A Little Sneaky Peek

[Tremyfro]

Today, having put it off since the weather has been so mild...I decided that it was time to check how the bees were doing in the Bee Yard. I haven't been there for ages...once they were all sublimated, sprayed for nosema and given syrup they have been left alone....well I have been busy doing other things anyway!
It was really foggy here but started to clear...I had made up the tubs of fondant for them...if they needed a top up. Mostly we had left them their honey last year as it was such a poor year here....so I wasn't anticipating having to give much.
At the end of play last year we had 3 Beehaus with colonies. A Flow hive. A National. A 14x12 Nuc.
All the hives have insulated ekes or roof with a tub of fondant over the hole in the cover. So as we lifted the roof we could see if there were bees and how much fondant they had left. Luckily, there were bees in all the hives...most of them still had fondant left. You can't see into the Beehaus as the cover boards are not see through but we could see bees when we eased up the tub of fondant.
So far..so good. Still a long way to go before winter is over yet.
I'm hoping our winter prep will see them through..and a little healthier this year.
Oh Yes....I found a live wasp under the roof of the National.....I wonder what she lived on?

 

[enrico]

It is always comforting to see them inside. All mine were flying today, whilst that doesn't mean they will survive it does fill me with confidence that they might!
E

 

[Millet]

I was supposed to be going to weigh and check the inspection tray today with this mild spell, i was ill yesterday though and like a zombie today, that Norovirus is brutal.

 

[Tremyfro]

Oh no...that's horrid....we have both been ill with a heavy cold before Xmas...OH ending up with a nasty chest infection...still not clear of it yet.
Last year when we checked hive weights etc...several were heavy...but the bees were dead...from nosema we found out later. We sprayed them this Autumn as a preventative. I don't know whether it will make any difference. Last year all the syrup was treated before feeding...hey ho...we will see if they survive the next few weeks.
Mine weren't flying even though it was quite warm. We have seen them a number of times before Xmas. The sun struggled to come through the fog...although it did clear...now thick fog again.

 

[Millet]

Oh no...that's horrid....we have both been ill with a heavy cold before Xmas...OH ending up with a nasty chest infection...still not clear of it yet.
Last year when we checked hive weights etc...several were heavy...but the bees were dead...from nosema we found out later. We sprayed them this Autumn as a preventative. I don't know whether it will make any difference. Last year all the syrup was treated before feeding...hey ho...we will see if they survive the next few weeks.
Mine weren't flying even though it was quite warm. We have seen them a number of times before Xmas. The sun struggled to come through the fog...although it did clear...now thick fog again.

I bought some of that Hive Alive Mixture last year which stinks of thymol, i mixed it with all my syrup last year as i read it helped with nosema, my hive got through winter ok so i have done the same this year, however if you have more than three hives it will become a tad expensive, Hivemakers recipe would be a more economical option and just as effective, not that you will not already know of coarse..

 

[charlievictorbravo]

I bought some of that Hive Alive Mixture last year which stinks of thymol, i mixed it with all my syrup last year as i read it helped with nosema, my hive got through winter ok so i have done the same this year, however if you have more than three hives it will become a tad expensive, Hivemakers recipe would be a more economical option and just as effective, not that you will not already know of coarse..

Steady, Millet, walls have ears! Hivemaker does not exist and if he did, he has no responsibility for a recipe to treat bees and we all use approved veterinary medicines - got it?

CVB

 

[Millet]

Steady, Millet, walls have ears! Hivemaker does not exist and if he did, he has no responsibility for a recipe to treat bees and we all use approved veterinary medicines - got it?

CVB

 

[For want of a better word]

we all use approved veterinary medicines

....and if we do possibly or even in all probability like the Welsh lass... we will loose all our bees
or go bankrupt paying over the odds for this somewhat questionable approved stuff?

Yeghes da

 

[Tremyfro]

we all use approved veterinary medicines

....and if we do possibly or even in all probability like the Welsh lass... we will loose all our bees
or go bankrupt paying over the odds for this somewhat questionable approved stuff?

Yeghes da

Luckily, I didn't lose all my bees. Strangely though, one was a really strong colony. I came to the conclusion that even treating the syrup ....didn't make any difference....they had taken a full Miller of syrup.
The first year I had bees I used Hive Alive...but as you say...it is expensive.
As the year before last was a very poor year around here...all summer they filled supers and emptied supers..we didn't harvest any honey from that strong colony so perhaps they ate their honey stores instead. Whatever...they died from nosema.
Spraying the bees which were failing in the spring when we opened up the hives made a huge difference. I could hardly believe the turnaround...from a weak failing colony to a busy increasing colony in a few weeks....thanks to advice from here.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I find these days it's getting easier to become confused but wasn't hive alive withdrawn recently?

 

[pargyle]

I find these days it's getting easier to become confused but wasn't hive alive withdrawn recently?

Still for sale in the major beekeeping suppliers but it's sold as a feed supplement - I wonder whether it has been licensed as there are European regs regarding GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe) products.

"HiveAlive™ is the only nutritional supplement for bees on the market that is 100% compliant with all EU animal feed regulations."

If the VMD pick up on it and decide it's a target for their programme of removing anything from anyone that can't afford to pay then it may not survive. Could become Hive-a-Dead.

 

[Millet]

I find these days it's getting easier to become confused but wasn't hive alive withdrawn recently?

I am not sure, i bought mine 2yrs ago which has ran out now, it would be a shame for the folk who like using the product if they do withdraw it from sale.

 

[Ely]

I would try to prepare your hives well enough in Autumn so that you are confident enough not to open them for inspections during winter.

 

[eddyh]

I am not sure, i bought mine 2yrs ago which has ran out now, it would be a shame for the folk who like using the product if they do withdraw it from sale.

Don't worry you can still buy all this stuff in europe.And a lot cheaper!

 

[Tremyfro]

I would try to prepare your hives well enough in Autumn so that you are confident enough not to open them for inspections during winter.

That is absolutely true....and I look forward to having the experience to 'know' when they are well enough prepared. I didn't open my hives as they all have ekes with a see through cover board below. The fondant tub sits over the hole in the cover board. Thick wodges of sheeps wool insulation fills the eke and they are polys so the roof is also insulated. I also have a wooden langstroth.
The eke is a spare brood box so it has a huge wodge of insulation above the cover board. I can't see into the Beehaus as the covers are not see through but I could see some bees under the fondant tub...as that was see through. I won't be inspecting my bees for months yet...I think it was April last year. Last year was a poor year for the bees so keeping an eye on stores is important. I knew they would have enough until after Xmas but as it has been so mild...they could have been using more stores. I'm still learning about this...so checking is important...and as I only have 6 colonies I can't afford to be complacent.

 

[Tremyfro]

I find these days it's getting easier to become confused but wasn't hive alive withdrawn recently?

I thought so too.....but senility is only a thought away.....I'm sure they were selling it off at the show ...and I thought they said they wouldn't be selling it as the license was so expensive....but if they have renamed it as a foodstuff...perhaps they can get round that.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I find these days it's getting easier to become confused but wasn't hive alive withdrawn recently?

You could be thinking of the varroa treatment... Hive clean.

 

[Tremyfro]

You could be thinking of the varroa treatment... Hive clean.

That might well be true.....though the recipe you shared played a major part in saving my bees in the spring...so thanks.

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Yes it was hive clean.... Great recipe HM all my syrup was treated

 

[Hivemaker.]

Don't worry you can still buy all this stuff in europe.And a lot cheaper!

Also now sold in the USA, not much use to us there though I know, it is a feed supplement, I was also very involved in the early stages with regards the recipe for this product.