# Dead Bees



## harmon (Jun 15, 2013)

I live on the Oklahoma Arkansas Missouri border and have 3 bee hives. I recently posted about sugar water ratio and my bees flying around like crazy. Today my when feeding them my son saw a bunch of dead bees in the bottom of the feeding jar tray. One of the three jars had a bunch of crystallized sugar in it (or undissolved sugar but I think it was crystallized). The other two didn't. 

Why are the bees dying? I will put on my protective stuff tomorrow and look in but what should I look for?

is it normal that bees would die in the hives now that cold weather is here? (Just two night ago its gotten into the 40s at night until then it was in the 60s at night.

Anything else I should be considering?
thanks for all the help 

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/li...6-bees-eating-half-what-they-normally-do.html

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/li...bees-going-crazy-anything-i-should-check.html


EDIT

Since posting the above I discovered the sugar water hardened on the base of the food jar tray, causing bees to stick to it and die. I didn't lose many.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

With out being there it is tough to know what is happening. Bees die in the hive a lot when it is cold but the burial bees will carry them out when it warms above 50F.

I would look into how your making your syrup. Also the feeders should not be leaking nor the syrup chrystizing where the bees get stuck in it either.

 Al


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## harmon (Jun 15, 2013)

alleyyooper said:


> With out being there it is tough to know what is happening. Bees die in the hive a lot when it is cold but the burial bees will carry them out when it warms above 50F.
> 
> I would look into how your making your syrup. Also the feeders should not be leaking nor the syrup chrystizing where the bees get stuck in it either.
> 
> Al


The bees were stuck to dried sugar water. I just read a couple days ago that boiling the water would crystallize the sugar but Ive always heated my water in the microwave then a couple minutes later put the sugar in it and it never crystallized. is it okay to add the sugar after the bubbles stop / temp drops just below boiling?)

How else do you get the sugar to dissolve in a 2:1 ratio?

thanks


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

We do a lot at one time so we put the sugar in the mixer bowl and add the 150F water and run the mixer till it all dissolves.
Before when we didn't have so many hives I just put it in a 5 gallon pail added the water I had just taken of the stove that was boiling then used a paint mixer on a drill to stir it reversing the drill a few times.
Jar feeders should not leak, check the seals in the lids tip them out of the hive so it does not leak on the feeder either.












 Al


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## harmon (Jun 15, 2013)

thanks I just went out and checkd and had another 20 or so dead stuck to dry sugar water again
I didnt have this problem when I was doing 1-1 ratio


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## harmon (Jun 15, 2013)

alleyyooper said:


> We do a lot at one time so we put the sugar in the mixer bowl and add the 150F water and run the mixer till it all dissolves.
> Before when we didn't have so many hives I just put it in a 5 gallon pail added the water I had just taken of the stove that was boiling then used a paint mixer on a drill to stir it reversing the drill a few times.
> Jar feeders should not leak, check the seals in the lids tip them out of the hive so it does not leak on the feeder either.
> 
> ...



thanks. how exactly do you fill the bucket with water to get 150 degrees?

Do you have a hot water spicket or do you put the bucket in your bathtub and fill it or heat it up in the microwave then pour it in , or on the stove in a big pot, etc.? 

I'm sending my wife to buy a paint mixer today. thanks for that image


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Big kettle on the stove.

 Al


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

I usually heat the water on the stove, pour in the sugar and stir, and then let cool. If the sugar does not all dissolve then I add water until it does all dissolve. About the dead bees in the feeder: did they have something to cl0ng to while they drank? The man who taught me would put a piece of screen into the sugar water. He did not like the jar feeders


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## harmon (Jun 15, 2013)

No they had nothing to cling to. Good idea about screen 
What kind of feeder do you use


Oklahoma Missouri Arkansas border


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I use boardman feeders in the side of my double nucs because they work best there.



But for regular hives I prefer the gallon Jar I get from pizza shops free with 1/16 inch holes in the lid. I do have hive top feeders but still like the jars best.



 Al


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## kendall j (Mar 30, 2007)

What I do is take a gallon chicken waterer and put the syrup in those. Put it on top of the frames, put two supers, a extra brood body, whatever I have on hand around the feeder, then put the cover on. To keep the bees from drowning, I put rope in the tray of the waterer. Usually don't get too many dead unless I don't get a chance to get back to the bees for a while and they eat all of the syrup. I lose a few then because they climb up into the waterer and can't find their way back out. 

Works pretty good here in the winter since we are up and down a lot with temps. If I find a hive that is weak inn the middle of winter, I mix the syrup as close to 3:1 as I can get it. That way, they can feed on warmer days and don't have to waste a lot of time drying the syrup down to a lower moisture content. I don't have to feed as long to get them back to a reasonable store and I don't have bad moisture problems in the hive as a result.


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