concern over health of bees

[annieb3]

Hi I am new to bee keeping last year and this is my first winter so I am quite anxious!
I have had a quick look(took the crown board off) to see if they were ok and the bees were walking about on the top of the frames quite happilylast week. I place a bit of fondant on and they have started to nibble this away.However apart from having quite a few dead bees at the entrance I also noticed some brown streaking on the back corner of the hive-it is not a lot-should i be worried? Also do I need to think about treating with something for varroa now-I did a count last week and it was about 1/ day.Am not sure what to treat with so would appreciate any advice. I had thought about Hive Clean but am open to all suggestions.
Thanks in advance
AnnieB3

 

[Midland Beek]

A bit of streaking either inside the hive or over the outside of it is not worth worrying about. A bit of spoiled food is likely to be the cause.

Most beeks would have by now already treated for varroa with oxalic acid - I did mine first half of January. I have no experience of hive clean.

 

[Finman]

.
1 mite a day is much if you have not given winter treatment.

1) one way is to look into the hive how much they have brood.
If they have not much, destroy the brood and give a oxalic trickling.

2) Formic acid or thymol works but they need 15C day temp to be effective.


If the hive has only couple palm size brood areas, it is worth to take them off.

3) I will do to my hives so that I collect the brood frames with bees into one hive or more. To them I give special treatmet with formic acid. I do not put queen in that.

Non prood hives I then handle with oxalic acid trickling. I have 30 hives.

.

 

[Hombre]

I'm hoping that you treated with Oxalic Acid a little while back, in which case there is probably no need to treat until after the summer.

I can't comment on Hive Clean, it was a product that came on the market last year or the year before and I have no personal experience, although some users give it a glowing recommendation and it seems to have most of the ingredients that people tend to use for treating varroa.

At this time of year, a little staining from bee poo isn't to be totally unexpected. If the bees otherwise seem healthy and start expanding normally in the next couple of months then all is well.

For a proactive approach against nosema, then a thymolated syrup for the winter feed will go a long away to mitigating the effects. Nosema isn't something that bees just get, it's pretty much there anyway, but keeping the level down is important. Thymol around the hive in winter from the stored syrup acts as a low level bactericide and anti fungal agent.

Have a good season and welcome to the forum AnnieB3.

 

[Hombre]

Not a good idea to repeat the same thread in two places Annie, but perhaps you could update your profile details to report the number of colonies, main hive type and a location that shows roughly where you are likely to be in the UK.

All these details will help others give you advice that is more likely to be appropriate to your location and if it's someone local that you need assistance from then most of us, Finman excepted, are all fairly local if your location is stated as UK.

 

[BKF Admin]

Threads merged.
Admin.

 

[Skyhook]

Threads merged.
Admin.

Damn you're good!