There are two categories of hive death.

• The hive dwindled out during flight season, when it was warm enough for bees to fly.
• The hive died during the winter.

This seems pretty obvious, but there is one culprit that is behind most hive deaths, year round: the varroa mite. You can control it, but you will need to treat for mites multiple times a year. Sound like overkill? Hyperbole? Exaggeration? Check out my varroa mite page to find out how to prevent mites from taking your hive down.

Hive autopsy to prevent the next hive loss.

When we walk out to the beeyard and see the bees aren't flying, and we pop the lid and see the bees are either gone, or dead, it's time for an autopsy. There will be clues left behind, and the autopsy page has a list of what to look for, and what those clues mean. Hives die on every beekeeper's watch; it's the learning that happens after you find a hive has died that matters. Read the autopsy page before you toss any dead bees out of the hive!!!

WHen hives die in summer, it's because their population was too small.

You can lose a hive in the summer due to its population shrinking too much. The hive will lose foragers every time they go out. If there aren't enough new bees being born, then the hive will be vulnerable to opportunistic killers.

Opportunistic Killers a Strong Hive Won't Fall Prey to:
• Wax Moth,
• Yellowjackets,
• Robber bees from another hive,
• the cold,
• moisture.

If you investigate deeper, you'll find these are what happened AFTER the population was already weak.
To prevent hive loss during the summer, it is critical to know every week whether or not the queen is laying eggs. When one does not see eggs, larvae and brood, but only eggs, or only capped brood, it means something... happened.
When a hive is in transition between queens, it's vulnerable. It will benefit from its beekeeper watching over it, ready to intervene if the requeening does not work out.