The Dark side of Beekeeping
Time and experience does not exempt the beekeeper from loss, unfortunately. When it comes to loss as beekeepers there are basically two camps; two different groups of people depending on their response to that loss:
1) Those in the first Camp give up. It’s too hard. This is too difficult. The knowledge and experience simply isn’t there and the loss tests their resolve and dedication.
2) Those in the second Camp breathe a deep sigh of grief, wonder where they went wrong, deliberate about it for a day or so and meanwhile in the back of their minds, they are working on how to approach beekeeping better the next go round.
I have come close to pitching my tent in the first Camp more than once. I am happy to say however that the second Camp is where I reside and I always will.
This fall (late October) I have experienced a loss foreign to my beekeeping experience thus far.
I have a number of colonies that have absolutely no food, no brood and are now completely dead and there are more to follow. Whereas 2-3 weeks ago while performing hive inspections, my colonies still had brood and honey stores that they were going into the winter with, now those stores are more than depleted and there is zero brood.
Facing this loss as of yesterday, I am a little dumbfounded and without words. I am looking at a mystery that I may never know the answer to but I will present it to you nonetheless with the hopes that we both learn something from it. I believe that there are three potential elements to why I have lost so many hives all of a sudden.
Element #1: Hurricane Helene
In my experience with hurricanes, even here in the north Georgia mountains, the constant rain and temporary lower temperatures do two things:
1) They prevent my bees from foraging, cooping them up in the colony with nothing to do but eat.
2) These conditions also shorten the availability of Goldenrod and Aster; extremely important fall forage that I rely on for my hives’ survival.
Element #2: Using un-Approved Oxalic Acid
In all my years experience, I have never heard of “approved” oxalic acid for the purpose of treating against Varroa mites…unit a month ago. Someone was watching one of my YouTube videos on my channel, The Hive Doctor, and was gracious enough to critique my video on many points, one of them being that I was not using the “appropriate” oxalic acid crystals.
Here’s something that you need to know: I still have not used the approved oxalic acid crystals but the ones I just used for my fall mite treatment was different than any other I had used before. It was different in texture, very much like sand. Rather than having the ability to pack into clumps like most crystals I have used, these crystals were loose.
I have a heavy suspicion that they contributed to the fast consumption of the remainder of my colonies’ winter stores, leaving them with nothing. As a result of having zero honey left, the queen stopped laying brood completely, leaving my winter populations small and huddling for warmth during our first frosty mornings of fall.
One of many bottom boards with dead bees that starve/freeze and ultimately fall from the frames, landing on the bottom board in piles.
Element #3: Inability to Feed my Bees
Due to current financial circumstances, I have not been able to feed my bees this fall. Between yesterday and today I have folded up almost 10 colonies due to starvation and succumbing to the cold. I have approximately 30 colonies that will soon follow.
Where to go from here:
My opinion about the whole thing is this: The sudden loss of food stores and dying bees was using the incorrect oxalic acid coupled with the sudden change in seasonal temperatures at night. No food, no carbs, no heat. Dead.
At this point, I am already preparing my equipment for cleanup and getting it ready for spring. I will soon be speaking with a local Georgia beekeeper who sells 5-frame Nucs and probably planning with him on getting 10-15 Nucs this upcoming March of 2025.
I will grow these nucs, bumping them up into deep hive bodies, feeding them until I get a deep and honey super worth of brood. Then I will split off the super of brood, creating mating nucs using medium frames and then continuing to grow the original deeps into the honey flow. It’s not the end of the world nor the end of my beekeeping career but it is most definitely a learning curve, directing me into the next part of my career, whatever that is.
I originally planned on beginning to raise queens next year anyways. This will allow me to start about 30-35 queen raisers and begin selling proven queens locally.
AND above all I will only be using approved oxalic acid from now on which you can find link here.
