Sadly I lifted off the box and here's what the bottom board looked like.
I sifted through the bodies but didn't see the dead queen although I am sure she was in the pile somewhere. The beige stuff is composed of the wax cappings, ripped off of the comb as the robbing commenced.
I wish I had been a better beekeeper. All of this destruction is because I replaced the queen in Devorah when the original queen was still alive and kicking, although not laying. I also think this is because we have had such a drought in Georgia that supplies for the bees are so low - just as the US economy is in a recession, the bees are in a depression!
aww :( that's sad. I'm sorry about your bees.
ReplyDeletePlease could you explain a bit more about the robber bees? Are they from one of your other hives? Thanks. Sue
ReplyDeleteThe robbers very likely came from one of the four hives on my deck. One of those hives is fairly low on stores for the winter and probably participated in the demise of this hive. However, the robbers could also have come from nearby hives - there are at least two other beekeepers I know who live within a couple of miles of my house.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the bees. It was probably from one of the other hives, huh? This is an interesting blog. I'll have to look at it more.
ReplyDeleteThere are indeed a few yellow jackets among the dead honeybees, opportunists who also were trying to steal from the bees. But the demise of the hive occurred because of stealing from other bees, not because of the yellow jackets, who also died in the melee.
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