A colony that has died will tell you how, if it is read properly. That information saves the following year; emptying the hive and moving on repeats the same mistake.

The examination is done as soon as the hive is opened, before anything is disturbed.

Starvation

Picture: Dead bees with their heads buried in the cells. No honey, or very little.

Meaning: Insufficient winter stores.

Isolation starvation

Picture: The same head-in-cell picture, but full frames of honey two combs away.

Meaning: The stores were there but the cluster could not reach them in the cold. An error in the winter arrangement.

Varroa collapse

Picture: Very few dead bees but plenty of honey. Deformed wings, dead brood, mites on the floor tray.

Meaning: The colony did not starve; it ran out of bees. The mite load in August is the cause.

The most misleading part of this picture is seeing plenty of honey and concluding it must be something else. Few bees with plenty of honey should point first to Varroa.

Queenlessness

Picture: Raised drone brood in worker cells, multiple eggs per cell.

Meaning: The queen was lost in autumn and laying workers took over.

Damp and mould

Picture: A wet interior, mouldy combs, water on the floor.

Meaning: Inadequate ventilation or a leaking roof. In winter moisture kills more than cold.

Gut problems

Picture: Brown faecal marks around the entrance and on the combs.

Meaning: Nosema, a long confinement, or unsuitable winter feed. Honeydew honey in the winter stores can produce this.

Mice

Picture: Gnawed combs, nesting material, a sharp smell.

Meaning: No mouse guard was fitted.

Order of examination

• Note the exterior and the entrance before opening
• Lift the roof; check for damp and smell
• Note where the dead bees are
• Record the amount and position of the stores
• Examine the brood area
• Look at the debris on the floor tray
• Write down the findings

A caution about terminology

Calling every winter loss "colony collapse disorder" stops the search for the real cause. In its original definition the distinguishing finding was the absence of dead bees in and around the hive — a specific picture, not a general label.

Most winter losses are determined months before the death. The hive will tell you, but only if you ask.