Farewell, Phoebee

In the late fall, when I put the insulation panels on the hives, Phoebee's colony was a little aggressive. I had fed it as often as possible during the late summer and fall, and even put in a candy board when I sealed it up for the winter. I hoped that would be enough. Beeyoncé's hive got the same treatment. A few weeks ago I peeked in both windows and didn't see any activity in Phoebee's hive. I figured I'd lost them. Then, on a warm day, I saw bees orienting around the hive entrance so I guessed I was incorrect and maybe they were just collecting on the warmer side of the hive. Sadly, since then there has been no activity and today I confirmed that my original interpretation was correct. Phoebe's hive was gone.

In the hive I found evidence of a new brood that just never really made it out of their cells. All the bees were dead. I might have even found Phoebee; I definitely found a bee that looked more like a queen than a worker bee. And there was NOTHING in the combs. No honey, no pollen, no capped cells, no larvae. Nada. No signs of disease, either.

So now the hive is cleaned out with a lot of starter comb which I might use to replace any combs I take from Beeyoncé's hive once I harvest some honey this spring. I decided to leave them alone for a little longer, it's only been in the 60's for 2 days and I want to give them more time before I go in there, remove the insulation panels, and set them up for the spring.

It's possible Beeyoncé's hive might split again, and then I'll have a place for them. We'll see.