11/30/2025
Hive winterization gone wrong.
Immediately once I approached the hive, I knew they were either dead or simply gone. The good news is I found no signs of death. There were no dead bees in the bottom of the hive or around the outside. After I checked everything, I asked a friend what I should look for. I had already looked for signs of robbing and I have never seen a swarm this late in the season, so naturally both of those possibilities felt wrong.
He told me to take a look in the cells and see if there were any signs of mites. I was looking for small white specs. There were none. I checked for weird brood patterns. Nothing. The probability of a mite infection was low for this particular hive, but mites could have explained why there were no bees. Mites slowly kill the bees off and eventually no one comes back to the hive because they are dying outside of it.
He said the only other thing that could have happened is absconding. Bees will abscond for a variety of reasons related to the hive or the weather. This is different from swarming, which happens in the spring.
I am sad. I thought I made them a happy home. They were doing incredible last week, and today they were just gone. I do not know if they lost their queen or experienced a predator.
All I know is that even when I am exhausted from the love of the game, which is beekeeping, I cannot wait to tell anyone who will listen about bees and I have a genuine passion for them. So again, save the bees 🐝
