A question to my fellow beekeepers?
I have a small bee apiary, and I have had a sort of epidemic. I lost a hive in Sept. 08 from unknown causes, I then lost another last month, and today I went and check on my hives to find another one with a pile of bees about 5inch think and an entire body bottom littered with dead bees. I need a way to clean the hives, to kill possible viruses or pest. I was thinking that bleach would work well, but I wanted some more opinions.
Viruses and other pathogens live in old comb. Most beekeepers will discard comb after it’s been used for five years. Some will replace comb much more frequently. Once comb has turned that ugly brown it’s getting kinda old. Some people will cut the old comb out and insert new foundation into the old frames. Others consider this a waste of time and throw the whole thing away and build new frames. As far as I know only foulbrood can infest the wooden parts of the hive.
There are other possibilities also:
How cold did it get where you live this winter? Sometimes when it’s really cold bees wont leave the brood cluster to eat because the brood would freeze when they’re gone. The colony can starve a few inches away from stored honey.
Have you been treating for Nosema? Nosema ceranae has become quite well established throughout the world in recent years. It may be more likely than N. apis to cause mass bee death or hive abandonment. N. ceranae may not cause bees to defecate all over the front of the hive so an infection is more difficult to notice.
Have you been monitoring or treating for varroa mites? They can certainly kill a colony. They seem to be the most common serious problem where I live. Here’s some info:
http://bees.tennessee.edu/publications/varroamgmt_part1.pdf
Bronx Bees: Apiary of Roger Repohl
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