Colony losses

[Eric McArthur]

Hi Calum
Thanks for that! In November 4-5 mites/day is a doomsday scenario. Due to the limitations of the “Trickle” Method we started to use the Fischermühle Vergasung procedure using 1.5 g oxalic acid crystal in a DIY short pipe bend some years ago – this method can be used 3 or 4 times over a 2 month period so long as the ambient is above 0 Celsius. Contrary to popular belief the method is safe, simple, effective and quick so long as a proper gas mask( easily obtainable) with the correct filters is used. Regarding formic acid; using the sponge method in mid April depending on the season (late or early!) and applying 60% on a three day cycle, this will kill the mites in the cells before the bulk of the brood emerges in May! This procedure is repeated in mid June with the same view in mind.
I had a discussion with one of the English bee inspectors recently, about the recommendation relative to Varroa population levels given in the Beebase web site; see under.

Regards

Eric




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Dear Sir
The advice given under, relative to Varroa is not comprehensive enough to ensure that a colony of bees has a moderate chance of survival over the winter. A colony of bees entering winter, around the end of December must/should be in the situation where the mite fall after the oxalic acid treatment has been carried out successfully is no more than 1 mite per 2 days.
This is the accepted wisdom in mainland Europe - check it out!
Regards
Eric McArthur
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Beebase advise
Further information can be found in the NBU Leaflets ‘The Small Hive Beetle’ and ‘Tropilaelaps: parasitic mites of honeybees’.
• Varroa numbers are below the treatment or damage threshold of 1,000 mites. Varroa must be kept below the damage threshold.
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Dear Mr McArthur
Thank you for your message. Opinions of damage thresholds vary throughout the world with similar disparities throughout various countries. The NBU tables and the advice given are all based on scientific research carried out in the UK on varroa population dynamics and the subsequent development of computer modeling. I have used these tables for many years and have had no colony losses due to varroa and the associated diseases.
Many beekeepers may wish to set a lower threshold but this will probably be at the expense of more varroacide usage. It is their choice. I can only reply that the tables used are based on science and not guess-work.
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[Calum]

Hi Jon,
You wrote:
Regarding formic acid; using the sponge method in mid April depending on the season (late or early!) and applying 60% on a three day cycle, this will kill the mites in the cells before the bulk of the brood emerges in May! This procedure is repeated in mid June with the same view in mind.

I would not use formic acid before my last honey harvest in the beginning or middle of unless I was treating a caught swarm.
Open honey cells and even the wooden frames absorb the acid - this would lead to a less than natural honey.
Cutting out drone brood and making new colonies should be enough at that time of the year.

If a colony is infested then I would treat them rather than loose them, but their honey for that year would just be feed for nucs - I would not let it near my extractor. I think that is what the majority of beekeepers would do here as it is more in line with the legal demands upon honey. That is that the product is 'naturbelassen' - natural and without addative nor anything being removed.
This leads to emotional discussions about fine filtering honey and 'adding' heat to dechrystalise it.

[Calum]

Oh *@#§@
lost 3 colonies today to robbing.
all three were on 2 magazines.
Threw the leftovers together in a site far far away there were not 10 half full frames of stores maybe a magazine full off bees, no open brood (removed by the bees) at least one queen made it..
I need a stiff drink.

[gavin]

Oh well, s&!$ happens as they say. Only two lost though. Robbing is one of those problems we all need to look out for, and so easy to set off.

[Jon]

Was that robbing by wasps or by stronger colonies?
I have never known a year as bad for wasps.

[Calum]

mine were other colonies..

[Jon]

mine were other colonies..

I had that problem last year. I was feeding a couple of nucs without realising that a neighbouring colony was taking the syrup out as fast as I was feeding it in.
I ended up rescuing a handful of bees and a queen to an apidea.

[Calum]

threw the rest together, had a look this evening while I was giving them 4 frames of capped stores, a queen is laying, sixty frames of bees now fit on six.

[The Drone Ranger]

Was that robbing by wasps or by stronger colonies?
I have never known a year as bad for wasps.

Jon don't know if this might help but Xomite apis powder is a varroa treatment and I have noticed that wasps will never cross an entrance where the powder is.

Unfortunately robbing bees are not so easily discouraged
But for wasps alone you can arrange for some powder at the entrance or in a tube attached to the entrance then just stick a wasp trap near the hive
The wasps are mugs and they go there instead

[Troutnabout]

I have had a bit of a disaster and dont know what to do next. I opened my hives yesterday to put on some feeding and the Hive #1, which has been the strongest hive all year was dead. Not a drop of nectar in it - the last time I inspected the hives was the the 4th September and there was about about 30lbs/40lbs of unsealed honey in the supers plus the brood chamber - Now the combes are dry. There are a handfull of sealed brood cells and still a few dozen cells with pollen in them. Looking at the dead bees I doubt if there were enough left in the hive to cover both sides of 3 brood frames. On the 28th September it was a fairly nice day and I saw bees flying in and out of the hive, so it looked okay then.

I would have put money on Hive #2 which has been weak and troublesome all year to be the one that would not make it through till next year. But when I opened it up it was fine, but very docile. So I put on 6lts of heavy syrup.

Hive #3 - the swarm I hived in June is doing well and has given me 5 bars of honey. It too got a feed of heavy syrup. It is in a fairly exposed location and I was going to take it to the sheltered location beside hives 1 & 2, but now I am inclined to keep it away from hive #2, just in case.

Any suggestions as to why hive #1 died?

Do I keep the remaining 2 hives well appart?