made measured bottles... I used : "Oxuvar" by Biovet... in UK. (*Think your can't do this in US, you have to Vapour OA only.) You draw up with a Syringe a set amount of OA Syrup and trickle Dose each Frame in the Hive... (Do a search on Google, plenty of info on dose to use.) Suggested to use when very low on Brood, eg midwinter, after any Split, on when no or little brood is present, eg catching a Swarm. And, I'm going to use Formic Acid at other times... And do appropriated doses of each, throughout the year (!) Especially before "Winter Bees" get created, here its by end of August re brood !!! I'm a 1st Year Beek, with a Horizontal Hive, in Scotland... They over wintered well. I could look at them almost daily (!) As they are under a heavy Lid (hinged) with Thick, Sheet of Wool padding in situ. Then they are under thicker timber Top Bars, (with viewing Port Windows) over Brood Area. And lots and lots of Sheep's Wool insulation in the Wall Cavities, and a Screen Bottom Board... Hope 2021 gets to be a good Bee Season for everyone. 👍 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

[@jesshowe4591]

@@ME_MeAndMyBees dribbling oxalic acid on bees with sugar will kill weak colonies strong colonies will tolerated it but can be weaker after treatment I use this method for years and eventually realise it a bad idea. formic acid is not a good treatment to kill Verroa I have 20 years experience with Verroa problems.

[@apisme6111]

in Austria we evaporate Oxxalic acid End of July after the hive is breedless 2 times and in Dec. if there is no breed in it..... greetings

[@slimmike8228]

I lost all my hives this year and unfortunately I'm done its just frustrating. Hopefully you have a better year. good luck to you and all other bee keepers.

[@brenno344]

Oh no . Please don't give up! We need bees

[@predator627]

3 varoa treatments in the fall , in November or December dont give pure sugar , make honey dough like a spare food, when you notice bees stuck in the combs that is a sign that they were hungry, plus varoa!

[@billiamc1969]

Treatments are NOT 100% guaranteed to keep bees alive...mites are NOT the only thing that kills bees

[@Nicola_Bailey]

I am so sorry you lost so many hives, but I'm pleased that the one that made it was a Balboa descendant. I'm looking forward to the new packages arriving and following them all this year.

[@stephenF250]

If I could give one huge piece of advice graft off your survivor stock those have genetics to survive a bad year and crap winter.

[@Maxim.Teleguz]

This

[@thezfunk]

Yeah, and for replacements I wouldn't get an Italian for a northern climate. My picks would be Carniolan and the new Saskatraz

[@IISheireenII]

He probably will. They are the great granddaughter generation of his first survivor stock that made it when the others didn't

[@stephenF250]

@@IISheireenII yep been following him since the beginning

[@russellkoopman3004]

@@thezfunk Yes, I agree. Here in MN I have one Italian hive and 6 Carniolan hives and the Italian bees don't know when to shut down. You try to feed them and all they want to do with it is raise babies instead of storing it.

[@mattsara2802]

I had the same thing. Sorry for your lose all we can do is keep learning and moving forward

[@paulbuiks1308]

Heartbreaking. Looks like mite infestation is what did them in. Also note , the heavy syrup feed administered could have back filled the winter brood chamber thus hindering populations further. Sorry for your loss. Paul

[@jonathanrivers6554]

I hate to see you lost your hives but thanks for keeping it honest and posting the video. I'm new to beekeeping and want to see good and bad. Thanks for the breakdown on what you think went wrong. Best wishes on rebuilding.

[@vinofarm]

Full autopsy video coming next week or so. There will probably be a better diagnosis as to the cause of death.

[@lospervanjos7216]

Wow, thats a big loss. I feel sorry about that but i belive that your apiary will look great in summer. Keep it positive ! ( beekeeper from Bosnia )

[@amiiboplush2177]

Jim- tough to watch and feel for you brother. Had been waiting anxiously for your next post. Sorry it was this. Sending you our encouragement and hope! We’ll all make it together. Let the community know how we can help. Love to come volunteer some help on the farm. Be well!

[@MinnesotaBeekeeper]

It's always mites. nutrition and queens. What were your late summer treatments? Did you do a mite wash to document the treatments were working? Warning!!! professionals are abandoning Apivar in droves. Bad batches with little to no chemicals. Did you do your OA? What were your broodless mite treatments and your fall mite counts? Did you do your OA 3 to days apart for 5 treatments? One treatment never works unless completely broodless. So commercial northern beekeepers start feeding for winter in August. Did you offer pollen patties during the dearth and in fall so they could raise winter bees? And how old were your queens? Did you requeen any last year? Old queens don't lay up for fall winter bee brood very well. Do a bee drop mite count and let us know what the count is. Guessing heavy mites, lack of early balanced feed and old queens. Let us know Jim.

[@MSH-el2yz]

That sucks, but I admire your composure to step back and analyze instead of blaming all the wrong things. I also admire your drive to keep going, u will learn and grow from this. Last year we had 20 hives and lost 19 of them, I brought home our last hive and gave it special attention and now it looks so strong. I just ordered 7 nucs and expect to come back strong this year, as big losses r lessons to be learned from that make us better bee keepers. I look forward to your end of the year videos as u bounce back, and u will bounce back.

[@gregwaskom552]

Because that colony could handle the high mite load they went into winter with. The others couldnt handle the mites

[@jonhatchcirclejfarms1628]

I feel your pain. So far I've lost 5 out of 9 hives. I'm in Vermont so my summer last year was like yours. We just have to keep on, keeping on.

[@jtelander]

What were your mite counts going into winter?

[@beekeeperd.7656]

This is the key question!!

[@vinofarm]

Three Oxalic vapor treatments in October. After the second one, there was hardly any mite drop. After the third one, most hives had ZERO mite drop. I did not do any alcohol wash counts because if the mites were not dropping after three OA treatments, it did not seem necessary to kill more bees on already weak colonies. So I do not know the mite "count" but three OA treatments appeared to take care of the remaining mites. That's all I can say.

[@jtelander]

@@vinofarm I understand. I'm sorry this has happened to your apiary.

[@dwightschrute4029]

Without a wash you have no idea how effective the treatment was. It takes only a few minutes, worth what you sacrifice to get an accurate count.

[@keithdiaz8166]

@@vinofarm wow... I too would have thought 3 October treatments were sufficient. Sorry bro. Disheartening to say the least. What was your treatment schedule starting in August? Is it possible that the mites did their damage in August and September? My bee season starts in August. That’s when I start knocking down mites with Apivar. I sublimate OA in October in the evening over the course of 2-3 weeks. Last fall I also feed the bees (I only maintain 6 colonies) dry artificial pollen and about 24 gallons of syrup. So far so good. Hope 2021 is a good one for you. The barn looks sweet!

[@BosnWayne]

I am sorry for all the loss. But I am glad to see you again! Don't be a stranger!

[@markk4861]

Did you treat for mites in the spring at all? I use apivar strips in the spring and oxalic vapor in the fall. You can alcohol wash the dead hives to check mite loads.

[@pomeroyi]

I freekin love your Bee videos; clear, concise, considered, interesting dialogue and explanations, please restart soonest. So sad to see your near total loss but please bounce back. Ex Beekeeper, Essex, England

[@TheTubecrap]

Is setting up a section of your barn to over-winter the hives an option? With just enough heat to keep above freezing?

[@joylucio4430]

i was thinking about that too, maybe have a way to keep them covered at least from the heavy snow. maybe a removable rooftop over the beeyard.

[@irabow5378]

My grandpa had his beekeeping set up in a fully enclosed attic in the corner of his barn. He only had 3-5 hives at a time tho. 🤣

[@bluzervic]

Wow, so sorry for all those losses. Hope you have a better year this year. Once you get past the cold spell maybe you can build off the one that survived. I lost one hive this year, but just caught a swarm and it made up for it. My strongest hive was busy all winter.

[@ronaldcrunkilton7138]

I had a similar loss 11/12 a couple of years ago. So far this spring I have better than 90% survival out of 40 hives.

[@honeyspringshomestead1411]

Sorry to hear what happened. We had 75% losses in our bee yard. Horribly cold winter, news said coldest in 30 years. But, am happy 25% survived. Time to rebuild here too.

[@Sqeptick]

October is too late to start treating for mites. Gotta get on it much earlier than that, and gotta test mite levels until you're sure the loads are low enough to overwinter. Good luck.

[@nancyjeremyblackwell123]

Absolutely agree. October is too late, you need to be treating in August, or right after your summer honey pull. October is too late bc the colony has already built its winter nest back in August/September, so any mite load has already done its damage by October. Good nutrition (sucrose and protein) in August/September is also very crucial to build that strong winter nest. Best wishes for a better year!

[@vinofarm]

Hard to time late summer treatments when the only real flow we (sometimes) get is early September. I have always waited until that happens, remove supers and then start treatments the last week of September and into October. It has worked well up until now. The X factor this year was just the overall weakness and small colony sizes going into September. There just weren't enough bees to survive this brutal winter even if I had killed every single mite. These hives were doomed back in June. If I had seen the future, I should have been feeding them all summer long but I was waiting for nectar flows that just never came.

[@sunspot42]

@@vinofarm With those loads on the survivors the mites almost certainly did some of those colonies in, not just the cold. I don’t think colonies with those mite loads would have survived even without the cold. I watched a great video on KZbin last year I think from Oregon on mite control. Essentially the battle is lost or won early in the year, and if you don’t knock the mites down then it’s almost impossible to keep them sufficiently suppressed later in the year to give the colony a chance to survive overwintering. It also felt like you had more hives on the land than it could really support. I was worried about that when you were going into 2020. And then when 2020 turned out to be a nectar disaster I was really worried about it. I feel so bad for you and for the bees. This is the channel that really got me interested in them. Here’s hoping for a better 2021, for all of us and for the bees and especially for you. Thanks!

[@Downthend]

To physically see the varroa like that means it must of been quite an infestation, which in turn would of weakened the winter bees that can lead to losses. (It’s happened to me before). I normally have first treatments on by end of August and try to oa vape around Christmas time to catch them with as little brood as possible. Then I check early spring too and treat any colonies again with a dribble oa if there’s signs of infestation. Obviously strain of bee can make difference, italian for example are prolific and with all that brood, varroa can be a pain. Where amm have little brood over winter and IMO varroa loads are easier to manage.. much sorrow for you.... best of luck for this season👍🏻

[@Downthend]

I personally take off supers in August... treat and put a super back on and leave as winter feed, if they don’t eat it by spring it’s used as food frames for nucs when I do splits.

[@kevinkennedy250]

Sorry to hear Jim. We lost our first and only hive this year. We have two coming, both Italian. Thank you for the video, always enjoyable even with the bad news. Best of luck on your new ones. K K

[@tobiw7870]

The cold doesnt kill the bees. In Germany we had a very cold winter this year (-10 to -17° C) and all my 10 hives (wooden) survived it without any thermal insolation and with an open bottom (just a grid). The most important things are enough food, big enough clusters and an effective treatment for the varroah. I do it before feeding, after feeding and in december, when there is no breed in the hive and -1 to -5°C, directly into the cluster with 3,5% oxalic acid mixed with sugar. I think the mites are the reason for all the loss. Greetings from germany

[@meruertmeyer8017]

Not a winter loss but a mite loss

[@alexandrumihai8535]

Greeting how do you administer the oxilic acid with the sugar? Do you make candy boards and add the oxalic acid? How much sugar to oxalic acid do you use. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[@patrickwalsh6873]

@@alexandrumihai8535 He may be referring to what's known as the 'Trickle Method'. Lots of info if you Google that, and some YT as well, eg ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppirnnp9jbd3sMk

[@MsCherry2005]

I'm so so sorry to hear of your loss. Devastating. Thank you for sharing, and my heart goes out to you.

[@ronaldcrunkilton7138]

I had a similar experience a couple of years ago, lost 11/12. I have raised out of that surviving hive over 40 colonies with over 90% survival so far this month in zone 4b. We had an average summer and fall though. But a brutal 3 week period in February with multiple minus 20s. Cold does not kill big colonies with adequate stores. Half my hives are 5 and 5 over 5 nucs and most came through this as well as my big 2.5 brood box hives. Raise your own queens out of that surviving hive. What was perhaps more important was I got serious about treating for varroa. 42 days in spring and 42 days in late summer with Apivar in every hive and one treatment with OA in December. Sounds like you had good luck with apivar before. OA alone in fall is inadequate unless mite counts are only a couple per hundred bees. Unfortunately, this or other chemical treatment is what it has come to if you want to reliably keep bees. Resistance to mites apparently does not consistently breed true so even if you have these somewhat resistant strains they often need to be monitored and treated as well. And do not bother with replacement queens or bees that are not adapted to your climate. Some people have luck with southern packages and queens but from what I read nearly all are dead within a year if you try and keep them in far northern climates. Good luck in the coming year.

[@mikecabral1579]

Well that’s a sad story and I feel for you. I’m happy you have one strong hive that wintered well. Also happy that you’re not giving up and are willing to get back at it. I assume that there will be a need for bees assuming the whole area suffered from the weather conditions of last year. Haven’t seen any videos from you in some time. I don’t understand how you fell off my feed unless you just haven’t posted anything. Good luck enjoy life both the the hills and the valleys.

[@lukapavlovic1005]

Man, what a heartbreak. I know that you listen to your community and I have an advice that I learned at my beekeeping school. The queens have built-in instinct about when to start the brood after the winter. This instinct depends on where the bee breed originates from. The italian bee or Apis Mellifera Ligustica originates from northern Italy and Apis Mellifera Carnica originates from Slovenia and surrounding countries. In those areas spring comes quite early (for instance my Carnicas already have a lot of brood and are already bringing in nectar) and this might be a problem in your climate. I would advise you to try the dark bee or Apis Mellifera Mellifera because they originate from northern Europe and cope with winter far better than the breeds mentioned before. Hope this helps in one way or another

[@MinnesotaBeekeeper]

Looks like huge mite numbers late feeding and the queens never even started laying winter bees in the fall.

[@tylerdunphy1667]

His Italian hives have always seemed to do well

[@Stumper52]

@@tylerdunphy1667 tbh what he's talking about are purebreds. AFAIK in the USA in 99% of cases you are getting hybrids (eg. your carniolan bee is yellow while a purebred has no yellow whatsoever). The best you can do for your apiary is to get local properly bred queens which are selectively bred for your environment as well as all the rest of positive traits that one would expect from a good queen. Now if you were a queen breeder with properly setup breeding grounds (drone hives as well as queen raising hives) or if you did artificial insemination you could generate a hybrid that would have a better predisposition for you environment but in the end you still have to do selective breeding to get the best of the best. Mellifera Carnica x Mellifer Mellifera would be a good starting point for a cold environment with patchy nectar and pollen seasons. Mellifera mellifera is used to surviving harsh winters of Northern Europe (they are probably the ones he called Russians). Mellifera Carnica has taken over most of the Europe with reasonable winter conditions (max. -20°C for a few days). They are the best at regulating their colony size when it comes to pollen and nectar conditions. The downside of the explosive growth in the spring is excesive swarming. Mellifera Ligustica (italians) on the other hand aren't used to harsh winter conditions (Mediterranian winters of above freezing temperatures in most cases). This results in a lot bigger overwintering colony which takes a toll on their food reserves if faced with harsh winters. This also means that they have slower development in the spring if they lost a significant number of bees during winter. TL;DR: get a local properly bred queen and you should be just fine :)

[@lukapavlovic1005]

@@Stumper52 Exactly!

[@phantasmagoria217]

So glad to see you're back but I'm so sad about all your losses this year. I'm glad that balboa line survived though. Let's hope everything will be better for the bees and in general for everything else! Can't wait to see more!

[@kranwa15]

I don't understand why you're complaining, I'm no bee keeper, but you should have foreseen this, common sense, built a few wood shelters, also Home Depot sells those large tool sheds, glue inside R-30 foam boards insulation all around, move all your boxes of bees inside, add a few heat lamp bulb with no light emitting, its the same as with farm animals, you gotta protect them during winter... Anyway good luck on the next bees colonies.

[@RickeyMcDaniel]

You're right your no bee keeper. Stick to stuff you know about.

[@Quraaan9]

I'm sorry to hear that, I lost half of my hives in winter but this spring things look promising I have more than I had before the loss

[@charmcityhoneybees6145]

I feel the same. I lost half my hives. Those hives that were left, I am not able to find the queens.

[@darkart-mr8wu]

Splits THIS happen to me last year. Lost 60 percent of my bee"s so i look for swarms cells and Queen's cells made lots of splits and called it a year.

[@MinnesotaBeekeeper]

What was your fall mite count and age of queens?

[@sarahschulze9923]

My husband and I started bee keeping a couple years ago. This one made me cry. So so hard.

[@kmtischer]

I am a fairly new beekeeper (5 years) and you have had far more successes than I have. But if there is on thing I have learned over the years that the absolutely most important thing to worry about is MITES. Everyone always wants to blame cold winters, too much condensation (ventilation), or the neighbor's bees for having too many mites. But the fact is, the beekeeper failed to keep their hives clean of mites. Mites will kill your hive. I went into winter with one hive and came out of winter with one hive (however winter is not over). In fall, I treated the crap out of that hive with OAV. Two treatments per week until it was too cold. Always treating after sunset. I use a homemade vaporizer and I use between 4-6 grams per hive. Its becoming common knowledge among beekeepers that treating every 7 days 3 times is not enough. And 2 grams per hive is not enough. OAV does no harm to the bees even at larger doses. My guess is that there was still brood in the hive when you treated therefor you will not get the majority of the mites. Especially at 7 day intervals. OAV is good but only when broodless. Good luck to you and look forward to more of your videos.

[@2kings3queens]

Kdog I agree with you, after substantial reading and endless hours of videos I decided to take the OA Vap Treatments to higher level. Mostly had considered doing this based on Kamon Reynolds information about not seeing many if any negative effects of more frequent and longer duration treatment schedule. I am complete Noob to beekeeping, I am still a “Bee Haver” as my single colony isn’t through the winter yet, and spring can sometimes be unforgiving. At the end of last summer I treated with typical OA schedule aware of the fact that the colony was not brood less and after alcohol wash wasn’t super impressed with results. Original wash only had 3 mites , 2nd wash had the same. I waited couple of weeks and went at it with what I thought was extreme as I didn’t have much to loose - 1 colony. And I know it’s important that the winter bees that are raised by the bees I was treating at that time needed to be as mite free as possible . I treated every other day until I noticed substantial decrease in mite drop, 4 treatments week one, then I kept treating every 3rd day until I noticed change in mite drop again, that ended up being 3treatments . So that was 7 treatments in 16 days and I finished up with 2 more at treatments 1 at day 20 and then the last 1 3 days later to finish up a complete brood cycle and then some. Washed 10 days later-0 mites. The last treatment was at end of October. Then in December when temperatures were right I got in 2 treatments 3 days apart and did have some mite drop. And a few weeks ago I got a single treatment in with a few mites dropped. Other than that all seems well on the landing board

[@kmtischer]

@@2kings3queens I think you done good. Its truly amazing that with the extreme treatment the bees don't seemed fazed in the least

[@beeman1246]

@@2kings3queens Does your honey glow during the night? Do you feed your mother-in-law with it?

[@2kings3queens]

@@beeman1246 first year having bees, I did not take any honey from the colony, there was plenty, I could have sent some to my mother in law, maybe this summer 😎

[@beeman1246]

@@2kings3queens is there any superstition that you don't take honey in the first year?

[@EtainMcCloud]

I'd been wondering what was going on in your neck of the woods. I'm so sorry to see the winter took y'all so hard. I'm looking forward to meeting the new hives as they establish. I hope things with the barn are coming along.

[@ridgewoodbees]

I feel for you man. I hope this year is much kinder to you.

[@helenrowe3616]

I'm not a bee keeper but a bee keeper fan .. I'm so very sorry this is just heartbreaking .. onwards and upwards is the only way to go xx look forward to seeing your continued progress xxx