Bee Gym - Varroa Mite Control

[mbc]

Preseli bluestone man, vibrates when you're tripping

 

[pargyle]

Preseli bluestone man, vibrates when you're tripping

Well, they'll stone ya when you're trying to be so good
They'll stone ya just a-like they said they would
They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to go home
Then they'll stone ya when you're there all alone
But I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned.

Bob Dylan commenting on the bee gym ?

 

[whoosling]

Quote: So .. my point of view is that it's not introducing anything in to the hive that will harm the bees ... it's a passive device ... if it is doing some good in conjunction with my treatment free IPM regime then it's a bonus that I'm prepared to accept.
One of my friends has one and thinks it's the bees knees!!! but I must say I'm sorely tempted by the magic stones.

 

[pargyle]

Quote: So .. my point of view is that it's not introducing anything in to the hive that will harm the bees ... it's a passive device ... if it is doing some good in conjunction with my treatment free IPM regime then it's a bonus that I'm prepared to accept.
One of my friends has one and thinks it's the bees knees!!! but I must say I'm sorely tempted by the magic stones.

Well they've been flogging their bluestones to unsuspecting believers for a few thousand years ... think Stonehenge ... must have been a fair size contract to provide that lot - wonder if they managed to wedge it into 'Supply and Fit' ?

 

[boywonder]

Quote: So .. my point of view is that it's not introducing anything in to the hive that will harm the bees ... it's a passive device ... if it is doing some good in conjunction with my treatment free IPM regime then it's a bonus that I'm prepared to accept.
One of my friends has one and thinks it's the bees knees!!! but I must say I'm sorely tempted by the magic stones.

Thanks Whoosling. A little bit of peer-support for Pargyle, and I feel inclined to 'come out of the closet'. Early 2014, after reading similar threads from (albeit very experienced) naysayers, I watched the vids on the Beegym website, and thought "what the hell..." ...

... at the worst, a few quid burnt, and a lesson well learnt as a novice beekeeper ... and a hobbyist at that. And what are hobbies about, at the end of the day ??

So, I have since gone from one, up to four, and now down to two colonies (don't want to tempt fate by updating my profile until spring 15), and the one with the Beegym has not only shown evidence (a la Pargyle's photo) of effective grooming (leading to increased varroa drop), but has been proven to be FAR less susceptible to varroa infestation and its attendant problems than any other colony. FAR.

Yes - again (as already pointed out) - not scientific (i.e. my other colonies may have just been "more infected"), but I feel dutybound to spread the Beegym love.

I have used neither Oxalic nor MAQS in the 15 months or so I've been at it. A year-round exercise regime down the "Bee-Gym" with an autumn Apiguard treatment is about as interventionist as I want to get. Let's see (with my rose-tinted spectacles).

Now that I have 'come out', I am bent over, waiting for the abuse !!!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

an autumn Apiguard treatment is about as interventionist

So conventional varroa control regime in place then - OA is just an optional extra

 

[mbc]

Now that I have 'come out', I am bent over, waiting for the abuse !!![/QUOTE]

By jimini, you've tried a bee gym now you'll beegin to like a bug'rin!

 

[Tom Bick]

Yes ... as I said originally too many variables to be certain about anything - but the two polyhive colonies are very similar and it's the nearest I can get to making a comparison.

As Itchy says, the most conclusive evidence would be a clear video of bees actually using it to scrape mites off .. I have that opportunity in my long hive as there is a gap under the frames where the bee gym sits and there are a series of 1/2" ventilation holes in the frame that holds the mesh floor (seemed like a good idea at the time) - whilst they are covered with mesh on the inside at present it would not be too difficult to remove it and put a miniature camera in one of them ... however, I would need to put a light source in there as well. Perhaps something for the future ...

The mesh floor detaches from the bottom of the hive so it doesn't disturb the bees but I'm not inclined to do it this late in the season.

You can see the holes in these photos:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/99514363@N06/sets/72157644091488819/

Simply move the device around on the floor over the season and see if the increased mite drop follows it. Also switch hives to see if mite drop increases or drops between the two hives.

I think most of us would agree the thought of girls exercising.......

 

[coffindodger]

Simply move the device around on the floor over the season and see if the increased mite drop follows it. Also switch hives to see if mite drop increases or drops between the two hives.

I think most of us would agree the thought of girls exercising.......

An old thread...
Now over three years since the last post. Has anyone got long term assessments?

 

[Millet]

Preseli bluestone man, vibrates when you're tripping

I know this is a old resurrected thread, but this quote has got me wetting myself..

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

saw a post on the BBKA facebook page recently - the person couldn't fit the beegym in the hive, but she left one outside in case the bees fancied using it - regularly sees bees wandering out and around to the beegym for a quick session

 

[justsmith]

https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bi...tural_Research-VoR.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

is the only real research i know of which has covered the bee gym

 

[Codford]

 

[coffindodger]

https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bi...tural_Research-VoR.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

is the only real research i know of which has covered the bee gym

Thank you. Question answered.

 

[pargyle]

Thank you. Question answered.

"Results
For the 20 analyzed colonies, 18,566 mites were
counted over the 28 days. Mite fall varied considerably
between colonies. The colony with the highest fall had
a mean daily fall rate of 212 mites per day, and seven
further colonies had daily fall rates higher than 30
mites per day. In contrast, nine colonies had a mean
daily fall rate lower than 10 mites per day. The remain-
ing three colonies had daily fall rates between 10 and
15 mites per day. The mean fall rate for the 20 colo-
nies was 34 mites per day and median 11 mites per
day with interquartile range 5.1–38.9. Mite fall also var-
ied considerably from day to day within colonies, par-
ticularly in the colonies with a lower fall rate"

What the results actually say is what most beekeepers already suspect .. that some colonies appear to be less susceptible to varroa infestation than others and some colonies appear to be capable of removing varroa. I've had a bee gym in my long hive for some time and there usually appears to be more dead varroa on the inspection board beneath where the bee gym is sited on the mesh floor - but - it's not something I would rely on to de-infest an infested colony. As a passive device that may assist bees to remove phoretic mites it's possible that it does some good.

Like many studies on bee colonies the statistics do not always allow for a definitiive conclusion - there are so many variables when dealing with bee colonies that a 'control' colony to use as a comparator may not be the perfect control.

The study appears to have done it's best to eliminate colony variance and any preconceptions by the researchers but as far as I'm concerned the jury's still out.