Is this dysentery or nosema? [Pic]

[Rurification]

I checked the bees and one hive looked like this when I opened it.    Messy.   They had been super active as soon as the temps popped up toward 50.    When I saw this, I figured they'd been doing mega cleansing flights. 

They were lower on stores than I wanted, so we fed 5lbs dry sugar.   Can I just let them be?

You should be able to click the pic to biggify. 

[tefer2]

Do your entrances look like that too? Google, honeybee dysentery pics!

[Finski]

were lower on stores than I wanted, so we fed 5lbs dry sugar.   Can I just let them be?

It seems that the colony is under minimum size. No hope.
Have you looked mites?

[tefer2]

I think that you will have to test a sample of bees to know if they had Nosema for sure.

[BjornBee]

Yes it is dysentery. Many things can cause dysentery, including nosema.

But the only way to know if it is nosema, would be testing.

Nosema causes dysentery, but not all dysentery is from nosema.

[danno]

Back in 2008 I used fondant for winter emerg. feed.   It kept them alive but they painted the top bars just like yours.  As Bjorn stated many thing can cause it.

[Rurification]

Do your entrances look like that too? Google, honeybee dysentery pics!

Top entrance has a few streaks.  Very dark gold.   Not as dark as the pics I'm seeing when I google honey bee dysentery and nosema.

When we pulled the bottom board to check for mites I didn't find any.  Even with a magnifying glass.  

Maybe it was the fall honey.   The other hive looks OK.

[tefer2]

I can't offer anything that you can do in this weather to help them. 

[BjornBee]

I can't offer anything that you can do in this weather to help them. 

Put the lid back on? 

 

[tefer2]

When I first started out, some fellow beeks suggested that I put pollen patties on in the fall. Said they will use it in the spring to raise brood. Sounded like a good idea at the time.
 When the later part of January rolled around, we had a couple of warm days. The front of those hives were covered with spotting like yours. None of them made it to the spring. I learned my lesson with feeding them solids when they have to hold it very long.
 I'm not saying that was your problem, just my experience with fall feeding pollen patties.
I still have one every couple of winters that get this condition. I guess it's just a bee thing.

[Sparky]

Like Finski mentioned, they will be hard pressed to make it the rest of the winter with so few in numbers. I had one a couple of years ago that had more dysentery looking frames than that in your pics. and a fist size more bees than yours that made it but that was in the spring. I reduced the space to one box that contained the cluster. They rebounded and made enough bees to go into winter the following year but did not produce any extra stores.

[Michael Bush]

Dysentery is like liquid that has splattered and dried.  In your picture it looks like it stands up.  I'd say it's propolis.

[Finski]

Dysentery is like liquid that has splattered and dried.  In your picture it looks like it stands up.  I'd say it's propolis.

When you snap the pic larger, it is clearly poo-
There are several dead bees too in that bee group and abdomen swollen.