Catastrophic Failure...all bees dead

[rdy-b]

THE washed out dried up bees expired from to small of a cluster to over come  the elements and probably got caught off or away from food -happens when sun comes out and bees gravitate to warm side of hive -then snap its cold bees cluster and burn up there reserves and cant break cluster till temps rise they give there all to keep the queen warm cluster degrades with a hand full of bees left- and the queen in the center of the bees left on comb-
the shiny sticky bees have a moisture problem-what i find interesting is that many people who feeding dry sugar will say that one plus to it is that the sugar will absorb alot of excess moisture -when you put extra empty supper over inercover did all the sides flush out -if box is even slightly to one side or the other there will be a small ridge or lip that water will hit when it runs down the sides-then will seep in to the hive this extra supper probably would not have been propolsied and sealed by the bees like the hive bodies -because it was above the iner cover and thats where your propolise seal would have stoped-this may or may not have happen but it is something to think about-RDY-B

[weBEE Jammin]

Try running duct tape around the crack between the hive bodies(supers) if they are not propolized to seal them.

[rdy-b]

Take out the iner cover and set up like this-   RDY-B

 

winter feeding

[Finski]

.
In my latitude hives will die with that winter feeding.

I feed hives with syrup in September and hives are totally in peace 6 months.

[rdy-b]

.
In my latitude hives will die with that winter feeding.

I feed hives with syrup in September and hives are totally in peace 6 months.

Most pepole doing this as a last efort or bees are dead any way-I agree with you colonies have to be heavy for long sleep-RDY-B

[Finski]

.
OK. the last meal...

In my country bees are feeded in time and dry sugar is used in April and in May.

Of course if I have brood in December, the hive is already dead. The hive consumes  so much food that we cannot do nothing.

I have noticed such hives and feeded in the middle of winter , but however they will be in bad condition, which means practically dead.

I do not inspect my hives in winter, and still they all are alive in Spring.

.

[Bellavista2]

Did I understand that you have a empty medium box on top? I wonder if that would make it harder to heat? Would it hurt to put a piece or foam insulation on the top to keep the heat in? .I have a piece of glass 30x30 on top to keep the top dry. We got down to 16 degrees last week which is colder then we usually see it in northern ca. I have a loquat tree that was flowering today 56 degrees out the bees were having a ball.

[Mairzy_doats]

I feel for you Mason. I checked my bees today and found both hives dead. I couldn't believe the level of emotion I felt as I stared at the little cluster and some of them just emerging from the cells. I don't know what happened, nor how I lost both of them. But unlike you I have had trouble with these bees from the day I received them and doubt I will deal with small cell again. I am so sad that I lost them as they were the most gentle bees and not once this season did they sting me even when I was clumsily moving frames.

I, too, wish someone would call me out on a mistake I made instead of going over and over again in my mind what might have gone wrong. I had an awful season and now wonder if its all 'operator error'. 

My condolences to you as I know what it feels like.

mary

[Bellavista2]

This is my first winter with two hives. The worst thing I did was to not notice a mite problem in time. One hive went from very healthy to almost gone in just a couple of weeks. That was in October so it was a little late for them to catch up. I've got myself mentally prepared to loose that hive so I won't be so disappointed if they don't make it. I did take 4 gal of honey off that hive and left them 2 deeps full. There still hanging in there. Yesterday I was bummed cause 5 bees drowned getting a drink out of a plastic container I can't afford to lose any bees out of that hive. The second mistake was someone said if you don't feed them your just being Cheap so I fed them to much for too long.