Glass half full?

 Optimist or pessimist? Now there's a question.

I'd like to think that I am generally optimistic, although 30% might offer a different opinion.  

I know that there are occasions when events will weigh heavily on my mind, and then I am pleasantly surprised when they don't turn out as badly as expected ... I guess I can be prone to a touch of pessimism from time to time.

On the whole I like to think that I am a realist, drawing on lifetime experience to predict how events are likely to unfold, without undue cynicism.

Now, where am I going with this? 

It is the time of year when my bees need to be treated for varroa, a parasitic mite that can devastate a colony. This morning I gathered up the necessary equipment and headed up in to the orchard. Within a few minutes I had prepared the hive* for the treatment. I removed the hive entrance and noticed a few dead bees on the hive floor. What I didn't notice was any noise or guard bees coming to investigate my assault on their home. I investigated further and was incredibly disappointed to note that the colony had failed.

At this time of year the most likely cause of colony failure is starvation, but the hive had plenty of capped stores and there was a pack of candy available to them if they were running short. The candy had been refreshed when I last checked the hives in mid December, and the colony had appeared to be doing well at that time.

I could see nothing that might give a clue to their demise, as I dismantled the hive . One possibility might be that the queen had failed at some point in the Autumn. I know that I never actually saw her during my inspections, but the hive was showing signs that she was present and laying. It could be that she may have failed and the colony has collapsed. There were no signs of brood disease, so a poor quality queen, leading to a colony that hasn't thrived, is my best guess.

Somewhat dismayed, I moved on to my second hive and repeated my preparations. This time I was welcomed by a handful of bees as I removed the entrance block. This was a huge relief. The second colony was alive.  I completed the oxalic acid vapour treatment and started to tidy up my equipment and stow the hive components from the failed colony. 

It is fair to say that this was not the outcome I would have hope for. I was hoping to see two vigorous colonies all ready for the arrival of the Spring flowers. However, I do recognise that both could have collapsed and died. 

It is good beekeeping practice to have at least two colonies. The reason for this approach is that, if one dies over Winter, you will hopefully have one that will survive. As the surviving colony starts to grow in the Spring queen cells are likely to appear. One should then be able to create another colony using the shook swarm method. 

So the optimist in me had hoped to see two colonies doing well, the pessimist in me acknowledged that both could have succumbed to the ravages of Winter. 

As for the realist, there are a few months of poor weather yet to come ... we are not out of the woods yet.

---

* A hive is a container that houses a colony of bees. Colony is the collective term for the bees themselves, comprising the queen, her workers, brood and drones.