So now that I have found this Beekeeping forum I can see that there are going to be many benefits from joining this site, therefore I am going to start my first Blog.
I intend to update this as and when time allows and I hope those that read it will take the time to offer their critisicms when I am making my mistakes, in addition I hope this may prove a useful tool and that I may look back upon my entries to appreciate past problems and progress.
I have just passed my first year of Beekeeping, Suzanne my wife and my third son Curtis and I have been involved together from the start.
Our first hive we purchased is a Beehaus from Omlet, we have built it and situated on a headland strip in fields south of Brackley, south Northamptonshire.
The Nuke we had supplied came with on standard frames with a Buckfast Queen, our first impressions of the Bees were that they were very easy to handle.
Over the course of last year we regularly fed the Bees and built them up to nine frames going into the winter.
From spring this year we have periodically inspected the Bees but their stores have gone up and down with the weather. For the last three weeks (mid May onwards) we have found it neccassary to regularly feed the Bees with a 2:1 syrup.
Approximately two weeks ago we started to see collections of Bees hanging down from the hive during the day, when passing the hive at night these Bees were still hanging doen throughout the night. We sought advice on what this may have been, we were advised that it may be "bearding" a result of either overcrowding or the remnants of a swarm.
I decided to handle the collection of Bees and finding no Queen within them placed them back into the hive and introduced a new frame with foundation on to the centre of the brood and two other frames to either end of the stores (stores that were now filled).
This seemed to keep them happy and they continued about their business.
Approximately a week ago I noticed an increas in miote on the inspection board so we cut away drone brood cells from underneath two of the standard frames and we lifted each frame and dusted them with icing sugar.
The following day we found approximatley three to four hundred mite on the inspection board, it was at this time we became concerned and posted our findings on this sites forum.
I have found everyone on this site to be extremely helpfull and tolerant with a new and ignorant beekeeper and having confered with members from the site and members from Oxfordshire Beekeeping Organisation (just joined again having received this advice from this site) we took steps to resolve our massive mite Verroa problem.
Verroa treatment
We had been having problems lately finding the Queen so yesterday our first step was to lay a large dust sheet on the floor underneath the hive incase we dropped the Queen and also to capture other Bees. we preceeded to inspect all our frames from front to back, by coincedence because we had put in the extra frames a couple of weeks ago our bees had built up good stores so we were able to set aside three frames of stores from both the front and back which had no brood upon it. Verroar mite finds it's way into the open cell prior to capping and prefers the drone cells as there is more room for them to flourish. For this reason we removed five frames of brood three of which were capped brood and the other two had a mixture of capped brood stores and larvae in the late stages. We were also lucky to have placed a new frame into the brood area two weeks ago because this was now 60% drawn out with new eggs laid on it. We found the Queen and placed her onto the new frame and then shook all the other frames into the hive. We then introduce new frames(with new foundation) to the brood area. we also introduced a super frame for the Bees to draw out.
My thought on introducing the super frame were twofold; one the Bees could use this to create drone brood underneath and therefore this could be used in the future for Verroa control, the other would be to replace the frame with a new one and move the drawn frame up into the super to encourage them to start going up.
Having discarded all the brood and left only the Bees and one half filled frame of eggs we realise the Bees have a lot of work on there hands, so we have fed the bees with a sugar syrup and in addittion treated them with Apiguard
Sunday 10th June 2012
Today (Sunday) one day after carrying out this invasive treatment we inspected the hive to see how the Bees were doing and we were pleased to see that they were very busy. We are also lucky to have timed this to coincide with good weather because the Bees are flying well today gathering stores.
The new frames in the brood area are being drawn out allready and the frame which was 60% drawn out is now fully drawn out and laid with eggs. Things look like they are going to be a success and we owe it all to the advise of our peers from the Beekeepingforum and from the Oxfordshire Beekeeping organisation.
I intend to update this as and when time allows and I hope those that read it will take the time to offer their critisicms when I am making my mistakes, in addition I hope this may prove a useful tool and that I may look back upon my entries to appreciate past problems and progress.
I have just passed my first year of Beekeeping, Suzanne my wife and my third son Curtis and I have been involved together from the start.
Our first hive we purchased is a Beehaus from Omlet, we have built it and situated on a headland strip in fields south of Brackley, south Northamptonshire.
The Nuke we had supplied came with on standard frames with a Buckfast Queen, our first impressions of the Bees were that they were very easy to handle.
Over the course of last year we regularly fed the Bees and built them up to nine frames going into the winter.
From spring this year we have periodically inspected the Bees but their stores have gone up and down with the weather. For the last three weeks (mid May onwards) we have found it neccassary to regularly feed the Bees with a 2:1 syrup.
Approximately two weeks ago we started to see collections of Bees hanging down from the hive during the day, when passing the hive at night these Bees were still hanging doen throughout the night. We sought advice on what this may have been, we were advised that it may be "bearding" a result of either overcrowding or the remnants of a swarm.
I decided to handle the collection of Bees and finding no Queen within them placed them back into the hive and introduced a new frame with foundation on to the centre of the brood and two other frames to either end of the stores (stores that were now filled).
This seemed to keep them happy and they continued about their business.
Approximately a week ago I noticed an increas in miote on the inspection board so we cut away drone brood cells from underneath two of the standard frames and we lifted each frame and dusted them with icing sugar.
The following day we found approximatley three to four hundred mite on the inspection board, it was at this time we became concerned and posted our findings on this sites forum.
I have found everyone on this site to be extremely helpfull and tolerant with a new and ignorant beekeeper and having confered with members from the site and members from Oxfordshire Beekeeping Organisation (just joined again having received this advice from this site) we took steps to resolve our massive mite Verroa problem.
Verroa treatment
We had been having problems lately finding the Queen so yesterday our first step was to lay a large dust sheet on the floor underneath the hive incase we dropped the Queen and also to capture other Bees. we preceeded to inspect all our frames from front to back, by coincedence because we had put in the extra frames a couple of weeks ago our bees had built up good stores so we were able to set aside three frames of stores from both the front and back which had no brood upon it. Verroar mite finds it's way into the open cell prior to capping and prefers the drone cells as there is more room for them to flourish. For this reason we removed five frames of brood three of which were capped brood and the other two had a mixture of capped brood stores and larvae in the late stages. We were also lucky to have placed a new frame into the brood area two weeks ago because this was now 60% drawn out with new eggs laid on it. We found the Queen and placed her onto the new frame and then shook all the other frames into the hive. We then introduce new frames(with new foundation) to the brood area. we also introduced a super frame for the Bees to draw out.
My thought on introducing the super frame were twofold; one the Bees could use this to create drone brood underneath and therefore this could be used in the future for Verroa control, the other would be to replace the frame with a new one and move the drawn frame up into the super to encourage them to start going up.
Having discarded all the brood and left only the Bees and one half filled frame of eggs we realise the Bees have a lot of work on there hands, so we have fed the bees with a sugar syrup and in addittion treated them with Apiguard
Sunday 10th June 2012
Today (Sunday) one day after carrying out this invasive treatment we inspected the hive to see how the Bees were doing and we were pleased to see that they were very busy. We are also lucky to have timed this to coincide with good weather because the Bees are flying well today gathering stores.
The new frames in the brood area are being drawn out allready and the frame which was 60% drawn out is now fully drawn out and laid with eggs. Things look like they are going to be a success and we owe it all to the advise of our peers from the Beekeepingforum and from the Oxfordshire Beekeeping organisation.
