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What is everyone else doing re. nosema?
I normally don't take preventative measures but this year I am dithering about whether to use fumidil, thymol in the sugar syrup or nothing at all.
Last winter I lost half a dozen nucs which just failed to build up from late summer and I strongly suspect nosema was the cause of the dwindle.
I treated for nosema last year for the first time. This year I am going to count the nosema from samples of bees that I have left after using the sample for morphometry. It is quite an easy method to do. The result will either give me low, medium or high levels. If it is high then I am going to treat.
Sounds like a good plan. I take it you will be checking samples within the next week or so before it gets too late for feeding fumidil or thymol in the syrup.
I will definitely treat any apideas I intend to overwinter as apideas are very susceptible to nosema, I imagine due to the stress of being in an unnaturally small sized colony.
I followed the advice of Hivemaker on another forum and fed thymol syrup this year and last..Easy to do and cheap...
I do nothing at all about nosema. I don't seem to have much trouble with it and my tests have always proved negative although the NBU found some when they did their random apiary survey. I am hoping my inaction is giving me resistant bees.
Rosie
When it comes to thymol in the sugar syrup, what's a recommended dilution?
I've not actively tested or treated for Nosema before, but as I have a bit of spare thymol lurking about thought it might be worth using it in the syrup, especially for the Nucs.
I bought Fumidil B a couple of weeks ago and am going through that. You can either buy it for 3 colonies or 54. The local Thornes agent and Master Beekeeper sells it in the quantities you need which is great as it doesn't keep too long. Fumidil doesn't mix too well, so I put in a small jar with syrup and shake it which gets it mixed ok.
I've decided to use Fumidil as I had 3 or 4 overwintered queens just stop laying this year - and one I sold this year too which I replaced.
I think I recall reading that Bubo/Finman wrote elsewhere (on the dieing forum I expect) that if the bees don't take syrup at this time of the year its an indication of a bad Nosema infection. Am I correct in this?
(It does make sense).
my two pence, we are recommended to take out as much honey as possible from the hive (before winterfeeding) especially dark / mineral /ballast rich honey which will fill up the bowels quicker and will lead to bees not being able to hold it in any longer over long periods of bad/cold weather in the winter (sorry cant think of a better way of putting it).
Removing frames that you cannot see through when held up to the light improves the general hygeine greatly aswell, according to what I have been taught.
In agree with the policy of culling black comb but I prefer to leave all the brood box honey in place. Letting them survive the winter on their own stores, especially if it is full of ash, is part my selection strategy. The way I see it is if they can't cope with natural, local honey they don't belong in the particular locality.
Rosie
Hi Rosie,
I like your lines of thought.. I think naturally a colony would overwinter on the most abundant crop of the year not the last one (unless they are a late swarm which is a high risk strategy for any colony). Another good rason to remove the rest of the honey is that you can sell it for more than you pay for the honey.
My bees end up of about 50/50 feed & Himalayan balsam which is rampant here. Nice for beekeepers but it really is destroying anything growing on the edges of woods and hedges.. They have not complained about it.