about twice a week during the winter months, i walk around to all the hives just to make sure they haven’t been tipped over by a bear or some other hairy creature. while i’m making these rounds i flick the dead bees off the landing board and clean away any snow or soggy leaves.
i pay fairly close attention to the number of dead bees. usually there is the equivalent of two or three dead bees per day per colony and that is a number i’m comfortable with. a lot more may mean something is wrong. none may also mean something is wrong. for example, if the bees are unable to 