Early winter dead-out

The gray coating on the cappings is Bloom...a naturally occurring substance. Also seen on beeswax candles...just wipe them off. The bees will use the honey, and you can extract the honey...depending on what you used to control varroa.

Thanks Mike. I took a much closer look. The bees were alive deep in the hive, but not very robust. What threw me off was that the wax on the honey super I left them had a gray mildew-like look to it. Will the bees be able to use that? Would I be able to harvest that?

You might consider opening the hive and examining the brood combs. If you can find any remaining cells of brood, take some closeup, in focus photos. Is there any honey left in the combs? Examine the dead bees, carefully, on the bottom board...see any mites?

Doubtful the colonies were poisoned this time of year. Could be starvation, but more likely a varroa issue. Did you ever sample for mite population? Did you treat for mites to reduce their population in your hives? What did you use and when?

You might consider sending samples to the UVM bee Lab.