I think I have pesticide poisoning

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Colino
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I think I have pesticide poisoning

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I think I have some pesticide poisoning in both my hives, I have around a 100 dead bees in front of them. They look like younger bees, the dead ones have their tongues sticking out. Dieing ones are moving around aimlessly agitated. The bees are testy. Is that what it sounds like to you?
Colino
Narcissism is easy because it's me or I, Empathy is hard because it's they or them.-Colino
Allen Dick
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Re: I think I have pesticide poisoning

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Hard to say. Bees die for many reasons and 100 is not a lot. Could have been chilled as brood and barely survived to emergence. These things happen. Keep us posted if it continues.
Allen Dick, RR#1 Swalwell, Alberta, Canada T0M 1Y0
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Colino
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Re: I think I have pesticide poisoning

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Good Morning Allen:
I think you are right about it being chilled brood because on our last hive inspection we were too intrusive and took too long on a day when the temperature wasn't warm enough. They seem to have stopped dying when I checked this morning and I also noticed it is more of a mixture of different aged bees. Besides I could think of no reason why any farmer would be spraying pesticides at this time of year. I guess it was panic because yesterday morning there was only the normal amount of dead bees but when I looked last evening there were all these beautiful fuzzy orange bees laying dead. It was an inexpensive lesson, stay out unless you have to do something and if you do open them up, do it quickly and as unintrusive as possible. Thank you for your help.
Colino
Narcissism is easy because it's me or I, Empathy is hard because it's they or them.-Colino
Allen Dick
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Re: I think I have pesticide poisoning

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Something else worth knowing is that even a few minutes exposure to direct sun will kill open brood. I don 't know how many beekeepers lean frames up against hives while working through them without regard for the direction of the sun and shadow. Even experienced beekeepers kill a lot of bees and brood and never know.
Allen Dick, RR#1 Swalwell, Alberta, Canada T0M 1Y0
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Re: I think I have pesticide poisoning

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If a hive has 12000 bees and they live six weeks, then 12000 bees/42 days = 286 bees can be expected to die each day on average.

That is if the age distribution is even, which it never is.

If the weather confines the bees, the dead ones will be found on the floor and at the entrance. In better weather, we never see them because they either fly away or are carried out by the undertakers.
Allen Dick, RR#1 Swalwell, Alberta, Canada T0M 1Y0
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Colino
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Re: I think I have pesticide poisoning

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So if 286/12000 bees die everyday, then using the same ratio for my packages I can expect 238.3/10000 bees to die everyday, if there are about 5000 bees/lb. But would I see 30 to 50 bees in the throes dying on the ground in front of the hive? More bee math I had to take my shoes and socks off for and still didn't have enough toes. :mrgreen:
Narcissism is easy because it's me or I, Empathy is hard because it's they or them.-Colino
Allen Dick
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Re: I think I have pesticide poisoning

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Bees die many different ways and at many different stages.

I saw something like that several years back and thought something similar, but the next few days the phenomenon did not repeat.

Bees fly great distances and help themselves to all sorts of things. Some plants, dusts and resins they pick up or perhaps water sources may be toxic. There are always viruses in the hives. Some bees may have been raised under less than ideal conditions or chilled as brood or infected with bacteria.

There are probably explanations, but they are elusive and unknowable in many cases.
Allen Dick, RR#1 Swalwell, Alberta, Canada T0M 1Y0
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Colino
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Re: I think I have pesticide poisoning

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Good Morning Allen:
I have been Researching "Hydroxymethylfurfural" or HMF for short. It's toxic to bees and produced when over heating sugar syrup.
Acid is used in the production of HMF, so I'm wondering if perhaps this may be what happened. We only have raw irrigation water for cooking so we boil it. I was mixing the sugar and water together, then bringing it to a boil. To top it off I was adding vinegar (acid) to change the ph. So maybe I added too much vinegar or boiled it too long. I now am boiling the water 1st then removing it from the heat and adding my sugar.
Have a safe trip home today.
Colino
Narcissism is easy because it's me or I, Empathy is hard because it's they or them.-Colino
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Re: I think I have pesticide poisoning

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Adding acid to bee feed is not advisable IMO, although some sources do recommend it.

Pure sugar syrup is best.

Especially combined with heat and metal vessels, acids can cause byproducts that are harmful.
Allen Dick, RR#1 Swalwell, Alberta, Canada T0M 1Y0
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Colino
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Re: I think I have pesticide poisoning

Unread post by Colino »

I do not add acid to my sugar syrup anymore, it was one of those learning things related to bad internet advice. Maybe you can add that to your "Bee Myths" lecture list. Thinking back now the bees did show classic symptoms of HMF poisoning. They even had a hunched up appearance like my research mentioned. We grow too soon old and too late smart!
Colino
Narcissism is easy because it's me or I, Empathy is hard because it's they or them.-Colino
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