Warré die-outs 2009

Photos of three Warré colony die-outs

Out of 11 colonies wintered in October 2008, 8 were still alive by 21 March 2009. The 2007 and 2008 seasons were poor for foraging, especially 2008. These colonies had failed to store enough honey. A large block of candy placed on the top-bars in an eke in October would most likely have prevented these die-outs, which all look like having been caused by starvation as there was no honey in any of the three hives at post-mortem. However, there is the problem of drawing a balance between routine supplementation of winter stores to save colonies and selecting for colonies that are capable of providing for themselves. David Heaf's bee index

Warré 3 (started 2007)	Warré 5 (started 2007)	Warré 8 (started 2008)
Some chewing of the hessian cloth.	Evidence of damp. Whether from condensation or driven rain penetration is unclear.
Cloths are propolised between the top-bars such that all the holes in the hessian are filled.
Dead bees viewed between top-bars. Combs parted.	Dead bees in W8 were in a similar position. No top view available.
Dead bees on comb. Many head first in cells.	Patch of dead bees going mouldy.	Patch of dead bees going mouldy.
Irregular comb despite wax bead starter on all top-bars.	Queen cells on edge of irregular comb.	No picture available.
Many combs start on one top-bar and cross to the adjacent one.		The colony was wintering in less than a full box of comb. Warré 5 did this successfully through 2007/8 winter and went on to swarm in the summer.

David Heaf's bee index

Towards Sustainable Beekeeping