Q re. timing of taking super and starting Apilife

[davidharradine]

Hello

I'm going away with work from 22 August to 26 September, right through the period when if I was here I'd be taking off the super and treating for varroa with Apilife Var.

The super I've got on is about half full, and about half of that capped, but there's a huge field of michaelmas daisy nearby just coming into flower so I don't want to take it off yet as I think it'll be full in a couple of weeks.

I know that starting varroa treatment and any necessary feeding in late September is really pushing it, but I don't think the honey will be capped before I go.

Am I being stupid leaving it till I get back?

Cheers
David

 

[richardbees]

David

If I were in your shoes, I'd leave the super on and start Varroa treatment after your return. Our lucky London bees have a variety of nectar sources into October - and a honey crop is what it's all about!

richard

 

[MuswellMetro]

what is your varroa count

if it is low then you might get away with it if you do an oxalic treatment in winter

also

1) the end of September is getting cold for thymol to work even in london and the 6 week period will end in mid November.....remember what the 5th November weather is normally like

2) you will be adding thymol and making the queen more reluctant to lay in when she is laying the winter bee brood

is your location good for late autumn forage, one of my apiaries that is near mill hill east tube station london NW7 is not ,it is open horse pasture ,country park, golf course and playing fields. it is total barren after mid July but produces marvelous hedgerow honey totla different from London garden honey

 

[davidharradine]

Thanks - the varroa count is very low after a long broodless period earlier in the year while a new queen was developing. There's loads of forage near me on Hackney Marshes, with aster in flower right through to October last year.

So I'm going to chance it and do it all when I get back.

 

[richardbees]

David

Apiguard takes 4 weeks total, you can feed winter syrup stores at the same time and mid/late October won't be too cold to prevent either operation being effective.

You will get so much pleasure from harvesting a honey crop!!!!!

richard

 

[JenBee]

Hello from a new member

This thread has answered a couple of questions I had, namely how strict the date for applying Apilife Var is, and whether one can feed at the same time (with Fumidil-B in it). The A.V. packet says that food acceptance may be reduced.

I got two strips of A.V. (only one hive) because that's what the Maisemore site said I needed, and now I find I'll need four! so a bit annoyed about that. As it's a new colony this year (from Maisemore) and we have only seen 2 mites, do you reckon we'd get away with two weeks treatment instead of 4?

 

[oliver90owner]

As it's a new colony this year (from Maisemore) and we have only seen 2 mites, do you reckon we'd get away with two weeks treatment instead of 4?

Up to you. I have no idea, but I might be checking the initial mite drop and decide myself on the results of those observations.

'Seeing' two mites and what the actual loading is, may be completely different!

RAB

 

[djg]

David,

I would also take the risk of keeping the super on in London, as I am with three of my hives where the mite drop is low, until the third week of September.

In my recently requeened "problem" hive, I am on week 2 of ApiLife Var and first week of feeding 2:1 syrup.

I was wondering if the Thymol, Menthol, Eucalyptus, Camphor smell l discourages robbing / wasp attack by disguising the syrup smell?

 

[Gardenbees]

I got two strips of A.V. (only one hive) because that's what the Maisemore site said I needed, and now I find I'll need four! so a bit annoyed about that. As it's a new colony this year (from Maisemore) and we have only seen 2 mites, do you reckon we'd get away with two weeks treatment instead of 4?

Don't panic: there's two strips in each pack (if it's the yellow packets that you're talking about). Hence two packs for a single hive. The packs are slightly awkward to open and the Oasis-style strips are rather delicate, without much in the way of marking, but if you look closely they're vaguely divided into two. You're expected to break them into two (usually they break into a lot more bits than that, though, in my experience!)

 

[JenBee]

Don't panic: there's two strips in each pack (if it's the yellow packets that you're talking about). Hence two packs for a single hive. The packs are slightly awkward to open and the Oasis-style strips are rather delicate, without much in the way of marking, but if you look closely they're vaguely divided into two. You're expected to break them into two (usually they break into a lot more bits than that, though, in my experience!)

Oh, good!! Thank you. We have never used A.V. before and I've not opened them yet.

I will go carefully with the breaking - sounds like it needs to be done over a container to collect the bits

 

[richardbees]

As it's a new colony this year (from Maisemore) and we have only seen 2 mites, do you reckon we'd get away with two weeks treatment instead of 4?

YES It's like us with Antibiotics = once you start you have to complete the full course....

Anyway, they're sneaky little bastards and probably hiding under each other!

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

As it's a new colony this year (from Maisemore) and we have only seen 2 mites, do you reckon we'd get away with two weeks treatment instead of 4?

The reason for the treatment lasting for four weeks is to include the mites that are currently nice and warm and in the thymol free environment of a capped cell.

 

[oliver90owner]

YES It's like us with Antibiotics = once you start you have to complete the full course....

Sorry but the analogy is rubbish. It is not like antibiotics at all.

The reason why you must complete the course of antibiotics is to prevent resistance (to the antibiotic) developing in the target bacteria.

With the Apistan strips and varroa, mite resistance (partly) followed because of some stupid (as in uninformed, or downright 'couldn't care less' beekeepers) operating on a 'continual' or 'partial use' of the strips. I found a beekeeper, on one site I shared, had left the strips in over the whole winter and following spring!

With thymol, there is no such development of resistance. Therefore it is not that important . If you put on your first treatment and found the mite drop was zilch (because you didn't check the loading prior to treatment?), there would be absolutely no point in applying a second dose. Just stupidly uneconomic, for a start!

RAB