Two Questions.

[Millet]

(1) 2 to 1 syrup crystallising in the contact feeder holes.. will the bee's still be able to draw the syrup ok..

(2) My varroa count over the past 9 day's is zero.. I have the oxalic acid and vaporizer but would it be best to leave well alone for now and wait another month or two.
Thank's
Steve.

 

[alldigging]

(1) 2 to 1 syrup crystallising in the contact feeder holes.. will the bee's still be able to draw the syrup ok..

Steve.

Can the bees get to the syrup still?

 

[For want of a better word]

Ten answers!...

Free up holes... possibly remix syrup with a drop of hot water... but not too much.

No harm would be done if vaporising OA... then see what drop count is?

Yeghes da

 

[mbc]

Free up holes... possibly remix syrup with a drop of hot water... but not too much.

No harm would be done if vaporising OA... then see what drop count is?

Yeghes da

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

+1

 

[Millet]

Thank you all.. I will have a mess about with them tomorrow if the weather is kind..

 

[Erichalfbee]

(2) My varroa count over the past 9 day's is zero.. I have the oxalic acid and vaporizer but would it be best to leave well alone for now and wait another month or two.
Thank's
Steve.

Have you treated at all this autumn?

 

[Millet]

Have you treated at all this autumn?

Yes Erica.. I treated with Apilife var I think it was..i treated every seven day's over a 4wk period with the green thymol smelly biscuit type thing's that get placed on all four corner's of the brood frames.. and carried it on to 5wks as I still had a drop after 4wk's .. it was earlier than advised but I was getting a large mite drop around August time..i now have no mites dropping but I would still like to vaporise the hive at some point just to put my mind at ease and give them the best chance over this winter.. i'm just unsure weather to do them now or leave them for a bit.. I don't want to upset them as they are still busy as hell bringing big load's of pollen in.. I will vaporise them though if it is as harmless as I have researched ..

 

[Erichalfbee]

Right. Why do we treat in the autumn? It's not just to mop up the mites we might not have got earlier....or at all.
It's to make sure the mite load is low so that winter bees are healthy. They are the ones that will be bringing our colonies through to the next season. These winter bees are made in September/October (a bit of a generalisation but adequate for our purposes). So we are at the end of October nearly.
If you treated successfully earlier and have no mite drop then I would leave well alone. I don't know whether you need to mid winter treat either? Might miss that one out too.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Right. Why do we treat in the autumn? It's not just to mop up the mites we might not have got earlier....or at all.
It's to make sure the mite load is low so that winter bees are healthy. They are the ones that will be bringing our colonies through to the next season. These winter bees are made in September/October (a bit of a generalisation but adequate for our purposes). So we are at the end of October nearly.
.

Going by what I'm hearinf from more than one area, a lot of colonies have been broodless and only just starting brooding again, in which case I would say it's a very good time with most mites being phoretic - even if he only does one treatment he'd get a good knockdown if that's the case in Northumblerland

 

[Erichalfbee]

You might have something there.
Three of mine are still dropping mites a month after four doses of Oxalic.
I'm going to do them again. NBU varroa calculator has the colonies dead.

 

[snelgrove]

syrup that chrystalises in contact feeders is usually due to the sugar not being dissolved fully before placing on the hive. All my colonies have been fed and settled for winter for 2 weeks now. cold nights will also make the syrup harden. to be perfectly honest it's to late to feed in this part of the world.

 

[drex]

Solubility decreases with temp, so if a solution is made up to be saturated with warm water, as it cools on the hive, sugar will come out of solution. 2:1 is almost a saturated solution at room temp therefore likely to form crystals in the cold of overnight.

 

[Millet]

You might have something there.
Three of mine are still dropping mites a month after four doses of Oxalic.
I'm going to do them again. NBU varroa calculator has the colonies dead.

I went ahead and gassed them and i will let you all know the mite drop in the next 7/9 day's..
Thank's again.

 

[Millet]

Solubility decreases with temp, so if a solution is made up to be saturated with warm water, as it cools on the hive, sugar will come out of solution. 2:1 is almost a saturated solution at room temp therefore likely to form crystals in the cold of overnight.

That must be the problem Drex .. i have made it to the same consistency every time but with this batch i'm having problem's.. when i went in today one of the contact feeder's had what looked like 1in of fondand resting at the bottom of the contact feeder totally blocking the holes.. i washed them all clear with boiling water from a thermos flask and added a bit of boiling water to each feeder and give them a good old shake..i want to stop feeding and insulate but they are still taking the syrup and the hive weigh's 97lb with a super on top for a eke.. from what i have read i would like it around the 100lb mark or is 97lb ok.. take 5lb of that weight away if the eke is removed though..
Thank's
Steve.

 

[Millet]

syrup that chrystalises in contact feeders is usually due to the sugar not being dissolved fully before placing on the hive. All my colonies have been fed and settled for winter for 2 weeks now. cold nights will also make the syrup harden. to be perfectly honest it's to late to feed in this part of the world.

Its even colder where my hive is Snelly but they are still trying too take the feed..so my gut instinct say's feed them.. they are still flying in good number's bringing in heavy load's of pollen also.. god know's where from though as the ivy has gone into bud and went dormant with not a flower in sight.. i may make this the last feed and put them into the hand's of the god's..
You all might think i'm being anal but this is my first hive and i will do what ever i can to help it survive..

 

[Erichalfbee]

I went ahead and gassed them and i will let you all know the mite drop in the next 7/9 day's..
Thank's again.

Yes please

 

[snelgrove]

Its even colder where my hive is Snelly but they are still trying too take the feed..so my gut instinct say's feed them.. they are still flying in good number's bringing in heavy load's of pollen also.. god know's where from though as the ivy has gone into bud and went dormant with not a flower in sight.. i may make this the last feed and put them into the hand's of the god's..
You all might think i'm being anal but this is my first hive and i will do what ever i can to help it survive..

You feed but the bees have to have time to take it down and store it. syrup has to be ripened in my opinion feeding should be done y end of September. I am old fashioned beekeeper at the age of 48. I learned from marley oliver books

 

[For want of a better word]

A thought.. the rapid feeders are well insulated?

Warmth of colony should stop low temp crystalisation...
Nos da

 

[Millet]

You feed but the bees have to have time to take it down and store it. syrup has to be ripened in my opinion feeding should be done y end of September. I am old fashioned beekeeper at the age of 48. I learned from marley oliver books

You are not much older than me and as you may see i'm pretty new to this war of attrition between bees and me.. lol