Had a hive go queenless two weeks ago? I put two frames of brood with eggs and larva last week in this hive, checked it today, no brood or queen cells? This hive is a bottom deep brood box with a med. super on top, the hive had dwindled from last inspection (the two frames of brood was empty). Every frame in the hive looked like they had been sprayed with vegetable oil (wet looking)? My first thought was shb, but i only seen one, and it was in the top feeder (not for long:thumbsup. I had another 4 hours of brush hogging to do with the tractor, it was getting late and i drove by the hive before i left to go home and the hive was being robbed out:shock:. Back the last week of July i took 3 med. supers of honey off this hive that were above a excluder, so i know i didn't kill the queen. This outyard is 60 miles north of my home. Any idea what is going on? Jack
Thanks iddee.I've never had a shb problem, so this is new to me? I did see what looked like slug trails on 3 frames, but only about 2 in. long. If it is shb? why didn't i see more than one shb in the hive? and i didn't see any shb larva? There wasn't enough bees left in the hive for me to stop the robbing:sad:, there was about 10 lbs. of capped honey left in the hive, so i guess that and me going through the hive let the other 6 hives in that yard know it was weak and easy pickings. So i let nature take it's course:roll:, i don't guess the slimy mesh will harm the robbers, or will it? Jack
I haven't been able to get a swarm to stay in a hive that had died from SHB, so I'm guessing the SHB leave a smell the bees don't like. Yours may have absconded because of the SHB before the slime got too bad. I don't think the honey will bother the robbers. The bees have a pretty good cleaning system.
Thanks again iddee. I didn't smell any offensive odor? and that's what i've read that goes along with shb attack. The affected frames (all of them) just had that look that you wouldn't want to handle them.:roll: Jack
Will the comb have to be destroyed or can it be put in the freezer and put back in service?(the comb was still in good shape, it just had an oily look) If not, can the hive body and frames be cleaned and reused or just burn them? Jack
Can or can't, I don't know. I would cull the wax and soak the frames in pinesol or clorox for an hour or two. Nothing scientific there, just my own thoughts.
Another thought? shouldn't i have seen shb and larva in and on the frames? The only thing i seen was one shb, oily looking frames (no bad odor) and maybe two or three frames of bees? The hive had been queenless for 3 or 4 weeks. Jack
