Cybeele and her colony did not survive the winter.
It's over 60 degrees today, and I went to see if there was any activity at the hive, as there should be when the temperature is this warm. Nothing. So I opened it up. Dead bees everywhere.
I took the hive apart, and I think there might have been moisture. There was so much honey. But there was almost no brood and there was mold, which generally grows after the colony has weakened or died. I plan to contact my mentor and get some insight, perhaps.
Meanwhile, I am extracting what honey I can. After all, there aren't any bees to use it so I may as well harvest it. Of the four flow frames, only one had any honey in it, it wasn't much, and it's not working as intended so I don't know if I'll ever get it out.
What I do know is that I think this is the last attempt for me. I started keeping bees in 2015, and successfully overwintered some, but not all, of my colonies. Perhaps if I was doing this on a larger scale it wouldn't have such an impact when I lose a colony, but since I can't do that where I am, it's a significant setback each time. I'm frustrated and I think it's time to let go.
My condolences. I'm sorry this happened.
ReplyDeleteMy mentor thinks the alternating warm and cold weather caused the bees to forage (for nothing, as there are no flowers) and then starve. He also agrees that I lost Cybeele fairly early on and that there was moisture in the hive.
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