2nd season advice please

[JKemp]

Hi all, a little advice please.

I’m in my 2nd season with a colony I purchased from a local ‘well known’ breeder. The colony has been great and even produced a little honey for me last year. Treated for Varroa in autumn (Apilife VAR8, checked mite drop and all seemed good. A massive colony that I overwintered on brood and a half....I know the weather here was very mild over winter and there has been plenty of activity on warm days since January..

First inspection was end of March and all looks good, plenty of brood and stores in brood and the half 6+ frames of brood in both. Q+ and laying well. Added a super which was filled in just over a week (removed yesterday with 17lb honey) another super the week later and drawn and filling now (we have OSR in adjacent fields). Plenty of drones out and flying too but I have 2 concerns...

1. While in the garden with kids a few days back we found a bee on a daisy (about 30ft) from hive that definitely had deformed wings (must have crawled) and I’m now worried about varroa. Should I apply OAV them now (3 treatments over next 21 days) to be safe? Or should I do a natural mite drop to see levels first?

2. I want to split the colony for increase, do you think it is wise at the min or should I wait until possibility of swarming?

Thanks
J

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

If you have the oav kit, it will do no harm to treat them and see what kind of varroa drop you get. You can vape with supers on I believe and hopefully it may put your mind at rest.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

You can vape with supers on I believe

No, you shouldn't - that was just the forum idiot's opinion.
If you have to, remove the supers before vaping.

 

[Ian123]

Remove the supers before you vape it’s just common sense it’s not even like you have 100s to do. It may well be harmless but for the sake of 1 minutes work why bother. If you want increase you could purchase another queen or simply split and let them get on with it.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Easy to vape even with bees flying
Move hive to side
Put supers on a new floor in its place
Close up hive and vape
Move supers over and replace