First true loss...Doh...

[Finman]

.
It is not easy to estimate how much there are bees in the hive when cluster is twist size. I have been astonished many times when I lifted the frame.

And perhaps, the tiny cluster has allready bad nosema and bees are very sick.

Who said and what said, it does not help. Some colonies just dwindle away and you cannot help them.

.

 

[Torq]

I don't treat with oxalic acid but gave them a bit of Apiguard a few months back. All 6 colonies have made it throught the winter, though I don't know if the ladies are back laying yet.

I'm going to put this survival down to the apiguard treatment, good build up of stores and the use of an oversize mesh for the floors giving the varroa very little chance of getting back up into the brood if they fall off.

The mesh I used is small enough to keep bees in but big enough to keep the wasps out. It also has the advantage (or maybe it's not one) that the nectar forragers don't bother with the conventional entrance but shortcut to under the floor and pass the nectar through the mesh.

Just my 2 euro worth. Feel free to question my findings, I won't mind!

 

[susbees]

All 6 colonies have made it throught the winter, though I don't know if the ladies are back laying yet.

A little early to say, then? Three more weeks of winter in my book: healthy laying pattern and nectar income.

 

[Queens59]

OK when I cleared it out there 'appeared to be' 4-5000 bees...I say appeared to be as they were all clinging tightly to each other and came away in clumps so that I had to estimate their numbers. No other fatalities, so I hope it was a one off - we couldn't find any mites Finman, but thanks for the idea...and thanks all for the sympathy...

 

[BeeNice]

Mmmm After reading this thread I am glad that I decided my colony might be too small for the OA. treatment, even though I had bought the trickle 2. any point in keeping it and if so should it be refrigerated?

OA doesn't last, and it won't last til next year. Clean out the little pot and save that. It may come in handy in the future.

 

[beeno]

Hi Margaret Elisabeth,
I have been told that it's OK to keep in refrigerator as long as it has not discoloured it is fine.

 

[sunhivebee]

I doubt the link. Dead outs for trickling has not been reported during 10 years.
Show me a research about that

.

Not dead-outs, but quite interesting:

Sublethal effects of oxalic acid on Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae): changes in behaviour and longevity
Saskia Schneider, Dorothea Eisenhardt, Eva Rademacher

 

[Finman]

Not dead-outs, but quite interesting:

Sublethal effects of oxalic acid on Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae): changes in behaviour and longevity
Saskia Schneider, Dorothea Eisenhardt, Eva Rademacher

Not again!!!

-

 

[BeeNice]

Hi Margaret Elisabeth,
I have been told that it's OK to keep in refrigerator as long as it has not discoloured it is fine.

I understand that it lose's strenght the longer you keep it, it dosn't cost that much to replace next year if you need it, and why take a chance for a £1 or 2.

 

[itma]

I understand that it lose's strenght the longer you keep it, it dosn't cost that much to replace next year if you need it, and why take a chance for a £1 or 2.

It is the syrup in the acid that degrades over time to give some HMF - which is both brown and toxic to bees.
It only degrades VERY slowly in the fridge, but it is so cheap as to not be worth taking a chance with - particularly if it has developed a straw colour.
But the Trickle2 dosing bottle is useful to keep.

 

[pargyle]

omf?

Best have a look at this sticky from HM - very useful.

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=272

 

[notagain]

Not again!!!

-

did you call finman

 

[beeno]

I understand that it lose's strenght the longer you keep it, it dosn't cost that much to replace next year if you need it, and why take a chance for a £1 or 2.

Hi Beenice,
I was not thinking so much about the purchase itself as the cost and inconvenience of travelling to the shop in question for just a small purchase. Not exactly on my door step. Some people treat swarms as well in which case it is convenient to have some to hand.

 

[Luminos]

Hi Beenice,
I was not thinking so much about the purchase itself as the cost and inconvenience of travelling to the shop in question for just a small purchase. Not exactly on my door step. Some people treat swarms as well in which case it is convenient to have some to hand.

T'ornes and Maizemore both post it, Beeno, if that's any help?

 

[PBee]

Hi Beenice,
I was not thinking so much about the purchase itself as the cost and inconvenience of travelling to the shop in question for just a small purchase. Not exactly on my door step. Some people treat swarms as well in which case it is convenient to have some to hand.

If you buy a tub of oxalic acid crystals you can make up what you need whenever you want at a fraction of the cost and have certainty regarding effectiveness. I'm sure most of the major British suppliers stock it. From Germany it is Euro 8.50 per kg tub.

 

[Luminos]

If you buy a tub of oxalic acid crystals you can make up what you need whenever you want at a fraction of the cost and have certainty regarding effectiveness. I'm sure most of the major British suppliers stock it. From Germany it is Euro 8.50 per kg tub.

For 4 colonies?