The bees may be OK. I may have been seeing the change from summer bees to winter bees for the first time and panicked.
They aren’t taking the syrup I’ve been putting out very quickly. However, there were bees visible in Rosamund and syrup visible in the comb in Lucretia, today.
We’ll know the truth when Spring actually springs.
“The past is a construct of the mind. It blinds us. It fools us into believing it. But the heart wants to live in the present. Look there. You’ll find your answer. “
Looks like the bees are dead.
We fed them during the worst of the summer dearth and quit when they had mostly quit taking it. After about 3 weeks we started feeding again as we saw goldenrod drying up. But, apparently, it was too late.
There was a time when there were so many bees we were afraid of a late summer swarm. Now there are practically none. There is nectar or sugar syrup visible in cells and capped pollen. But, almost no bees and the sugar syrup hasn’t gone down any for about 3 days.
Did we not feed enough?
Were they poisoned by the corn growing down the road?
Do we try again next year or sell our gear thinking this area is bad for honey bees?
I am the Audience 