High mite count

[Ian123]

If your going to do another treatment go with apistan/apivar or maybe oxalic strips avoid thymol based products as the temps are to low.

 

[Ian123]

You also mentioned spring treatments, some I’m sure will do a spring treatment.But I have to say with a autumn followed by winter oxalic in whatever form in the vast majority of cases they are not needed.

 

[Erichalfbee]

You also mentioned spring treatments, some I’m sure will do a spring treatment.But I have to say with a autumn followed by winter oxalic in whatever form in the vast majority of cases they are not needed.

Yes I very rarely do one

 

[bobba]

Vape No. 12: 24h count = 8

I suspect the 48 will be <20, so one more vape and I will have met my criteria. However after 12 vapes, I think I could probably skip the last vape this time.

Luckily this hive was in my garden and I was only dealing with a single super infested hive. But If I had to travel to get to the hive or had many to deal with then some kind of strips would probably been the better option.

 

[bobba]

Vape No. 12: 24h count = 8
Vape No. 12: 48h count = 6
total = 14

 

[The Poot]

Vape No. 12: 24h count = 8
Vape No. 12: 48h count = 6
total = 14

Brilliant - what a relief?
Good on you for your determination and persistence.

 

[gmonag]

If nothing else, this saga would seem to confirm that OA vape does not harm the bees. I assume they are still OK?

 

[bobba]

Thanks guys,

I hope the queen is OK

If nothing else, this saga would seem to confirm that OA vape does not harm the bees. I assume they are still OK?

Unfortunately I wont know until next year, but I am sure they will be ok.

Brilliant - what a relief?
Good on you for your determination and persistence.

Yes....

This was my first full season, I have no mentor, I had boy no. 2 last December, my work had me doing crazy shifts in the summer and I have been shopping for the old dears since march. So its been a busy year.

So yes, its a relief.

I am looking forward to hunkering down and getting out my minis and paint brushes.

 

[Curly green finger's]

It's particularly evident in mating nucs with an entrance either side, the queen with the sexiest pheromones ends up with most workers however diligent you've been making then even to begin with.

Just out of interest are those queen's more prolific?

 

[Swarm]

Not necessarily.

 

[bobba]

I had a crazy theory.

What if foragers from a queen-less hive can sense the queen pheromone on forgoers from other hives they encounter in the field. Maybe this could trigger them to follow another bee home to find a new hive.

 

[pargyle]

I had a crazy theory.

What if foragers from a queen-less hive can sense the queen pheromone on forgoers from other hives they encounter in the field. Maybe this could trigger them to follow another bee home to find a new hive.

You need to get out more .... there's enough theories in beekeeping that need proving without you finding another one ....

 

[mbc]

Just out of interest are those queen's more prolific?

Not always, but I think generally a queen needs to be healthy and vigorous to produce attractive pheromones.

 

[mbc]

I had a crazy theory.

What if foragers from a queen-less hive can sense the queen pheromone on forgoers from other hives they encounter in the field. Maybe this could trigger them to follow another bee home to find a new hive.

Sounds plausible, I would label it "hive scent" rather than just queen pheromone though.

 

[LeaBees]

Just on the mite count.. Is it likely that it can be zero ? Especially when using vape or Apivar strips ?
Or could that just be bad eyesight ?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Just on the mite count.. Is it likely that it can be zero ? Especially when using vape or Apivar strips ?
Or could that just be bad eyesight ?

It might be a zero drop, not neccessarily zero infestation - just means no mites have died that day

 

[elainemary]

I am puzzled by this “bee’s joining neighbours”. Are there studies that show this happening?
It doesn’t seem to make any sense genetically!
If I am a worker bee I can see it makes sense for me to work hard for my hive. After all, assuming the big bad beekeeper hasn’t re-queened, I share many genes with my mum (the queen), the other workers and brood (my full or half sisters) and drones my full (haploid) brothers. If I move to another hive then that close relationship is lost and I may share very few genes, so why should I be helping what (in genetic terms) is my enemy. I am sorry it makes no sense at all to me and I just don’t buy it!
Please enlighten me so that I don’t continue to be puzzled and annoyed by the posts that claim this is happening.

I’ll share an experience from last winter to support the theory of bees absconding from one hive to another. I have dark bees, except I had one colony in a double Nuc where the queen’s offspring were lighter in colour, than my other colonies. They got through winter to early March, several frames of bees in the Nuc plenty of stores. First spring inspection end of March and very few bees, less than 50 plus the queen. Dispatched the queen as clearly had failed, no brood at all.
Next hive along, all the lighter bees were inside with their dark bee neighbours. Guess they’d detected their queen was failing and absconded to the next viable hive.
Read somewhere non related bees are more likely to be accepted early in the season (as well as if honey crop is full)
Maybe this story helps give some evidence of bees absconding to neighbouring hives if there’s a good reason to
Elaine

 

[Swarm]

You're not on your own, Elaine. When you have different colour bees it is more obvious to notice.

 

[BeeGiner]

You're not on your own, Elaine. When you have different colour bees it is more obvious to notice.

Thanks for all the discussion of your experiences. It does seem fairly convincing.
One thing on bee colour. You can get a big variation in a hive. This is, I presume, partly because the queen has sperm from multiple drones each with their own colour traits.

 

[Swarm]

Yes, open mated queens mate with various drones and colonies taking on a mixed appearance with newly mated queens is a good indicator (around here) that foreign bees have been introduced.
But that becomes apparent when you see her progeny as opposed to a colony of known black bees where ginger ones suddenly turn up.