Colony Absconded

[Kris^]

A strange thing happened with one of my hives in the squash field.  All the bees left.  I checked them the first week of September and they were running strong, lots of young brood and a good sized population, although I did see some dead brood being cleaned out in a couple frames.  Three and a half weeks later I check the hives -- and this one is empty.  No dead bees to speak of, no brood, no honey and hardly any pollen to speak of.  Just like they packed everything up and left.  Kinda sad, though, because this was the first hive I started in 2004; last year it was my biggest producer, and this year it produced 20% of my crop.

-- Kris

[Michael Bush]

They don't usually abscond without a reason.  Being constantly harrased by some pest is a common cause.

[Kirk-o]

I've had bees abscond here in L A 6 or 7 times it is always ANTS.I'm very careful when I feed and make sure I don"t spill.I had ants clean out a whole medium full of honey and brood .I've learned the time of year ants are the worst around here and I stay on my toes .I've learned to pay attention I first just dismissed ants as ants and took them lightly.I don't
anymore.
kirko

[Scadsobees]

Where there any chewed up combs?  That might signify robbing.

-rick