Bee Pooh

[farbee]

A couple of my hives has a few smears of bee pooh.
Should I be concerned about this?

They are being feed thymolated syrup if this has ant bearing on things

 

[Nic Rhodes]

test for nosema

 

[farbee]

test for nosema

I take it that is a yes then.

 

[region2]

be concerned if it's positive!

R2

 

[REDWOOD]

what have they been eating ? if it's normal sugar/water syrup is it the right strength also heather honey is not good for overwintering bees as this can cause bee poo

 

[masterBK]

"heather honey is not good for overwintering bees as this can cause bee poo"

This is often repeated in B books but my "northern" bees have never had a problem with heather honey in the last 30 years of going to the heather (perhaps there are some Yellow bees not adapted to eating the good stuff?). Ling heather contains colloidal protein but bees have the digestive enzymes for dealing with that. Ling also has slightly higher water content but bees have a distensible rectum to hold the waste contents until the sun shines and they go out for a cleansing flight. Maybe unadapted bees won't venture out to the toilet if it is too cold for them so they do it indoors!

 

[farbee]

Thanks for the advise. I am not sure if my first post was clear. The smears are on the outside of 2 hives. They have apiguard on as well and it is 2:1 thymolated syrup. I am sure it is made up correctly.

Will try the test for nosema. Have not done it before but have the equipment needed.

 

[fincaazul]

A couple of my hives has a few smears of bee pooh.
Should I be concerned about this?

They are being feed thymolated syrup if this has ant bearing on things

Is it a relative of winnie the pooh?

 

[Nic Rhodes]

You only need to be concerned if it comes back positive, then you are in a few years of Nosema 'treatments'. If it is negative, don't worry about it, normal activity.

 

[farbee]

You only need to be concerned if it comes back positive, then you are in a few years of Nosema 'treatments'. If it is negative, don't worry about it, normal activity.

What treatment is there apart from thymolated syrup. Fumacil b is now banned I believe.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Funidil B can still be used if you have stocks. Thymolated syrup is good but these work in different ways. Apparently there is another treatment Nozevit but I haven't tried it. Even if you treat with these chemicals then the chances are you still will have Nozema. If one hive has it then consider the apiary contaminated as they share water supplies. By far the best things you can do are wrt hygiene. You need to do several complete frame changes (over several years) and fumigation with acetic acid of spare kit. Shook swarms onto clean kit are great for this. Nozema will attack stressed hives so try and take the pressure off the bees as much as possible. Finally if you have Nozema, think twice about any oxalic acid of 'small' colonies in december /jan. It may be their downfall. Good hygiene is the key, this is not a just treat in october thing but a plan to execute over several years to get the Nozema under control.

 

[gavin]

It could easily be some other kind of stress. Maybe uncapped stores which have started fermenting. Any chance of a mouse or other creature inside?

 

[itma]

What treatment is there apart from thymolated syrup. Fumacil b is now banned I believe.

Well, the BBKA News carries an ad in which a certain beek extolls the virtues of HiveAlive as a tonic against Nosema.
Not of course that the Moderators on the forum would allow him to discuss it on here ...

 

[farbee]

Well, the BBKA News carries an ad in which a certain beek extolls the virtues of HiveAlive as a tonic against Nosema.
Not of course that the Moderators on the forum would allow him to discuss it on here ...

Thanks. That looks interesting. The chemist in me wants to know what else they put in it other that thymol. Could it be the lecthin stuff I wonder?
The quote from their web site sounds familiar
' Anecdotal evidence indicates that until now thymolated syrup can separate causing too high a concentration of thymol to rise to the surface leading to bee losses and can be difficult to carefully manage.'

 

[masterBK]

Any products that have not been put through proper testing by unbiased researchers or by scientifically minded beekeepers should be regarded as "snake oil" until proved otherwise. I am naturally skeptical and always look for proof of efficacy based on real evidence not on hearsay or manufacturers claims.

 

[Tom Bick]

Don’t know a great deal about the product Hive Alive but it sounds similar to the simple thymol recipe on this forum from hivemaker.

A couple of papers researching the effects of thymol on Nosema -

 

[Hivemaker.]

Not of course that the Moderators on the forum would allow him to discuss it on here ...

Would be against forum rules.

 

[Lorenz]

I'm a fan of thymol. I read the science as saying it works. I add in some other things (probably snake oil) that Dave Cushman site says also work, cinnamon oil, wintergreen oil, + clove oil. I think there is some evidence that menthol helps too??

My hypothesis is that given acarine is a mite too, they might help against that as well... not remembering that I saw any science to back that last bit up though......

 

[farbee]

Any products that have not been put through proper testing by unbiased researchers or by scientifically minded beekeepers should be regarded as "snake oil" until proved otherwise. I am naturally skeptical and always look for proof of efficacy based on real evidence not on hearsay or manufacturers claims.

Totally agree