match
House Bee
- Joined
- May 20, 2009
- Messages
- 124
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- SE Scotland
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 6-8
Its been really sunny up here the last couple of days, and so I went up to the apiary to check on the bees.
1st hive seems fine, not a lot of activity, but some bees flying short trips near the entrance, and a quick glance showed they're not running low on stocks, so they'll keep for a few more weeks til it warms up enough to start feeding them.
There was no activity on the other hive though (last seen at the start of January when I did an oxalic acid trickle).
On inspection the bees are dead, the stores are mostly untouched, but there is an awful lot of staining across the tops of the frames. I've not had time to do anything with this hive, so have just sealed it up for now to sort out later this week. It was a weak colony going into winter, with a late supersedure queen, so I'm hoping its just 'one of those things' rather than something nastier like Nosema C. Certainly, there are no signs of it i the other hive nearby. I'll hopefully be able to send some bees off as a sample for testing soon.
Whats the best way to sterilise equipment to re-use it? This is a polystyrene hive, so I'm not sure if acetic acid will be safe to use on it? Are there any other good cleaning agents out there? Also, should I sterilise and re-use the frames (and the wax?), or just consign them all to being burnt and just use the wax for candles?
1st hive seems fine, not a lot of activity, but some bees flying short trips near the entrance, and a quick glance showed they're not running low on stocks, so they'll keep for a few more weeks til it warms up enough to start feeding them.
There was no activity on the other hive though (last seen at the start of January when I did an oxalic acid trickle).
On inspection the bees are dead, the stores are mostly untouched, but there is an awful lot of staining across the tops of the frames. I've not had time to do anything with this hive, so have just sealed it up for now to sort out later this week. It was a weak colony going into winter, with a late supersedure queen, so I'm hoping its just 'one of those things' rather than something nastier like Nosema C. Certainly, there are no signs of it i the other hive nearby. I'll hopefully be able to send some bees off as a sample for testing soon.
Whats the best way to sterilise equipment to re-use it? This is a polystyrene hive, so I'm not sure if acetic acid will be safe to use on it? Are there any other good cleaning agents out there? Also, should I sterilise and re-use the frames (and the wax?), or just consign them all to being burnt and just use the wax for candles?