Dead bees outside hive

[Pips]

We got first our hives (one hive contains a swarmed colony, and one the colony left after a swarm so both quite small) a week ago. I keep finding dead bees outside the hive and on the floor. I did an inspection a few days ago, and would have accidentally squished a few bees in the process I would think. How many dead bees a day is 'normal'? Would they have been caught in the rain and cold over the last few days and died unable to get back into the hive?

 

[user 6228]

We got first our hives (one hive contains a swarmed colony, and one the colony left after a swarm so both quite small) a week ago. I keep finding dead bees outside the hive and on the floor. I did an inspection a few days ago, and would have accidentally squished a few bees in the process I would think. How many dead bees a day is 'normal'? Would they have been caught in the rain and cold over the last few days and died unable to get back into the hive?

if the average lifespan is around 6 weeksand the age distribution is flat, then that means 2 ~3% of the population dies every day.That's 20 bees per thousand and give a moderate size hive may have 20,000 bees .That's an average of 400 bees/day. Most of those will die away from the hive. There will be peaks above that average and troughs below due to population events that cause an uneven distribution of bee ages.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I find more around my hive in wet and cold weather. With a bit of luck, you can occasionally resuscitate them from the pre-death coma (pick them up by the wings, cup them in your hands and blow on them). It's meaningless but satisfying, a confidence builder and good practice for handling bees

 

[oliver90owner]

One might be tempted to enquire as to the entrance size. One recent poster left their bees with only a single bee space entry. That could contribute to more dead bees outside the hive due to not being able to enter easily at colder/wetter times of the day, and more inside because of the difficulty for the undertaker bees in getting carcasses through the tiny gap.

Hopefully yours is not like that!

And, yes, the weather can make a noticeable difference.

It is worthwhile checking that there are not too many of these dead bees with deformed wings.

 

[Pips]

Thanks - great advice. The entrance is about 7 cm. I love the resuscitation technique, Tryingtoletthembe. . Might go out and try that now.

 

[bontbee]

I love the resuscitation technique, Tryingtoletthembe. . Might go out and try that now.

They might also enjoy a pick me of from a drop of (your own) honey, or sugar syrup, if you don't have any. (Don't use bought in honey cos you never know if disease spores might be lurking in it...) As ttltb says, it is meaningless, and it's probably kinder to squash them

 

[Fraise]

Could it be that the undertaker bees cannot carry them away from the hive when it is raining?

 

[VeronicaDribblethwaite]

Are you sure that the deaths are not down to one hive robbing from the other? I recently had a daily increase in the number of dead bees at the front of my ‘weaker’ hive from just a few to a couple of dozen or so. I found that it was due to the stronger colony trying to rob from the weaker one and the deaths were as a result of the pitched battles between the attackers from the stronger hive and those defending the weaker hive. Narrowing the entrance solved the problem and may be worth you considering if this is a possibility with your two colonies.

 

[enrico]

Thanks - great advice. The entrance is about 7 cm. I love the resuscitation technique, Tryingtoletthembe. . Might go out and try that now.

Whatever you do don't take a deep breath while your mouth is close to the bee!