In March I discovered a virgin queen with the workers looking healthy and a good sized cluster. I may have killed the queen with Oxalic Acid (drip) and they created a queen before she could do a mating flight.
Response: Bees replacing their queen that early in season often means poor replacement chances. We do what we can for them. Thanks for your comment.
I would like to see more on varroa treatments and times, and when hives died, my two large ones were early spring 2016, one was varroa and other I think queen was gone.
Response: After I have chance to summarize and report data I seek to find those responses that might need further explanation or more information. More on varroa treatments and timing is one of those. In interim you can find some good information on this in the Honey Bee Healthy Coalition Tools for Varroa management (http://honeybeehealthcoaliton.org/varroa) Download is free. Thanks for your comment.
I’d like to see a section for free-form comments. I had bees that were extremely aggressive and unmanageable–I’d like feed-back from others who had this problem.
Response: You found it here in the comment section at end. We get reports from time to time of defensive bees. No easy way to deal with such a colony. We suggest requeening or elimination of the colony if necessary s our best options. Both are tough choices. Thanks for sharing.
How was the oxalic acid applied and how often?
Response: Oxalic acid is our newest material (tool) for varroa control. You are correct that this question on the survey needs further definition as to drip or fumigation – we do ask when applied – but it is lumped with the other acids now in the survey. I will separate these questions in future surveys. Thanks for your feedback.
I’m sure my bee left their hive in the fall because of the Varroa mite, I will be treating this year, I had two hive that made it through winter but died off when we went through three weeks of rain. I should have feed them more. I already had one of my hive come back and I plan that more will follow.
RESPONSE: High varroa mite populations are apparently one of the reasons bees abscond (leave) their hive late in the fall. I say apparent because there is no experimentation to “prove” that assumption. Colonies do have a tough time in the spring and can perish when the weather takes a turn for the worst. Sorry you both of them. Better spring weather helps them recover.
COMMON CAUSE OF WINTER DEATH IN NORTHERN CLIMATES
HTTPS://BEEINFORMED.ORG/2016/03/08/WHY-DID-MY- HONEY-BEES-DIE/
By Meghan Milbrath, Michigan State University Extension, March 8, 2016
Guest Blog
Beekeepers in northern climates have already lost a lot of colonies this winter. While official counts won’t be recorded for a few months, some trends are starting to emerge. One of these trends is a specific type of colony death. In Michigan, I’ve received so many calls describing the scenario below, that I can describe the deadout before opening the hive, or before the beekeeper describes it over the phone. While I may impress some with these predictive powers, the frequency of these types of losses indicates a real epidemic that is affecting honey bee colonies in northern states.
Characteristics of the common early winter death in northern states:
1. The colony was big and looked healthy in the fall
2. A lot of honey is left in the top supers
3. The cluster is now small, maybe the size of a softball
4. There are hardly any bees on the bottom board
5. Near or just below the cluster is a patch of spotty brood – some fully capped, and some with bees dying on emergence (heads facing out, tongues sticking out).
6. If you look closely in the cells around the brood, you will see white crystals stuck to the cell walls, looking like someone sprinkled coarse salt in the brood nest.
AND
7. You don’t have records showing that varroa was under control.
Sound familiar?
We see this classic set of symptoms over and over in the states with a proper winter. A big colony that seems to just shrink down and disappear. Many people want to use the term colony collapse for this type of death, and while collapse is a good descriptor of what happens, this is not true colony collapse disorder. This is death by varroa associated viruses.
How does it happen?
1. The big colonies –While beekeepers are often surprised that their big colonies are the ones that are gone first, it makes perfect sense in terms of varroa growth. Since varroa mites reproduce in capped brood, the colonies that made the most brood (i.e. got the biggest) are the ones most at risk of having a high population of varroa. Colonies that swarmed, or didn’t take off, or even fought a disease like chalk brood are less at risk from high varroa populations, because they didn’t consistently have large amounts You should have good notes indicating cluster size going into winter, but even if you don’t, you can see the large circle of food eaten by a large cluster.
This colony had a large brood nest (indicated by the dark comb in this frame from the top deep box), and a large cluster going into winter (indicated by the large amount of honey that is eaten away where the winter cluster started). Varroa were never monitored or managed in this colony, and it was dead by February, if not sooner. (Photo by Meghan Milbrath)
2. Lots of Honey – Lots of honey means that the colony died fairly early. Colonies with high levels of varroa, they tend to die fairly early in the season (before February), leaving lots of honey behind. Once the bees are stressed and in cluster, the viruses take their toll very quickly. In some cases the colony will even abscond in fall, or be dead before winter really hits.
The colony shown above had a third deep box that was filled with capped honey, indicating that the bees died early, and starvation was not the culprit.
3. Small cluster – Varroa levels peak right when the winter bees are getting formed. The bees that emerge from varroa infested cells are weakened, and more importantly, are riddled with viruses. Varroa mites are notorious for carrying deformed wing viruses (DWV), but are known to transmit many more. When bees are close tight in a winter cluster, the viruses can spread very quickly.
In our colony, the cluster was only the size of our hand – some bees had their heads stuck in the cells, trying to stay warm, others had fallen between the frames.
4. No bees on the bottom board – When a colony starves, the bees just drop to the bottom board, and you end up with a pile of dead bees in the hive. When bees get sick with viruses and other pathogens, however, they often will fly away. Sick bees by nature leave the colony to die in the field, an act designed to prevent pathogen transmission in the colony. When most bees are sick, they either fly away, or are too weak to return after cleansing flights. An early fall illness means that a lot of the bodies probably got removed by workers too.
The colony we examined had only a few bees left on the bottom board (1-2 cups). We didn’t see a lot of varroa, but there had been some robbing, so wax cappings covered a lot of the board.
5. Patch of spotty brood/ Bees dying on emergence – When a colony succumbs to varroa associated viruses or parasitic mite syndrome (PMS), we see a lot of effects in the brood. Unlike American Foulbrood (AFB), which attacks the larvae at one particular stage, PMS will affect developing bees at many stages of development. It is one of the only diseases where you see bees dying right as they emerge.
Note the bee in the upper left is fully formed, and died on emergence. You can often see frozen/melted larvae along with dead pupae. Many beekeepers instantly suspect AFB, but AFB infected colonies usually will not be large and have produced a lot of honey going into the winter. (Photo by Meghan Milbrath)
6. White crystals in the brood – Around the cells where the brood died (the last place of the brood nest), you will often see white crystals stuck to the walls of the cells. These are dry (not suspended in liquid like crystalized honey), and are the crystalized pee of varroa. Varroa mites defecate in the cells, and the resulting guanine crystals are left behind, and visible to the naked eye.
Cells on the right hand side of this photo contain small crystals of guanine acid, indicating varroa defecation. Notice the dry, irregular shape, and that they appear stuck to the walls on the cells. Some cells on the left hand side of this photo contain crystalized sugar. Note the wet/liquid appearance, and that it is largely in the bottom of the cell. (Photo by Meghan Milbrath)
7. No records that varroa was under control. Notice that this says ‘varroa was under control’, and not that ‘the colony was treated’. You may have applied a treatment, but it may have been too little, or (more likely) too late. This year was a particularly difficult year for this, because in Michigan we had a really late summer – it stayed warm enough for beekeepers to go into their hives well into October. Many beekeepers took the extra time to put on a varroa treatment, thinking that they were lucky to get one in. While that treatment could help the bees for next season, it was too late for this winter. September and October treatments would have been applied after varroa had gotten to their winter bees. Winter bees are born in the fall, and with their special fat deposits that allow them to live through the winter months, they are the one who carry the colony to the next season. If the winter bees have already been infected with viruses, the damage is done. No amount of treatment or varroa drop would bring the colony back.
The only way to know that you have varroa under control is to monitor using a sugar roll or an alcohol wash. Just looking at the bees does not work; varroa mites are so sneaky, that you rarely ever see them, unless the infestation is out of control, and it is too late. Many beekeepers say that they never see varroa in their hives, so they don’t think that they have a problem. In fact, a varroa infested hive can actually look like it is thriving.
Underneath the lovely brood cappings, and away from our view, the mites are reproducing and biting the developing bees. The colony can look fairly healthy until the mites reach a threshold, and the colony succumbs to disease. By the time you see parasitic mite syndrome, or see varroa crawling on bees, it is often too late for that colony (especially if winter is just around the corner). Getting on a schedule of monitoring and managing mites will give you peace of mind that your healthy looking colony is indeed healthy.
The silver lining
If the above scenario is familiar, don’t despair. First, you are not alone. Many beekeepers got caught off guard with varroa this year. They didn’t realize how bad it was, or got thrown off by odd weather patterns. Second, when the bees die, the varroa mites die too. We don’t yet have evidence that the viruses would stay in the equipment, so you can reuse your old frames. The honey that is left can be extracted to enjoy (if you didn’t feed or medicate), and frames of drawn comb can be given to new colonies. Most importantly, if you recognize the above scenario in your colonies, you now have more knowledge as to what is harming your bees, and you can take positive action. You have time for this season to develop a strategy. Monitor your varroa mite levels using a sugar roll kit (available at pollinators.msu.edu/mite-check/ or at Mann Lake), read about integrated pest management for varroa, and make a commitment to prevent high mite levels this year before your winter bees are developing. This is going to be the year!
Meghan Milbrath, Ph.D.
mpi@msu.edu /517-884-9518
Meghan Milbrath is a beekeeper and the coordinator of the Michigan Pollinator Initiative at Michigan State University. She performs pollinator related research and extension work, and works with beekeepers and stakeholders around the country. She started keeping bees over 20 years ago, and currently owns and manages a The Sand Hill apiaries, where she manages 150-200 colonies for queen rearing and nuc production
This year is my first year having bees on my own-I am so excited! I had a couple questions that I am sure are total newb ones:
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Question 1 – Is it better to purchase a new colony or to bait a swarm?
Dewey’s response – When starting, it is better to know you will have a colony, and when it will arrive, so purchasing a package/nuc/established colony is the surest way to get started. You can still seek to bait a swarm – and if one comes to the trap you can always bolster your purchased colony with the captured swarm. You won’t need a complete extra hive but will need an extra box with frames to hold the swarm. Use a sheet of newspaper to unite the swarm with the purchase or if you feel really confident manage the new colony and the trapped swarm as two colonies. You can still plan to unite them later in the fall.
New colonies, whatever their origin, are initially smaller and a joy to inspect but they also have reduced chance of successfully overwintering. Uniting helps improve chances of overwintering.
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Question 2 – What are your thoughts on buying used bee equipment?
Dewey’s response – The purchase of used bee equipment entails some risk but has some advantages for establishing a new colony (whether a package, a colony split or a swarm capture). If a nuc is purchased as the starter hive, you are in fact purchasing used be equipment – the frames they occupy at least and, if a wooden nuc box it too may have been previously used.
Our two major concerns with used equipment
There is used equipment, and then there is used equipment. Equipment with bees is the greatest risk, equipment containing frames that still have comb or ruminants of comb is next in riskiness and if your purchase is of clean boxes, covers, and frames without any comb the risk is very minimal. Brush away cobwebs, any residue and then use new foundation for the frames. No need to seek to sterilize as anything we can do will just be a lot of work for little gain.
If in doubt on whether the equipment is standard size or there could be AFB scale ask an expert to check it out or bring one or two frames with comb, not all of them, to your next local bee meeting and get opinions from others at the meeting. Be prepared to get more than one opinion that may not all agree.
Welcome to the beekeeping family. We wish you great luck in the season ahead!
Download the Note Sheet 2016 PNWals Prep here!
This form is provided to assist in your note gathering throughout the year in order to prepare you for next Aprils PNW Annual Loss Survey. At that time surveys will be once again offered in both paper and electronic forms through www.pnwhoneybeesurvey.com. Print this now and note what you remember from this 2015 season thus far. Then update it early next year as you begin to take inventory of what survived and what may need to be ordered. Good wintering to you all!!!!
The pnwhoneybeesurvey received responses from 250 backyard beekeepers in 2015. Overall overwinter losses of individuals with either 8- or 10-frame Langstroth bee colonies was 27%; factoring in total backyarder losses for beekeepers entering winter with Langstroth, Top Bar, Warre, 5-frame nucs or other hive types was 29%. Our annual OSU survey of commercial and semi-commercial beekeepers (13 OR individuals maintaining some 60% of the estimated total colonies in the state) was 14.2%, somewhat below the commercial/semi-commercial beekeeper loss rate in the Pacific Northwest states of OR, WA and ID combined (=15.7%).The BIP national survey that included both backyarder and commercial beekeepers, reflecting survey responses from more backyard individuals but the majority of colonies were those of commercial beekeepers, reported a slightly lower overall loss of 23.2% . This is shown graphically as Figure 7 below.
Mite Monitoring
One hundred sixty three (163) individuals reported that they monitored for mites during some of the previous year (see pnwhoneybeesurvey.com for information on monitoring and when the monitoring was doneseparated by method of monitoring). The graph below shows the method used expressed as percent of individuals with number of individuals shown in ( ) within the graphic. One hundred individuals (37%) used sticky board mite drop, slightly over 100 (41% total) used visual inspections of either adult bees (54 individuals) or drone brood (55 individuals), while 45 individuals (17%) used sugar shake. Fourteen (14) individuals did an alcohol wash (5%) of total. The total is greater than 250 since
44% of responding individuals used more than one monitoring technique (both visual inspection methods were often checked for example).
We know the most reliable technique for examination of mite populations within a bee hive is via use of alcohol washing or powdered sugar shake. When we compared the individuals who used each technique (whether singly or in combination with another technique) and the reported loss by the same individuals, the result illustrates how significant monitoring with sugar shake was as this group had significantly lower overwintering losses (22%) compared to those who did not monitor (89 individuals – 31% loss) or used visual monitoring (29% and 31% loss rates -see graphic below). Those who checked sticky board also had significantly lower losses (22.5%). Individuals (14 total) who used alcohol washing did not show reduced losses, in part, because the variation among those 14 individuals was large.
Use of a Non-Chemical Control
We asked in the survey about control, both with a varroa control chemicals and via use of a non-chemical technique. In the options for non-chemical control, we received 406 responses from 75% of the individuals – 25% (49 individuals) did not indicate use of any of the choices nor fill in the other selection opportunity. Ninety-seven individuals (51%) ireported use of 2 (56 individuals) or 3 or more techniques (41 individuals). The graphic below shows the percent loss response for the alternatives offered, minus the 150 individuals (37%) of responses who checked use of screen bottom board (which is reported in a different report on the pnwhoneybeesurvey.com website – under Screen bottom boards.) Losses for each alternative are irregardless if they used only that technique alone or used it along with another/other methods.
There is no statistical difference between the data points. None were widely used. Individual selections varied from 49 individuals who checked nothing used to 21 individuals who said they used the technique of requeening. Numbers were relatively small and variation was large. The only value that was below the 27% average loss was use of small cell/natural comb (24% – most responses seemed to be the natural comb choice). Largest loss values were for requeening (36%) and brood cycle interruption (39%), the two techniques that are usually listed as viable, useful non-chemical controls. Why they are on the high end of the loss scale is unknown.
Chemical Control
For the users of 8 and 10 frame Langstroth hives, we compared the percent loss of individuals who used a chemical control for varroa mites (142 individuals) to those who did not. The loss rate of those using a chemical control were one-third as large as the overall group and were nearly double for those who did not use a chemical control. Results were statistically significant from the total loss of this group of 27%. 
Examining individual choices (50 individuals reported use of more than one chemical) show use of three materials,resulted in significantly lower overwintering losses. Graph below. 
Beekeepers have various options for Varroa control. The key to better overwintering is to monitor using sugar shake or alcohol wash to determine infestation level of a colony and then depending upon the season deciding on what might be an appropriate chemical or non-chemical technique to use to reduce mite populations. In this survey response we were unable to demonstrate the usefulness of non-chemical use to reduce overwintering losses. The BeeInformed Survey 2014-2015 preliminary results does support our belief that non-chemical approaches can be useful and the Honey Bee Health Coalition website Tolls for Varroa Management guide Varroa management guide provides information on usefulness of an integrated non-chemical and chemical control approach to varroa mite population management.
Dewey M. Caron Sept 2015
To download a copy of this report click here