Chewed wings?

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Joined
Jun 8, 2010
Messages
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Location
Dartmoor edge, uk
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
5...2 wooden National, 2 poly Nat & 1 poly nuc...bursting at the seams
In the garden this afternoon, I saw a number of bees 5-10 crawling around with no wings.
a) Are they drones been kicked out
b) Defect bees - although they all look old
c) DWV? Although drop levels on varroa were very low...
d) 2 were def. drones...
 
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Looks like varroa to me. Check your mite drop on the beebase/NBU varoa calculator.
You need to monitor daily drop for a week and then treat if too high. Too late for apiguard/thymol now. Maybe formic acid now and/or oxalic acid as a Xmas prezzie for them.
 
Queens take a rick treat um with apiguard
its not too late
 
Apiguard needs warmth of at least 20 degrees to work - great if your bees have the central heating turned up.
Next week looks chillier than it is today.
 
Just looks like an old bee with worn out wings,sometimes they will chew the wings of any strange bee that tries to enter the colony.
 
Thanks Pete - I was going to PM the pic. for your view...I didn't think my varroa was that bad...
 
If there are sisters in the hive with deformed wings then you probably have a small problem with varroa. Have a peep tomorrow when it is warm.
 
Doesn't look like DWV, which causes an odd kind of twisting and stunting to the wings, not frayed ends. It looks more like your foragers have been at the borage, comfrey or some other bristly plant. Mine go crazy for the borage patch but it really wrecks their wings after a while.
 
Just looks like an old bee with worn out wings,sometimes they will chew the wings of any strange bee that tries to enter the colony.
I agree, seen it happen.
Look up deformed wing desease on google images and you will see stunted wings, not ones that are frayed at the edges... but I am sure the general opinion will be treat it for varroa anyway....
 
but I am sure the general opinion will be treat it for varroa anyway....

Could be the general opinion is wrong.....i believe they have been well and truly treated for varroa from what i hear.
 
Could be the general opinion is wrong.

Quite probably but first answer was "varroa"



Anybody remember the pic I put on here and asked "what do you see"?

It was bees on the glass with their tongues out,,,, but I think the first answer was "varroa"
 
You will be surprised when posting a fuzzy picture of a comb how many people will be able to comment about the eggs that they can see.

I didn't know about the comfrey, but robbing and communal feeding frenzies will result in excessive wing wear.

Late I may be, but I start my treating with thymol tomorrow. I suspect that I'm not alone either.

Birchdale, it's accepted that Apiguard/thymol works "better" at temperatures over 20 degrees, but it doesn't just stop working below that magic figure. What sort of temperature do you think I might be able to expect above the brood nest, where most of the bees will be?
 
varroa gets the blame for everything :reddevil:

this is where I run for cover.......duck! lol
 
Don't know where the 20c comes from,not the manufacturer from what they say in the instructions.

At low temperatures (shown by trials in Germany ) APIGUARD takes longer to evaporate and the lower activity of the bees means that gel is not distributed as efficiently. It is therefore essential to use APIGUARD when the colony is active and when temperatures are not too low (above 15°C/60°F) Apiguard will work at lower temperatures although the treatment period may need to be extended; the level of efficacy is generally better at higher temperatures but studies on cool period treatments are ongoing.

And in the bbka news they are suggesting using apiguard in december or january.....
 
I thought that bees kept the inside of the hive at a constant temperture, therefore....... what relevance the outside temp...
 
I thought that bees kept the inside of the hive at a constant temperture, therefore....... what relevance the outside temp...

It means the bees will be more active and distribute it more efficiently around the hive.
 
Hivemaker is right - I think if I treated them again they would leave home!! They had 2 consecutive Apiguard followed by one of Hivemakers...and achieved a drop of under 500 all told!
 
what is the average temp in the brood nest? Does it vary depending on the size, or does it remain constant?
 
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