Nirakaro
New Bee
Right, it's a small colony that I hived from a swarm six weeks ago, they seem happy enough, on six or seven top bars, though they haven't expanded much since I got them. I thought I should treat for varroa, so I vaporised a gram of oxalic acid in the bottom of the hive, then removed the vaporiser and stuck in a sheet of greased white card to see what fell onto it. Twenty-four hours later, I see no tiny dead mites: what does this mean? Does it mean for example, that they're good varroa-hygienic bees, not infested with varroa?
What I did see though, in the middle of the card, is a sprinkling of crystalline white powder, that looks suspiciously like oxalic acid (and no, I didn't taste it to check!) What does this mean? The vaporised acid condensed on the comb, and the bees didn't like the taste so took it off and dumped it? Or what?
What I did see though, in the middle of the card, is a sprinkling of crystalline white powder, that looks suspiciously like oxalic acid (and no, I didn't taste it to check!) What does this mean? The vaporised acid condensed on the comb, and the bees didn't like the taste so took it off and dumped it? Or what?