Deformed wing virus

[Newbeebeekeeper]

Hi everyone,

I started keeping bees last year and the hive seemed to winter well. In the autumn i treated for varroa and all seemed well until my last inspection when i seen bees with deformed wings. There is 6 almost full frames of brood and they had just started laying drone brood. I bout another mite killer and put it on.

Is there anything else that i can be doing. I only seen a few with bad wings the rest seem fine and to be thriving

Thanks

 

[thenovice]

Hi everyone,

I started keeping bees last year and the hive seemed to winter well. In the autumn i treated for varroa and all seemed well until my last inspection when i seen bees with deformed wings. There is 6 almost full frames of brood and they had just started laying drone brood. I bout another mite killer and put it on.

Is there anything else that i can be doing. I only seen a few with bad wings the rest seem fine and to be thriving

Thanks

This time of year there are a few non chemical interventions,

1. shook swarm. leave 1 empty drawn frame on (ideally drone comb) and remove once capped. no need for miticides and very effective!

2. another way is rotating drone comb in it to catch mites. kill once capped and repeat. take care not to let them emerge or you'll have a mite farm.

others, I don't believe in are bee gym and the likes.

 

[Newbeebeekeeper]

Thanks for that. Is killing the brood once enough or how many times?

 

[Beefriendly]

Is killing the brood once enough or how many times?

You can only kill things once unless your brood has Lazarus like properties
Sorry, couldn't resist....

 

[Erichalfbee]

For gods sake don’t shook swarm, blimey!
An atrocious waste of brood.
OAV four times at five day intervals or put some MAQS on.

 

[Newbeebeekeeper]

Sorry to ask stupid questions but what are oav and maqs?

 

[madasafish]

Sorry to ask stupid questions but what are oav and maqs?

OAV - Oxalic Acid Vapourisation (needs equipment)
MAQS -specialised treatment you can use at this time of year sold by almost all suppliers...No equipment needed..just follow instructions (to the letter)

(not stupid questions)

Edit: I have not used MAQs personally but bought some for another beekeeper as part of a mass purchase exercise. It is based on (I think) Formic Acid. All I know is that even in a sealed container it stank...

 

[Millet]

Sorry to ask stupid questions but what are oav and maqs?

Here you go..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvOPsVRLIQI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEUjLZRzzwk

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

This time of year there are a few non chemical interventions,

1. shook swarm. leave 1 empty drawn frame on (ideally drone comb) and remove once capped. no need for miticides and very effective!

2. another way is rotating drone comb in it to catch mites. kill once capped and repeat. take care not to let them emerge or you'll have a mite farm.

others, I don't believe in are bee gym and the likes.

Shook swarm - a sure fire way to set a colony right back, or kill a sick one

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

 

[Erichalfbee]

Sorry to ask stupid questions but what are oav and maqs?

Not stupid.
Others have answered
But. As you are unaware of either can I urge you to join your local association and make friends who can guide you in those early years. The bees will thank you
What have you bought and put on by the way?

 

[thenovice]

Shook swarm - a sure fire way to set a colony right back, or kill a sick one

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

I would only do it if they have strong signs of varoa and they are a strong colony. after that, they bounce back stronger than ever. you only set brood back 21 days. for a commercial beekeeper this might be unacceptable but I lost a lot of queens with Maqs and the queens that do make it go off lay with it anyway. the trick is of course never to have that much varoa in the first place...

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I would only do it if they have strong signs of varoa and they are a strong colony. after that, they bounce back stronger than ever...

So the zealots would have you believe - a myth.Stressed colonies with health issues in the future and you still gave your phonetic mites in place.
You're just kidding yourself if you believe it does the colony good

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

 

[Erichalfbee]

A strong colony with strong signs of varroa!
Bit of an oxymoron surely?

 

[Kenson]

Hi Newbeekeeper

Not a stupid question at all. I haven't seen any Deformed Wings in mine, that doesn't mean they don't have some, and I would be distressed if I saw it and want to ask a question like yours. So it's a good question.

I think the only "Stupid Question" is the one that is not asked

If you get replies like "Cor what a stupid question, everyone knows that", ignore them because the positive guys will help you more than the negatives

 

[Newbeebeekeeper]

I put on apiguard gel. I haven't been back in the hive from i put it in but the 2 week cycle needs a new tray put in at 2 weeks when im away. I will be back 2 days after the 2 weeks though. How key is this? The weather hasnt been that great and i expected this to slow down the apiguard.

I had hoped to split the hive shortly after but i think that has been set back. I have rubbish enough nuc that i made myself but i would rather put them into the good have i have waiting for them.

 

[fatshark]

The plus 2 days is pretty much irrelevant ... but the temperature isn't. Apiguard needs 15C to work, below that and the colony aren't usually active enough to spread it around the colony.

It states this temperature on the (boxed) packaging, specifically about Spring treatments.

 

[drex]

Totally agree

 

[Newbeebeekeeper]

Thanks everyone

Would i be better waiting for a few more days to the weather picks up abit more before putting on the second treatment? We have had a few good dsys this past week above 15

 

[madasafish]

Thanks everyone

Would i be better waiting for a few more days to the weather picks up abit more before putting on the second treatment? We have had a few good dsys this past week above 15

Treatment is designed to treat continuously over the life cycle - egg to larvae to sealed brood to emergence so the varroa are killed when they emerge with the bee. Which is why you need to treat after two weeks.

The instructions are there for a purpose.

(Apiguard does not work at low temps - as above - so you probably will need to treat again with a treatment effective at this time of year.. MAQs OA Vape).

 

[Millet]

I was under the understanding that thymol based treatments should not be used when we have a flow on as it will taint the honey.. ? .. not that i use the stuff anyway.