Education required

[GaryH]

Ive not been in the hive for a month. I’ve just been feeding the bees 2/1. On my daily look outside the hive I saw two wasps on the concrete base outside the entrance. They were chewing on something. I retrieved this thing to discover it was a cream coloured adult ‘something’ l assumed the bees evicted it.

Any ideas what this is and what my next steps should be. PS I intend to feed fondant from today onwards.

 

[Anduril]

Without a picture, it is most probably drone larva. It is the time of year for drone eviction. Nothing to worry about unless the wasps are entering the hive. How heavy are your hives?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I intend to feed fondant from today onwards.

why? you say you have been feeding them 2:1 for a month - how much have they taken down? if they've had a few gallons and the hive feels heavy they should be fine for months - fondant should be reserved for 'emergency' feeding in the new year if you think they are getting a bit light on stores.

 

[ericbeaumont]

it was a cream coloured adult ‘something’

What sort of varroa treatment did you apply and when? Could be eviction of a late drone pupae, as Anduril suggested, but could be a pupae evicted after damage by varroa.

 

[GaryH]

Without a picture, it is most probably drone larva. It is the time of year for drone eviction. Nothing to worry about unless the wasps are entering the hive. How heavy are your hives?

Thanks for all your responses much appreciated

Drone brood eviction is the best scenario I think. Wasps killed off a mini nuc in August but have not got into my only hive with UFE

I’ve only fed during wet/cold spells. Total 4 litres

I had a big brood gap due to having no Q I’ve checked the board under mesh floor of the hive. Not one mite. So I haven’t treated.

The hive is a double brood box on vented UFE floor. I made the floor and have an option to slide a solid board in for winter which is in place too. QE removed. Eek with feeder in, then pitched roof which I’m intending to insulate

 

[Erichalfbee]

I had a big brood gap due to having no Q I’ve checked the board under mesh floor of the hive. Not one mite. So I haven’t treated.

That would have been an ideal time to vape just the once.
Mite drop on an inspection board is a useless indicator I'm afraid. I've had colonies dropping no mites for weeks drop hundreds after a vape.
To repeat JBM's question. Is the hive heavy after only 4 litres of syrup? If it isn't you need to put a lot of fondant on

 

[GaryH]

That would have been an ideal time to vape just the once.
Mite drop on an inspection board is a useless indicator I'm afraid. I've had colonies dropping no mites for weeks drop hundreds after a vape.
To repeat JBM's question. Is the hive heavy after only 4 litres of syrup? If it isn't you need to put a lot of fondant on

Ive been trying to ‘leave them to it’ hefted about 4 weeks ago and it was not ‘full’ but was increasing noticeably. I will check again today.
Is it too late for Apivar?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Is it too late for Apivar?

In my opinion, yes
Apivar has to be left in for 6 weeks and the bees have to be actively walking over the strips which they won't do now as they cluster when it's cold. You have more chance of it working if the bees are in poly but the other downside is that the majority of you winter bees have already been made and subject to varroa
Have you nobody who can vape them for you?

Is there anybody on the forum who can help?

 

[Vanterrier]

Too far for me sadly...
K

 

[GaryH]

In my opinion, yes
Apivar has to be left in for 6 weeks and the bees have to be actively walking over the strips which they won't do now as they cluster when it's cold. You have more chance of it working if the bees are in poly but the other downside is that the majority of you winter bees have already been made and subject to varroa
Have you nobody who can vape them for you?

Is there anybody on the forum who can help?

Too far for me sadly...
K

I can do it I think; i have the battery. I’ll buy the wand £19.57 off Amazon. I have the full face mask eyewear PPE. I’ll need to move the hive off the open mesh,!under floor entrance onto an upturned eek/crown board to get the wand into the desired position.
Any guidance will be appreciated.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I’ll need to move the hive off the open mesh,!under floor entrance onto an upturned eek/crown board to get the wand into the desired position.

No you won't
just do it from under the OMF - get a metal plate (or a wooden one that can withstand the heat of the wand) to slide in instead of the inspection board, put the wand on that, use a piece of foam or cloth to fill the gap between the plate and the floor - no need to be too anal about some vapour escaping through it. Also no need to shut the entrance

 

[user 819]

Thanks for all your responses much appreciated

Drone brood eviction is the best scenario I think. Wasps killed off a mini nuc in August but have not got into my only hive with UFE

I’ve only fed during wet/cold spells. Total 4 litres

I had a big brood gap due to having no Q I’ve checked the board under mesh floor of the hive. Not one mite. So I haven’t treated.

The hive is a double brood box on vented UFE floor. I made the floor and have an option to slide a solid board in for winter which is in place too. QE removed. Eek with feeder in, then pitched roof which I’m intending to insulate

Mites on boards isn't a great indication of any infestation, ants and other insects can remove mites.
Deciding not to treat ideally needs a better method of checking for which a T cup full (approx. 300 bees ) from brood combs rolled with a T spoon or two of icing sugar will give a better indication, after gently rolling the bees in the icing sugar for a couple of mins simply let them out to fly back and rejoin the colony.
Dissolve the remaining icing sugar with water and count mites , less then three and one can go the non treatment route but will have to esp in the warmer months (April - Sept) carry out monthly sugar rolls to monitor mite levels. 3% or less then one may be ok without treatment if monitored.
Many promote TF and most likely without checking or knowing the real mite loading , most claim their bees cope with TF and wrongly assume they don't even have mites in some cases. The issue though is the unknown virus loading on the bees and stress burden that the bees may be under.

 

[user 819]

If no metal tray is available then use a bit of thin ply and a bit of heat protection to prevent charring , a foil pizza /cake round base or a scrap piece of thin ali is enough to sit the pan on.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Not one mite. So I haven’t treated.

Did you find any more ejected larvae? Would help to ID whether they were damaged by varroa or not. If you had checked brood in the last 6 weeks you may have found advanced pupae with chewed heads, indicative of attempts by bees to remove the diseased.

I'm sure you wanted the original event to be an ordinary drone eviction, but risk to the colony of the alternative is too great, so vaping is a good decision. Let us know the daily drop numbers.

 

[GaryH]

Mites on boards isn't a great indication of any infestation, ants and other insects can remove mites.
Deciding not to treat ideally needs a better method of checking for which a T cup full (approx. 300 bees ) from brood combs rolled with a T spoon or two of icing sugar will give a better indication, after gently rolling the bees in the icing sugar for a couple of mins simply let them out to fly back and rejoin the colony.
Dissolve the remaining icing sugar with water and count mites , less then three and one can go the non treatment route but will have to esp in the warmer months (April - Sept) carry out monthly sugar rolls to monitor mite levels. 3% or less then one may be ok without treatment if monitored.
Many promote TF and most likely without checking or knowing the real mite loading , most claim their bees cope with TF and wrongly assume they don't even have mites in some cases. The issue though is the unknown virus loading on the bees and stress burden that the bees may be under.

View attachment IMG_3731.mov

 

[GaryH]

View attachment 37891

This was my inspection board. As you can see lots of creatures but no mites??

 

[ericbeaumont]

As you can see

Can't decode that rubbish from a jiggly video, Gary. Well-focused photo of the whole board would be better.

 

[Erichalfbee]

But these are cute

 

[roche]

But I think I saw at least two varroa...

 

[drex]

How long had you kept that board in? I agree, a decent photo would be better and less debris, perhaps on a lighter coloured board. However I saw a mite towards end of clip