The death of a colony of honeybees, be they living in a beehive, a tree cavity or the roof of a house, is to be expected from time to time. The reasons for such an occurrence may be many and varied. The death of bees is less likely to be noticed when they live in nests other than beehives. Regular checks by beekeepers on their hives will quickly pick up on colonies which have died. Known as ‘dead-outs’ this is just that; hives in which the entire bee colony has died

Following an assessment of the likely cause of death, the beekeeper will remove the hive from the apiary, clean and sterilise it in readiness for refilling with bees at an opportune time. Where bees die out in trees, roofs or a neglected hive, the remaining dead bees, wax combs, pollen, propolis and honey will be left to nature to deal with.

Any remaining honey will be robbed by them

It doesn’t take long before other honeybees, wild bees and wasps become aware of it. Any remaining honey will be robbed by them. Since the cause of death may be attributed to any reason, disease is one which often features high on the list.

Most honeybee diseases are not major problems in dead-out colonies, however, there are a couple which could do harm if spread to other hives. One such disease is American Foul Brood, a spore forming bacterium, whose spores can be in honey.

Honeybees and wild bees, robbing a hive contaminated with this disease, will carry the infective spores and spread the disease

While the spores live for many years, thirty plus, they are harmless to humans but deadly to bees. These bacteria kill bee brood and revert to spores as the means of dispersing itself. Honeybees and wild bees, robbing a hive contaminated with this disease, will carry the infective spores and spread the disease.

Dead-out nests can remain for a long time with the risk of spreading disease. However, nature has a part to play in the removal of this mess. The wax moth, Galleria mellonella, known as the greater wax moth, will be attracted to the nest and will lay hundreds of eggs in the hive. These eggs hatch into larvae which will chew up honeycomb, thus decreasing the amount of at risk material.

While we beekeepers are forever vigilant against wax moth attacks on our empty hives or stored honeycombs, we must always be grateful to nature on how she takes care of such situations

Honeycomb contains all the food requirements for the wax moth larva as she prepares for pupation and completion of her metamorphosis, becoming an adult moth.

Through the consumption of the honeycomb, the wax-moth has removed and contained the spread of disease. While we beekeepers are forever vigilant against wax moth attacks on our empty hives or stored honeycombs, we must always be grateful to nature on how she takes care of such situations.

At one time beekeepers used chemical prevention against wax moth larval damage but this is no longer the case. The best prevention is not to let the moth get in to lay eggs. This is achieved by packing unused honeycombs into sealed bags or containers.

Those beekeepers who still have solid wooden floor on their hives will, almost certainly contain wax moth larvae

Old honeycombs, close to the end walls of a beehive which are unoccupied by bees are likely to attract wax moths. The evidence for this is, the mass of webbing from the larvae spinning their cocoons. Those beekeepers who still have solid wooden floor on their hives will, almost certainly contain wax moth larvae.

Love them or despise them, appreciate their contribution to maintaining a balance in nature.

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