My beehive died again this year. The death of this hive marks the third year (and the fourth hive) that I’ve failed to shepherd one through the winter. I have attended multiple beekeeping classes and workshops, a mentoring session, and read several books on beekeeping. I am by no means a novice. For the last couple of months, I have reflected on my experiences as a beekeeper and persevering through hive losses.
My first hive died because it starved. I think, knowing what I know now, that I could have saved that hive this year. My second hive died a horrific death as a result of varroa and secondary pests. Knowing what I know now, I could have saved that hive this year. My third hive died within a month, maybe two, of installation. They were weak to begin with, and the weather was not conducive to a strong start for the colony. In fact, they never managed to even draw out a full frame of comb. This hive was likely destined for failure regardless of any interventions I could have taken. Perhaps a seasoned beekeeper with multiple hives could have moved a frame of brood into the colony, but I am only a backyard beekeeper with one hive.
Reflecting on difficult losses
In August, my hive looked excellent. By November, it was dead.
I have keenly felt the loss of these bees each time. Although honeybees are not domesticated animals, they are still livestock that I am supposed to tend and to help ensure their survival. No one enjoys shelling out money for a package of bees, eagerly anticipating the future reward of honey, only to lose that hive year after year without any of the sweet success of even a solitary pint of honey. I have not enjoyed persevering through hive losses. Because I wanted to have bees last year, I purchased a swarm with excellent potential after the death of my the third hive. They, too, collapsed. I honestly have no idea why they died. One month, their inspection was excellent. The next, they started dying off. Suddenly, they were just gone. They left behind a full store of honey and a sad, small cluster of dead bees huddled amid the frames. Yes, I treated for varroa at two different times with two different medications: Apivar in summer and oxalic acid in autumn.
Of course, a package of bees is a wholly unnatural organism. The queen does not belong to the bees, and the bees do not even belong to each other. Instead, a machine scrapes them up into three pounds and shipped from the almond trees and other agricultural industries in California to my home in Kansas. The bees are weak and disoriented. They need a lot of care to become a successful colony. Then, of course, comes the luck of the draw with the queen’s genetics and the quality of drones in the vicinity, if the queen is a virgin.
Swarms, on the other hand, are biologically natural. I expected that their survival rates would be better. Instead, I was shocked at one beekeeping event to learn that even swarms fail to survive at seemingly absurd percentages. (This source states that only 16% of swarms survive past their initial year). In the same vein, then, it’s natural for my biologically unnatural package of bees to fail. As the (usual) keeper of a solitary hive, I can’t make splits. I can’t rally back from the hive losses endemic to the beekeeping industry using my other resources. I have to buy another package of bees and start over again, hoping for the best. Of course, I could also try a nuc. Either way, I’m spending more money every year to hopefully have that magical moment where I have kept a hive alive through winter and can harvest its honey.
Keeping hope alive
You may wonder at which point I throw in the proverbial towel and give up on keeping bees. I’ve already lost four hives. Moreover, my fail rate is an epic 100%. I have asked myself this question repeatedly over the winter whenever I see my beekeeping equipment. As I swipe my credit card on yet another package of bees, I can now confidently state my answer.
I will give up on keeping bees when I no longer have joy from watching them fly into their hives, sporting bright shades of yellow, orange, and red pollen in their corbicula. When seeing my honeybees in my garden no longer brings me joy, I will give up on keeping bees. Whenever beekeeping brings more sorrow or discomfort than it brings me joy, I will admit defeat. Until then, I’ll start over again this year with a new hive, a new hope for a year of honey, and a new summer of joy watching the bees buzzing around the yard.
For more on the struggle of bees, visit The Death of Bees Explained: Parasites Poisons and Humans.
42 Comments
Rachel,
Just a note to tell you I’m so sorry for your losses and to let you know that you are certainly not alone in this fight. Your story mirrors my own. I have also faced the same decision every year for the last 5 years. Here’s hoping this year is better!
Kim
Thank you, Kim. It can be difficult to lose hives over and over again. Emily Dickinson famously wrote that hope is the thing with feathers. Maybe for us backyard beekeepers, hope is a thing that buzzes. 🙂 Good luck this year!
Thanks for this lovely post! I lost my two hives this year (my first year) but I have plans for three hives this spring.
I’m sorry you also lost your hives. It’s tough! I love that you’re adding a third hive this year. Good luck!
Sorry for your losses. We have all been there. Question? Why keep buying package bees? After three years of watching them die off, I would look elsewhere. Why not try to find a local beekeeper and buy an established nuc, that is busting at the seems already. It is just a suggestion, but, if you would try this, I think you would be very surprised. Also, doing this, with the right nuk, you would be able to split even one hive to more. Good luck!
It’s a great question. I do have area beekeepers from whom I could purchase a nuc, and I’m certainly considering it. The swarm I purchased was much more akin to a nuc. It already had several frames of brood and a lot of pollen and honey stores, so I may consider going that route again. Still, that one died too. I honestly have no idea why. Thank you for the suggestion!
This is my second year and I lost my first hive this year. I blame myself even though I’m not 100% sure why they dies. I contribute it to starvation or moisture. I’ve heard that the average beekeeper does this for 3 years but going into my third year I don’t feel that way. I don’t want to be a quitter on something I very much enjoy.
Don’t quit if you enjoy it! Did you treat for varroa? How were their honey stores? You can often tell if a hive died from starvation if you find clump of dead bees away from a honey store and if they’ve buried their bodies into the comb. It’s a sad sight to see. When it gets too cold, sometimes the bees cannot move to another store of honey, so they’ll starve in a houseful of food.
Only been keeping bees for 4 years and have had similar losses. Starting with two hives each year, I was able to move some resources around but still had losses. Last year I finally got one hive through winter and believe me when it does finally happen for you it will be a day of CELEBRATION! Then I lost that hive this winter. 🙁
One final note, if you can I would recommend spending some money on a good swarm trap. After my first year losses I bought one package and spent the other money on a swarm trap which caught a swarm the first season and paid for itself. The next year I had the one hive get through winter and one die, but then caught another swarm and was back to two. So the trap has more than paid for itself.
Yes, I would love to have two hives because it gives you a little more flexibility management wise. I had wanted to expand to two hives this year, but my financial situation has changed. I can afford the bees, but not the second hive. Boo! There’s always next year. Thank you for the suggestion!
Been a beekeeper sense 1980. Seldom lost a hive. Now every year I buy nuks.
Thank you for the suggestion!
I lost my hive last fall…I am not sure why. I didn’t see any varroa or mites or pests of any kind…but we only got 14 inches of rain in the year and so I wonder if they just starved. I never found a queen. There was brood in great supply at first then tapered off.I supplied water always and then sugar water until they had filled out 5 bars of comb. The death of the colony is a mystery.
Undeterred, however, I ordered more for this coming Spring. Beekeeping was the best fun I have had on my land and was the most fascinating, beautiful act of nature I think I have ever seen. Bees are fragile but also quite plentiful. I am not worried. I will keep two hives this year so that I can watch and re-queen if necessary. I love my participation with nature.
Usually you can’t see varroa unless you’re looking very, very closely. It’s safer to just assume you have varroa and treat for it in my opinion, but you can also test with the sugar-roll test to determine whether you have varroa mites. You can also check their stores of honey in late summer going and start feeding 2:1 sugar water if they have insufficient stores. I’m sorry your hive died, but I love your attitude about having fun and enjoying them in nature!
Google “Mel Disselkoen” and “OTS Queen Rearing” He does have a $75 dollar self-published book that I think is worth its weight in gold. However, there is enough writing on his site: http://www.mdasplitter.com and enough on Youtube that you should be able to put everything together. You also want to look at Michael Bush and his comments on natural comb beekeeping.
All of this is book knowledge for me as I learned about Mel Disselkoen late last summer after it was too late to implement his practices, but I am optimistic that I will have a few hives survive the winter and I ordered 5 more nucs just in case.
Good luck this year! Thanks for sharing resources you found helpful!
Rachel,
What a great article. As I read it, I felt like it was me writing the words. This is my fourth year and it looks like I am starting over again. There is something about being a beekeeper that I can’t explain. I went from a guy that would kill a bee on sight to the guy who drives around them now when I mow the yard! They bring so much enjoyment to me. I will master this someday! In the meantime, I’ll just keep trying. This year I have already ordered 2 local nucs. Maybe this will be my year. Thanks again for sharing your story.
Thank you, and I absolutely agree. I even say hello to my bees in the garden, ha! I’m glad you get so much joy from beekeeping. I hope this year is a good one for you!
Four years running for me with dead hives. I now know, though, what the actual issue is. Until last season I had an out apiary. It was 75 miles away and a 3/4 mile hike back through, quite often, deep snow. So I had to buy an “Otter” and haul it all back not knowing what I would find—I’d also been having issues with people molesting my hives. Dirty rotten scoundrels!
So, I moved my hives back home and when weather permitted I checked on them through the winter. The last check (a month ago) turned up dead hives, hives loaded with moisture. Insufficient ventilation had caused a build-up of moisture faster than bees could evacuate it from the hive. So, I chalked it up as another OFU [owner foul up]; live and learn. So, I am probably taking this year off from keeping bees (sigh!) to rebuild and/or modify my hives so that there is adequate ventilation. I’m going to miss seeing those beautiful creatures in my basswood and chestnut trees.
The day I completely quit beekeeping will be the day the lid gets nail shut on my coffin. I’ve about seen it all; only things missing are bears, skunks, wax moths and foul brood.
I’m glad your hives are closer to home, but I’m sorry you lost them due to ventilation problems. I am glad that I haven’t had to deal with bears or skunks, but I’ve certainly had to deal with wax moths, small hive beetles, and varroa. Luckily, no foul brood. If you take this year off, I hope it pays off in dividends for you. If you don’t, I hope the same. 🙂
Good luck this year!
Thank you, Brigitte! You too. 🙂
Kansas? I’d be looking for Genetically Modified corn within 3 -5 miles of the hive or someone nearby that uses pesticides on their ornamental flowers.
Yep, Kansas! I do live within the city limits, but I can drive just about five miles and hit the city limits. I did have some pesticide damage to some tomatoes this last year around June from drift. Unfortunate.
I feel your pain. In the past 5 years of keeping bees I have gone through 10 hives of bees. I have yet to come into spring with a living hive. I have a friend who lost 50 hives last year and he said he will try again. I keep buying more bees….. they are a lot more fun than a boat. Both cost you about the same amount of money.
Ugh, I’m so sorry. We both understand how hard it is to keep losing hives. I can’t imagine losing 50 hives in a year. I agree: bees are WAY more fun than a boat!
Ok, ok, not feeling so bad now at my own abysmal record! Bought 2 packages in the spring, both dead by summer (opportunistic pests in one because I didn’t know how to prevent that, other starved because I didn’t keep feeding all summer, didn’t know that would happen). Felt very badly, felt like I’d failed my little fuzzy girlzzz. Bought 2 more packages the next spring. Both made it thru the winter (SE Oklahoma), then 1 died, have no idea why, I learned nothing so I could be a better steward. Bought 2 nucs last spring. All 3 hives are still alive so far, but I think 1 hive is failing (the package bees from 2 years ago). No honey harvest yet though friends and family keep asking…for 3 years now! But at least my failure rate right now is “only” 50%, which I thought high until I read your post and everyone’s comments. So thanks for sharing, I still am sad when I lose another box of girlz but I know I’m not alone!
You are most definitely not alone. I’m glad you’ve had some successes getting some packages through winter! Keep learning and reading! If your family and friends ask about honey, just tell them that beekeeping is hard work and the rewards are measured more than in the quantity of honey harvested. It’s the truth. 🙂
I have not had good success either. I’ve trapped 3 swarms and purchased numerous nucs and packages.
I thought I was doing good this past spring and purchased 2 additional nucs. I lost the first one to Varroa and webworms. The second one is struggling but lost the original one to a plummeting cold snap even though I insulated the hives.
I too, will not give up. I love beekeeping though all it’s hardships.
I’m sorry you’ve also gone through these experiences, but trapping your own swarms is NEAT! Glad you won’t give up either!
Rachel,
Thanks for your very compelling essay on the frustration of the novice beekeeper’s attempts to start, maintain, and grow a thriving (and honey producing) hive.
I’m entering year 2.5. My initial hive made it through the first winter and my wife and I actually harvested some honey. We participated in a local event that allowed us to create a second hive with a queen from Purdue University. It was, and I’m hopeful that it continues to be a very successful hive … tough to tell with the extremely cold weather we’ve had here in Western PA. I also made a 2nd split from our first hive and introduced a queen from somewhere in the North East. As you experienced, that hive never seemed to grow enough to survive the winter. However, we’ve placed “candy boards” in all of the hives and at last inspection (on an unusually warm day in late January) there were still many bees in that small split hive. Since then it’s been too cold to open any of the three hives and all we can do is “wait and see”.
Thanks again for your article. It provides insight into the psyche of the novice honey-bee keeper and perhaps a little support knowing that we all suffer from the same setbacks, difficulties and concerns.
Sincerest Regards,
Randy Beltz
Randy, I’m so glad that you enjoyed my essay. Thank yo for your kind words. The Purdue program sounds like an interesting and helpful one! I hope your split flourishes this year and you continue to grow on your successes. We do all struggle with the same setbacks, difficulties, and concerns, and it’s nice to know we’re not alone.
Yes I’ve suffered same loss . But last 2 years bees actually came back after winter vacation I guess .
This year they stayed , I insulated the hive and drilled holes in top to let out excess moisture , big difference I think . Moisture kills 🙁
I still have a lot of dead bees but this year they are still buzzing out on the warm days . Good sign I hope .
Really would like to take hive apart more but it’s still February , just make do cleaning bottom and checking top .
Might consider feeding soon , did notice some bees finding pollen source when they did go for a fly about .
Kirk
I need to read more about moisture in the hive. Definitely make sure to inspect your food stores now as soon as weather permits. Bees can still starve in late winter/early spring. That will help you determine how much to feed! Good luck this year!
Lost our two first-year hives as well this past winter. I think the hives were open too long on a cold day. We are persevering …. trying nucs this time. The expense is pretty steep so far, but the excitement (and hope) far outweigh the cost. We shall keep on keeping on!
I’m glad that the excitement and hope outweigh the cost for you too! Keep on keeping on, and enjoy the bees!
you are not alone…must keep on keepin on !!
I bought four established hives from a beekeeper who was moving out of state for my first venture into beekeeping. It was a great success for 2 year, even giving me enough to split a hive myself and get lots of honey. Then the third year after I started, they began to die off. Since then, I have been through many nucs and packages — mail order and local. Sometimes I could identify something that maybe killed them, but I had entire nucs just disappear. One thing I know for sure, for some reason it seems easier to keep them if you have more than one hive at a time so that you can make brood transfers, etc. I have now established 3 hives and keeping my fingers crossed. Remember that bees may be livestock, but they are a type that probably will never be truly domesticated. Our best bet is to protect our entire environment so that bees have a chance to thrive naturally.
I absolutely agree with you about keeping more than one hive AND about protecting the environment. Thank you for sharing!
I too have had losses and I feel your pain. I feel the same joy when I see my bees coming and going, zooming toward the birdbaths for water, working the flowers in the bee garden I made just for them, and watching them thrive. Then I’m sad and guilty when they die, which happens in all but a few years. But I try to look at the big picture. People like us are trying to save the bees, and if every backyard beekeeper keeps trying, maybe we can make a difference. Wouldn’t it be a shame if future generations never see a bee doing her thing?
I agree so much! I love the joy–and sharing that joy with others.
The *first* piece of advice I give to newbees is this:
Start with at least 2 hives (3 if possible). It is FAR easier to keep 2 hives alive than it is just 1.