From 7 colonies to zero colonies: poor spring

[The Poot in Somerset]

I had built up from 2 colonies back in 2015 to 7 colonies in 2017. But my first proper check last week surprised me! Not one colony survived. They were busy coming and going most of the winter during warm weather. They were around after the beast from the east, but I think the beast from the east 2 and the wet weather did something to them! Perhaps the snow drifts slow melting around the hives raised the humidity or something! Plenty of food left in hives, not much brood, bees all dead! Last two years I had 100% winter survival!
Now I am a beekeeper with no bees! Sh////////t!

My sympathies - I lost my only two colonies last Spring after an early build up, through queen failure or my ***** keeping skills. Strange thread your tale has generated! I would like to think treatment free / Darwin is the way forward but that means I won't live long enough to see the results
Last year I bought a nuc which was treated just prior to sale, but I've struggled to get the mite load under control and have vaped six times through the Winter. The colony is active but has a very small amount of larvae. It is a Buckfast colony and would normally be quite strong by now even considering the weather. Does multiple vaping harm colonies in your experience?
Spanglebee - good luck this year, may you attract several swarms - but don't forget to treat them whilst they are brood free

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Does multiple vaping harm colonies in your experience?

No - but not bothering to treat does.

 

[colinc]

Fleas would seem a poor analogy. More like covered in virus bearing blood sucking ticks and leaches.

I'm afraid the people who refuse to treat bring a great deal of grief upon themselves sadly.

PH

A little late seeing this but fleas do carry a load of nasty b*****ds bacteria, worms, viruses and I have seen kittens which are anaemic and dying purely due to flea population. Still Varroa suck, literally, in every sense the analogy does fit.

 

[sean-a]

I have lost two colonies this winter.
Both were vaped several times with OA in the autumn and winter.
Both were flying earlier this spring.

Gutted!

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Has anyone noticed a (negative) correlation between losses and treatment with thymol (Apiguard etc.) as opposed to OA?

 

[Codford]

Both my queens went off lay during last year’s Apiguard treatment, OA vaping seems to have no adverse effects.

 

[Finman]

Has anyone noticed a (negative) correlation between losses and treatment with thymol (Apiguard etc.) as opposed to OA?

Boath has been used 20 years, and negative correlation has not reported. You may loose 20% hives, but you have too an alternative 100%.

But if you do not use them, you loose hives.

Of course you loose, but then reason is wrong timing, too big mite load in start or too mild stuff or brood in the hive.

And hives have died before varroa. Nothing is absolute in this job.


"Have you noticed " is very different than "six years researching".
.

One company started to do thymol strips. Beekeepers reported to the seller that no mites drop in hives. It cleared out that the strip maker had put only half amout of thymol into strips.the seller posted new strips to users. ... 2 years ago.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Boath has been used 20 years, and negative correlation has not reported. You may loose 20% hives, but you have too an alternative 100%.

It was basically a Nosema Ceranae-based question and we have not had that 20 years.

My starting point was to look for hives that had been treated, thus hopefully were less likely to have been killed by VD and so were more likely to have been killed by something else.

http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/downloadDocument.cfm?id=879

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have lost two colonies this winter.
Both were vaped several times with OA in the autumn and winter.
Both were flying earlier this spring.

Gutted!

But were they lost to varroa?
When did you treat? How many times and at what interval?
Did you do an accurate mite count a month after treatment?

 

[Finman]

It was basically a Nosema Ceranae-based question and we have not had that 20 years.
]

I don't know. You mix happily nosema and varroa and their treatments.