Carrying On

The sky last night as I walked and grieved our bees. Photo: L.Weikel

Thanks so much to everyone who read my post yesterday and shared my (our) sadness at losing our bee colony. I’ve enjoyed sharing our Bee experience with all of you – and I knew many of you were sharing the adventure right along with us. I hated having to reveal what feels very much like a failure on my part. Not because it was my failure, but rather because the bees died at all. In a lot of ways, I felt like they’d been adopted by all of you, as well.

Yes, I know; I’ve read and heard first hand from many beekeepers that colony loss is not uncommon. But I do take at least some responsibility.

It’s funny. I’ve read so many things and listened to way more YouTube presentations on bees than on any other topic (ok, maybe astrology is up there, too, but you hear me). And when it comes to keeping a colony alive, I mostly was hearing and focusing my attention upon making sure they were well-fed, and disease-free.

Hence, we took only a couple tablespoons of honey from our bees this year, just to ‘have a taste,’ and we tested a couple of times for Varroa mites in the fall. (Varroa mites are a common scourge of beehives that can be treated and, if left untreated, can weaken a colony to the point that they succumb to circumstances that they might, if strong and healthy, easily overcome.)

Anyway, there is one thing I didn’t pay as much attention to as I now believe I should have: moisture.

There’s not a lot said about it, at least in the literature I’ve read. It mostly just seems to be mentioned (not elaborated upon). Likewise, you don’t (or at least I didn’t) see a lot of information or guidance about how to combat excessive moisture in the hive. And this isn’t referring to water pouring into the hive or anything. It’s more a case of excessive condensation (I believe).

In a nod to my recalling having heard some concern over the inside of the hive getting wet, Karl and I made sure the back of our hive was propped up with a 2’ x 4’ so that it tipped forward, helping any water that might get into the hive would/should come out the entrance on the bottom board. Beyond that, I had no clue (zero) how to prevent excessive condensation or moisture in the hive.

And when I say I sort of glossed over the issue, I include how surprised I was today when I re-watched the video of Laryssa (Beekeeping Made Simple) that I linked to in my last post about the bees before the death post. I was surprised, actually, when I re-listened and realized that the first thing she checked for in her dead hive was whether they had had enough food. The second thing she referenced was noticing whether the hive had any mold or if there was wetness on the bottom board, or if the frames had any mold.

Ding ding ding!

This shot matched my stark mood even more. 26 Feb 26

Since there wasn’t any mold or sign of wetness in her hive, she just moved on with her inspection and looked for Varroa mites and/or any other signs of disease. She didn’t talk about what she would’ve done had mold been the culprit.

Well, as you could see from my photos and videos yesterday, there was definitely mold in our hive. And as I’ve thought about it, I am virtually certain our bees were dealing with the moisture in the hive…until the blizzard of last weekend. That created a tipping point.

This conclusion almost seems counter-intuitive. How did they manage to survive the harsh storm back in January, which was followed by the utterly brutal, frigid temperatures that persisted for so long, only to succumb when the weather became milder? My theory is that it was a strong hive – strong enough to weather the harsh winter.

But I think it may have had some ventilation issues which never occurred to us until today (such as, the brood box sitting directly on top of cement blocks – up high enough to avoid predators such as skunks, but providing no ventilation). I was keeping the entrance unblocked by routinely cleaning it out, but that obviously – eventually – wasn’t enough.

Of even more significance, though, I think the quick thaw of the snow from Sunday’s blizzard created a completely different, definitely higher humidity situation than the frigid temperatures of the past month. Additionally, I think the blanket I had on top of the hive box (for insulation purposes) may have retained a lot of moisture and humidity (especially after Sunday’s snow), which almost certainly contributed to the moisture and – my theory – explosion of mold inside the hive box due to the suddenly warmer temps.

So. My initial diagnosis is that I did not properly insulate and ventilate the hive. We need to raise up any future hives so that air can circulate underneath, and also possibly create some ventilation holes at the top of the hive. (Just today I read about tops that have variable ventilation holes for over-wintering adjustment that are available on polystyrene hive boxes. That felt like a huge confirmation.) I was resisting trying poly boxes, but the more I read, the more I think they might be beneficial both in temperature and ventilation management as well as disease and pest (mites, for instance) control.

That’s what I meant when I said, above, that I definitely feel some responsibility for the failure of our colony.

If we can help it, our bee-bees will not have died in vain.