Queen cage - varroa management

[elainemary]

I'm think of trying Ralph Buchler's* method of caging the queen in a couple of colonies this year, to manage varroa and reduce the use of chemicals. Principle is to create a brood break by caging her for c3weeks, then either following with one oxalic sublimation, or adding one frame of open brood from another colony at the end to trap phoretic mites, then dispose. This is the cage from an Italian supplier
https://www.apimobru.com/?lang=en
Have to think through the best timing, to avoid any impacts on honey flows & make sure there's enough time to build winter bees, so I'm thinking of doing it end of July for 3 weeks as my main honey flow is Aug. Wondered if anyone has tried this technique?

*German Scientist, done a lot of work on controlling varroa through brood breaks - see 2019 Honey Show videos. Also gave a v good lecture via Zoom with Somerset beekeepers this week

 

[Ian123]

I think it’s widely accepted brood breaks work, rather a question of how much work you want to make for yourself. If your wanting to reduce chemicals by that I assume the treatments like Apistan/apivar. There are other options like oxalic strips, trickle or vape and thymol. Even with a brood break a winter oxalic is a good option so often it’s a balance of treatment methods. Ian

 

[Erichalfbee]

I find if I split at swarming time with a simple Pagden it is really easy to engineer both boxes with no capped brood then one oxalic vape is sufficient. Dead easy to do. I take every opportunity to vape a brood free colony.

 

[gmonag]

I saw Ralph Buchler's lecture at the Honey Show on YouTube and also decided to try his method this year, so I bought several of the Mozzato cages (which are quite expensive). Same timing as you suggest, cage the Q in late Jul for 24 days then release her and treat with OA.

 

[Michael Palmer]

I have issues with the brood break management to control varroa. So you cage or remove the queen for a number of weeks. Just how is it that this controls the varroa population? Yes, I agree the varroa population increase might be put on hold, but then what? Color me confused.

 

[Boston Bees]

I have issues with the brood break management to control varroa. So you cage or remove the queen for a number of weeks. Just how is it that this controls the varroa population? Yes, I agree the varroa population increase might be put on hold, but then what? Color me confused.

You can zap them all with OA as none are in capped cells.

But even without using OA there would be benefits in interrupting the exponential mite population growth rate? That's the theory behind the presentation mentioned above anyway.



8 minutes onwards

The key assertion is that, without reproduction, mite levels fall by 1 to 2% per day, so a 25 day brood break could lead to mite levels falling by, say, 40%.

 

[gmonag]

I have issues with the brood break management to control varroa. So you cage or remove the queen for a number of weeks. Just how is it that this controls the varroa population? Yes, I agree the varroa population increase might be put on hold, but then what? Color me confused.

I recommend you watch his lecture, it is very interesting.
The procedure makes them broodless, so OA then works very effectively. The cage is designed to stop the Q laying without inducing queenlessness. By starting the procedure about 3 weeks before you take the harvest (so late july here, harvest in mid-august), the crop is not affected. The nurse bees stay young and healthy, because they have no brood to feed and so when the Q is released and winter bees are laid, they have lots of healthy nurse bees and no varroa. This means you get lots of strong winter bees.
Thats the theory.

 

[BigAshW]

I'm also intending on trying his method this year. I've watched his lectures a few times.

I was lucky enough to acquire a frame cage that fits commercial frames in a load of second hand kit I purchased. So I'm going to use the trap and remove method this year.

I will test for varroa numbers throughout the year to keep a record of how it goes.

 

[elainemary]

I recommend you watch his lecture, it is very interesting.
The procedure makes them broodless, so OA then works very effectively. The cage is designed to stop the Q laying without inducing queenlessness. By starting the procedure about 3 weeks before you take the harvest (so late july here, harvest in mid-august), the crop is not affected. The nurse bees stay young and healthy, because they have no brood to feed and so when the Q is released and winter bees are laid, they have lots of healthy nurse bees and no varroa. This means you get lots of strong winter bees.
Thats the theory.

The theory is backed by scientific evidence. At the lecture with Somerset beekeepers this week, he shared the data on over 300 colonies that had various brood break methods (brood removal, comb trapping and queen caging). He showed queen caging resulted in as good varroa control as the organic acid control group and highest winter survival rates the following spring

 

[elainemary]

I recommend you watch his lecture, it is very interesting.
The procedure makes them broodless, so OA then works very effectively. The cage is designed to stop the Q laying without inducing queenlessness. By starting the procedure about 3 weeks before you take the harvest (so late july here, harvest in mid-august), the crop is not affected. The nurse bees stay young and healthy, because they have no brood to feed and so when the Q is released and winter bees are laid, they have lots of healthy nurse bees and no varroa. This means you get lots of strong winter bees.
Thats the theory.

Or if you want to reduce chemicals further , add in a comb of open brood at the end from another colony to catch phoretic mites that dive into the cells.

 

[elainemary]

I'm also intending on trying his method this year. I've watched his lectures a few times.

I was lucky enough to acquire a frame cage that fits commercial frames in a load of second hand kit I purchased. So I'm going to use the trap and remove method this year.

I will test for varroa numbers throughout the year to keep a record of how it goes.

The frame cage is a different method to caging the queen (see the pic and video on the first post). With the frame cage the queen keeps laying and you have to remove this comb every 9 days and put her onto a new comb. Then repeat 2 more times. So a week longer process and more intervention vs trapping the queen in a small cage set into the comb for 21 days.

 

[BigAshW]

The frame cage is a different method to caging the queen (see the pic and video on the first post). With the frame cage the queen keeps laying and you have to remove this comb every 9 days and put her onto a new comb. Then repeat 2 more times. So a week longer process and more intervention vs trapping the queen in a small cage set into the comb for 21 days.

Agreed. Useful though if you want to change out some old comb at the same time.

 

[gmonag]

The small cage is available here (not the frame cage)

https://www.apimobru.com/var-control-cage-mozzato/?lang=en

 

[elainemary]

The small cage is available here (not the frame cage)

https://www.apimobru.com/var-control-cage-mozzato/?lang=en

That's the one I've ordered, they have a good video on their site showing how to use it & excellent pdf on how the whole process works.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Tried frame trapping described in the lecture last year on 3 colonies. Started first week in July (because that's what Ralph does). First new nurse bees emerging late August so this was the look of the brood box before and after.



It works and the presence of brood throughout means the varroa are not causing excess damage to the bees (is my hope?) compared to caging the queen and not letting her continue to lay.
You melt down 3 good looking frames of larva per colony.
Moving the queen from one frame to the next is more risky and I killed my best older queen through my ham-fistedness.
Varroa levels were very low thereafter but I did an OA dribble treatment in December which produced a drop of 200ish. So I think you still need to treat at least once a year.
. . . . . Ben

 

[Erichalfbee]

According to Randy Oliver those varroa that suddenly don’t have brood do untold damage to the adult bees. Wouldn’t it just be better all round to vape three or four times or even use MAQS?

 

[Boston Bees]

According to Randy Oliver those varroa that suddenly don’t have brood do untold damage to the adult bees. Wouldn’t it just be better all round to vape three or four times or even use MAQS?

I was wondering that.

Above all, I just have to pass on any method which requires the wholesale destruction of large quantities of brood. It's not that I don't respect the science, I just prefer methods of controlling varroa that don't require the killing of thousands of larvae or bees in capped cells.

I was also interested to note that he says that the wintering success (a key metric if ever there was one) was better where his methods were applied in May (i.e. during classic swarm season), but that this isn't desirable as it reduces the honey crop, thus he recommends July. Wintering success wasn't one of the statistics he gave in his charts though.

 

[rook66]

Agreed. Useful though if you want to change out some old comb at the same time.

The frame cage seems to be a better system and is probably less stressful on the bees and queen, a friend lost two out of six queens (dead in small cage,wings and legs pulled) he put it down to the bees trying to free them.

 

[BigAshW]

According to Randy Oliver those varroa that suddenly don’t have brood do untold damage to the adult bees. Wouldn’t it just be better all round to vape three or four times or even use MAQS?

By using the frame caging method you don't have this though.
The idea is to create a situation were there is only one frame with open brood so the varroa have to go to that frame. Removing that frame then removes a large amount of varroa.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Above all, I just have to pass on any method which requires the wholesale destruction of large quantities of brood. It's not that I don't respect the science, I just prefer methods of controlling varroa that don't require the killing of thousands of larvae or bees in capped cells.

It is somewhat worrying destroying 3 frames like this.