honey bee hive death

Question: Hello,
My husband and I received two packages of Italian honey bees last Sunday and immediately hived them in our top bar hives.  It was cold and rainy, with temperatures in the 40s.  The next day we observed that the majority of the bees were dead or dying.  They appeared to not be able to fly, and there was diarrhea all over the entries to the hive.  After several days, we opened the hives and found that both queens were dead and that the workers hadn't even attempted to free her.  We don't use any chemicals, and neither do any of our neighbors.  We got the hives from our local bee keeping club, and they have assured us that nobody else has had this problem.  We are wondering what happened.  I have attached some photos.  Can we send dead bees to you for analysis?  Or do you have any other suggestions?  We don't want to give up on bee keeping, but we don't know how to move forward from here.  Thanks.

responder: Andony Melathopoulos, Assistant Professor Pollinator Health Extension Department of Horticulture | Oregon State University 4017 Agricultural and Life Science Building | Corvallis, OR 97331-7304 cell: (541) 452-3038 Andony.Melathopoulos@oregonstate.edu oregon bee atlas | oregon bee project | twitter | facebook | instagram | podcast Replied May 01, 2023, 10:16 PM EDT
response: HI Ashley,  That is odd. I am going to refer this question to our Apiculture Extension faculty, Ramesh Sagili. One thing he will surely ask is whether you fed syrup during the establishment phase (and whether the feeder was close to where the bees had clustered) or whether there was sufficient stored honey on combs. If the answer is no, consider starvation as one of the causes. The spotting does suggest dysentry or the old form of nosema disease (caused by Nosema apis - but note this species has become hard to find after it was replaced by Nosema ceranae). I am also assuming there were few dead bees in the package already (i.e., there wasn't something wrong with the package before it arrived). Also, to check is whether you noted if the bees had clustered around the queen after establishment, or whether the queen's placement resulted in the bees clustering away from her (which would account for her death). Anyway, Dr. Sagili may have additional thoughts.   Andony

responder: The Question Asker Replied May 02, 2023, 1:23 AM EDT
response: Hi Andony,Thanks so much for your thoughtful response.  To address your questions...Yes, we did provide sugar syrup, made with granulated sugar 1:1, not boiled.  There were a few dead bees in the package, but not anything out of the ordinary.  The bees did cluster around the queen box after establishment--even after we found her dead, there were still bees clustered around her. We will look forward to any other thoughts or suggestions you or Dr. Sagili have.Thanks!AshleyOn Mon, May 1, 2023 at 7:16 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: Associate Professor-Apiculture Replied May 02, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT
response: Hi Ashley: sorry to hear about your colony loss. As Andony mentioned most of the time starvation is the main cause of mortality in case of package bees, as they do not have enough honey stores and hence are reliant on the sugar syrup provided to them until they are established well. I am curious regarding the type of feeder you have in your top bar hives. Did your bees have easy access to the feeder? Did they consume the syrup or do you see a lot of left over syrup in the feeders? Please feel free to send about 50 dead bees in a plastic vial with rubbing alcohol for Nosema analysis. Please make sure the vial is sealed tight and not leaking. Please ship the samples to the following address:  Ramesh Sagili ALS 4017 ALS Building 2750 SW Campus Way Oregon State University Corvallis, OR-97331  Also, please feel free to call me if you want to provide more information regarding your hives and discuss strategies for successful package bee installation. My number is<personal data hidden>.  Best, Ramesh

responder: The Question Asker Replied May 03, 2023, 10:18 AM EDT
response: Hi Ramesh,Thanks so much for your interest in our sad bee situation.  I would definitely like to send you some bees for analysis and speak with you over the phone about our hives.  We are on a brief trip away from home currently, but will be home later in the week.  I will give you a call once I am home. Looking forward to speaking with you!best,AshleyOn Tue, May 2, 2023 at 1:00 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: Associate Professor-Apiculture Replied May 03, 2023, 7:46 PM EDT
response: Sounds good Ashley.