Dead and dying bees

[Brian D]

I have two supers with honey that have been around for at least a couple years.  My initial thoughts were to just get rid of them as the frames smell foul after sitting in a hive with no bees.  Well I decided to let the bees from my yard or nearby rob them out and thus clean them at the same time.  Problem arises when a fair amount of bees take part in the robbing but in the melee, I have hundreds of bees that are dead.  I have observed several bees fighting as if defending but many others have just succumb not but 2 to 5 feet from the hive.  Both odd and concerning as I have never had this happen before.  Anyone want to take a stab at what I am observing yet not understanding?

I am and have been a bee keeper for close to fifteen years ... never have I noticed anything similar to this.     

[Michael Bush]

Sometimes they get in a robbing frenzy and then they start to fight.

[luvin honey]

Could a hive get robbed to death? I noticed robbing in all 3 of my hives last week. I shut the covers to leave only the front entrance and no back opening. This week, the robbing continues, so I shoved in branches as make-do entrance reducers. Two of the hives are already weak (swarmed, queenless?), but the third is strong in spite of this.

I am STILL waiting for enough time and a warm, calm day to get into those hives 1 more time before winter. I wonder what awaits me and if I will need to do emergency combines for winter.