BlueRidgeBee

Hives do die sometimes, even if you give them the best of care. As I have said in earlier posts, I had two hives one strong and aggressive and one docile and weak. The weak one did eventually die. It didn't happen all at once, it was more of a progression. I will detail that progression in this post. I first noticed that some of the bees in the weak hive had DWV, Deformed Wing Virus. As pictured here.    I treated both hives with Apivar strips and talked with others that said the hive should be ok. DWV is one of the main diseases that honey bees get from the varroa mites. If wide spread the hive will not be able to provide for and itself and die. I next noticed strange looking brood cells in the weak hive compared to my strong hive. See below the left is good brood the right is all droan brood. The worker bee brood is flat across the top and the droan brood is humped up. Droans are the males and are only needed for mating. They do no work in the hive like the female wo

Our bees are getting ready for the winter. Kicking out the drones and keeping the queen warm.  I reduced the size of the opening and put a bottom board on.  During the winter the bees will cluster around the queen and on the brood keeping keeping them warm through the winter. They will keep the temp around 90 to 95 degrees. I have left a super (6 5/8" box) with honey in it for the bees to eat during the winter. My goal is to keep them alive and healthy through the winter.