9/12/2023
This afternoon, we went to the apiary to check on the Floral Hive. There was none of the normal activity.
Upon inspection, we discovered that it was empty. The official term is absconded. I was surprised because I thought they doing pretty good. We had been giving them sugar water every week and it had been used.
If they were going to abscond, I would rather have the loss now and not try to keep a weak colony alive during the winter. So, we took the frames and placed them in the freezer.
According to this website “absconding can happen any time of year, triggered by things such as lack of food, frequent disturbance, loud noises, overheating, bad odors, parasites, predators, or the presence of chemicals.” This has been a very dry season, so I suspect there wasn’t a good nectar flow.
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