Dead Bees - Photographs for diagnosis please...

[Finsky]

>This may mean I was too late and the colony was already doomed?

Most likely doomed, though it might take a couple of months. If you catch it early enough

Yes that is the BIG IF.  Varroa level should be at low level all the time, at least in spring. It is difiicult notice over load in the middle of summer. When bees are raising last brood in late summer, mites go into those brood.  And nothing helps any more, oxalic or baywarol.  From drone pupas you perhaps get a glance how much hive has mites.

[Nortonbee]

Rusty wrote>>I thought it was just that my bees had starved, over the winter it happened in all the late swarms<<
In Andrew's photographs the colonies had lots of honey.  Was this the situation in your colonies as well?  When you speak of ''late swarms'' do you mean swarms that you collected from elsewhere or were they from your own bees?  If they were from elsewhere then it's quite possible that they were absconding swarms from hives that were heavily infected with Varroa.  ALL swarms should be treated with oxalic before they seal any brood - about a week after hiving.
Best regards
Norton bee

[rusty]

Yes! I am on steep learning curve here, never having had anything like this sort of problem in the past, The odd wasp attack depleteing a hive a to death or the odd starved colony but never loosing bees on this scale, 3 colonies hurts!! I will in future treat all swarms regardless and will let you know if I loose any more colonies, hopefully I should save the rest as I have purchased a vapouriser today, and will treat them tomorrow. I know I will sacrifice some brood but it's still early here so there shouldn't be too much, and at least I will save the colony.

I hope that is the right thing to do!?


Rusty

[gsferg]

> know I will sacrifice some brood

I've not noticed vaporizing OA to affect open or sealed brood.

George-