Colony Dying Out as it comes into Spring
Two of my colonies came through the Winter with three seams of bees and very small patches of brood and after checking on it 3 weeks after the initial season inspection they have died out. There were plenty of stores so haven’t starved but obviously haven’t had the numbers needed to keep the brood temperature up. The dead bees are clustered on the frames which is always a sad sight.
So whilst February was warm the weather March has been cold and very wet. A couple of overnight frosts and certainly chilly. In hindsight I should have either moved the colony into a nuc.
It’s always a challenge at the start of the season as the other colonies are only just starting to build up and therefore it’s easier to put off a decision rather than taking decisive action.
