Hello, Beelicious Readers.
Today is a very sad day. I got confirmation that our bees have died. We had a very strange Winter. February was very manic with temperatures and we hadn't seen any snow since December. Very odd for a Chicago Winter for sure.
What caused their death? The Varroa Mite. This incredibly awful pest got to them before we could treat. I think we were about two weeks late in treating for them. Everything has changed with the climate being so whacked. Generally, you don't have to treat or do much other than make sure your bees have food during February. However, the Red Maples and Willow trees had started to bud almost a month early! It's really been a crazy Winter. I think if we had treated with Oxalic Acid in mid February versus the end of February our girls would've had a chance.
I don't think there was anything more sad to me than this photo. To see hundreds and hundreds of dead bees was heartbreaking. They had all clustered in one area but some had broken free from the cluster and froze to death. The ones who were clustered definitely had some wing deformity which is one of the symptoms of disease Varroa Mites give to bees.
They still had about a box and a half of honey too. We'll just feed this honey to the new bees we'll get in April.
Queen Victoria will be replaced by Victoria II and hopefully she will have a longer reign. I will be very diligent with my treatments to make sure those little buggers never have their way with my bees again. I have removed all boxes and frames to sand and re-stain before our new colony arrives in mid-April.
I've loved sharing all the amazing experiences with you guys this last year, but bad experiences have to be shared as well. I wanted to share the good, the bad and the ugly to show the many trials of beekeeping and hopefully you enjoyed the journey with me. If nothing else, I have learned a hard lesson and will not let this happen again.
We will continue to learn as beekeepers and will do our best to do right by the bees. Hopefully at this time next year I will be talking about how healthy the colony is and how it's ready to be split in two.
Until next time, bee kind 🐝
