Re: Dead bees in front of landing board

On Sat, 25 Oct 2003 13:12:20 -0400, Eric Deaver
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>It seems I have had a late season swarm from both of my two hives.
>Both have successfully requeened and I have new brood in both.  One of
>my hives, though, has some strange things happening.  Might be nothing
>but...
>
>I am feeding with a bucket feeder set on top the inner cover and
>inside an empty deep.  This week (getting colder) some of the bees
>were grouped in a cluster in one corner of the deep - but above the
>inner cover.  It was cold the night before but was not cold at the
>time I entered.
>
>The same hive had a whole bunch of rotten dead bees in the grass below
>the landing board.  The other hive had none.
>
>Any ideas - might be nothing - I'm a little paranoid as this is my
>first winter with bees.

Possibly a sign of robbing.  How many bees and how much honey is left
in the problem hive?  Are there other signs of robbing? (chewed comb,
etc.)

-Tim