Packing up for winter

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DomB

New Bee
Joined
Sep 19, 2010
Messages
35
Reaction score
0
Location
Surrey
Hive Type
Dadant
Number of Hives
1
Hi All

I've recently received some bees in a Modified Dadant hive and could do with a few pointers as to what I should be doing right now (apart from joining my local association which I will do very soon!)

I was just doing a final inspection ready for winter when my next door neighbours started having a BBQ and I felt the need to leave the bees be, as it were.

At the moment the hive has:
  • One Varoa Strip in the brood chamber (turns out there was only one left in the pack which my friend thought had two left in it, doh)
  • No queen excluder
  • One Super which has a framefull of honey + some empty combed frames in it

I'd also removed one of the supers ready for winter and I now have that Super sat just outside the hive with a number of bees all over it and a host of questions!

  • Is it right to have the hive as I do right now?
  • Do I just leave that Super outside the hive until the bees leave it and then take it away or should I shake them off (bare in mind the BBQ!)?
  • Being a Modified Dadant, the bees have a large brood chamber which is very full plus at least one full frame of honey on top, do I need to feed them for winter?
  • I guess I now leave the Apistan strip in for 42 days, put the mouse guard on and then just keep an eye on the entrance for blockages etc through the winter?

Thanks very much indeed for any help!

DomB
 
Welcome to the forum.

As your location is surrey it seems a little early to be bedding them down for winter.

I put mine to bed bonfire night here in Hants.
We still have an Ivy flow to come yet,If you put a mouse excluder on you will lose most of your spring pollen from the Ivy.
Regards feeding and leaving a super on,what are the stores like in the broodbox ?
 
first welcome to the forum

ask any question you need we will try to get you through winter


first buy a good beekeeping book or two and READ it, A simple one is bees at the bottom of the garden then read and practical guide to beekeeping or any or more dry any by ted hooper

then on to the Bees

1) as finman says, apistan is not used nowadays as most area of England have Varroa that have devloped resistance, so use two tubs of apiguard (£5 each)and treat them over four weeks one tub after another ( it is temperature dependant so needs to go on now)

2) your nearsest beeking shop is probably Thornes near Windsor


3) cover up the super frames you have taken out, otherwise foreign bees may bring in disease or find you hive an rob it out

4) varroa ,has the hive got a mesh floor you will have to monitor the varroa drop

5) i would also buy some fondant sugar such as ambrosia to feed then in Janaury and March by placing it on top of the frames below the crown board

4)feeding the hive must have 40lbs of stored honey or sugar syrup, others may be able to tell you how much stored honey a MD frame has, but on a14x12 its about 2lb per super frame and 8lb per 14x12 brood frame

5) really you need to treat the varroa again with oxalic acid or lactic acid in late december/january

6) best of luck
 
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An Ivy flow? wow, so we may get more honey off them yet? We got around 40lbs from them already so I suspect we'll leave them be. I'd rather do that than have to feed them tbh.

So I'll leave the mouse excluder off for a while.. Am I right to have one super and no queen excluder mean-time?
 
Dom,go buy some Apiguard and put on before the temperature drops(It only works above 15c).

As Finman says they WILL have varroa,even if you dont see a drop before treatment.

Its good that you asked now as you have plenty of time still to get them sorted before winter in the south.
 
OK, ta. I'll get some ordered tonight.

Just on the feeding thing; will they be ok with just one super (which has at least one full frame) and the full MD brood chamber?

And am I right leaving the Queen excluder off for the winter?
 
You need to check how much stores they have in the brood box,some beekeepers leave a super of stores on many don't(me included).
If you have a single frame of stores in the super what are the other frames,foundation or drawn comb ?

Regards the queen excluder yes you are right,DONT LEAVE IT ON with a super above as the bees will move up to feed in a cluster and leave the queen behind to freeze to death.
 
sugar dusting it as about as useful as a divining rod, ie is all else fails try it

i had a late july swarm and just wanted to see if it was infested heavily with Varroa as it did drop much only about 10 per week but it had wing damage possible casued by varroa Defromed Wing virus, so i did a sugar dusting in early augusts made it drop 20 in one day and 40 in the full week

That same hive then treated with thymol apiguard later that monthi has dropped 1600 in four weeks with apiguard and now a further 200 in one day of homemade thymol patties

so just do it
 
The other frames in the super are drawn comb..

I'm just buying the ApiGuard. I see I may need an eke or something to put it in - can i put it on top of the Brood Chamber in an empty super then put my other super (which has comb and honey in) on top of that?

Thanks re the Queen excluder
 
We are using Apilife Var. Are the mites immune to that? My mentor also told us that K wing is caused by nosema. Is this right?
 
MM,

The poster was simply going to use it as a diagnostic tool, to check for varroa loading, not as a treatment. Well, presumably. I agree that sugar dusting, with brood present, is mainly a wate of effort.

Regards, RAB
 
Well, thanks for everyone's replies. The ApiGuard has been ordered, i'll get it in asap.

Best regards
 
Thanks Monsieur :p , our mentor said he wasn't aware of varroa becoming resistant to anything, but then again, he admitted it had been a while since he'd looked into it.....might be an opportunity to teach him something back :D I'm pretty sure I read there were some products the are resistant to. Darn my rubbish memory and bobbins searching skills :p
 
Thanks Monsieur :p , our mentor said he wasn't aware of varroa becoming resistant to anything, but then again, he admitted it had been a while since he'd looked into it.....might be an opportunity to teach him something back :D I'm pretty sure I read there were some products the are resistant to. Darn my rubbish memory and bobbins searching skills :p

Your mentor should be aware of the resistance issues with Apistan, its well documented that overuse has caused this, however :) .... know your bees and use every 3-4 years - feel free to shoot me down lol
 
My mentor also told us that K wing is caused by nosema. Is this right?

Surely K wing is an indirest result of varroa, not nosema? Guys?

Just to muddy the waters I will see your Nosema and Varroa and raise you with my Acarine.

I can see were the confusion is coming from regards a virus being carried by Varroa or maybe even a paralysis virus after an attack of Nosema/Acarine all looking like K-wing.

Anyone like to comment ?
 

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