Deadout: Autopsy of a Beehive | Why did my bees die? | How do I clean out my dead hive?

We were lucky beekeepers this year. Some others lost much more, but only one of our hives died over the winter. We believe it’s still one hive too many though. We want to know if there is anything we could have done to prevent it and hopefully learn some better management practices.
What could it be? Starvation? Varroa? No queen? Colony Collapse Disorder? Low population?
We brought the entire hive into our bee shed to do an autopsy and find out what really happened. We looked at the outer cover, inner cover, each individual frame, and the bottom board to come to our conclusion. We even brought out some extra tools to get an up-close look inside the cells. We found something we have never seen before in a beehive!
What do you see? Did you come to a different reason for their demise? We’d love to know your thoughts and if you saw anything we missed. We love to do these videos to help you guys out, but it also makes us really look at what we’ve done and how we’re doing them. We think that’s one of the best ways to grow as beekeepers and make healthy bees into happy bees!
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[@tallcedars2310]

It's tough to see a hive die out but I understand they do happen and not looking forward to it as my hives increase. But it was interesting to go along with you as you checked the hive and talked about what you saw. As an untrained eye I saw things that I haven't seen yet and learned a ton!
To this new bkr it sounds like there were a lot of factors that could have caused the die out. One question I have is did you find a big pile of bees outside the hive? Am wondering if they swarmed on a warm day in late winter and left those remaining few.
But, have to say congratulations on a successful winter of beekeeping Rascal Apiary! That's a great survival rate so keep doing what you are doing, except for those mite strips you mentioned you will not do again:)

[@RascalApiary]

Thanks! Nope, no pile of bees outside the hive. We had removed some of the dead bees during the cut while we searched for the queen. We really wanted to find her. It makes me wonder if we some how damaged her during the last inspection.

[@gerrydertinger7447]

Loved your vid, especially the close ups! I lost all 5 hives in early Oct, a big surprise, as they seemed fine in late Sept, and I had treated them 2ce in the year for varroa - with Formic Pro. I’d be interested in why you seem to have some doubts about FPro.

[@davidpotts3844]

Looks like you should remove entrance reducer on a warm day and clean the bottom boards on the other hives with a ream stick or you may have more loss. Weak hives don't have much a chance to over winter. Looks like some winter feeding could have helped. A weight check without opening hive could have helped know condition of resources.

[@rogerallen1767]

i learned a lot

[@donniecatalano]

I lost 2 hyves because of a wax worm infestation and then another one for reasons I am looking into. Believe me, I almost cried seeing all my bees dead, after they did such a good job this summer, and after all the love I out into this new venture.

[@RascalApiary]

So sorry to hear that!

[@donniecatalano]

@@RascalApiary thanks

[@richreincke7197]

How much did your hives weigh going into winter? I run triple deeps and my hives weighed 200-240 lbs. I lost 1 hive due to varroa mites over winter out of 8. I'm in SE Pa.

[@RascalApiary]

That particular one was 190lbs according to broodminder. That's on the lighter side in our apiary but we've had smaller hives survive. That queen was also bulking brood up on last inspection.
Are you in the Philly area? Mike loves philly!

[@baazigaj9125]

did it have any smell?

[@RascalApiary]

Nope, no smell at all

[@Onlyindianpj]

Please check Vino Farm Bee box

[@MinnesotaBeekeeper]

Vino the bee killer? lol

[@Onlyindianpj]

@@MinnesotaBeekeeper jealous
He he he he

[@RascalApiary]

He's trying new things. I can respect that