What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Goran]

Haven't been at the apiaries for quite long time. Bees were tucked in deep snow, these days some southern warm wind is melting snow. We made some fondants as usual, in the process we burned some heavy food, schnapps and white wine.. Seems I will go for weekend to see how are they and if weather behave give some fondants..

 

[Moobee]

Discovered I have Pygmy Shrews snacking on the bees. The piles of eviscerated & headless dead bees behind the hives have been a mystery until I was reading Healthy Bees are Happy Bees and found a note in the section under ‘minor pests’. They’re absolutely tiny - so small that they easily squeeze through a standard mouseguard (with 10mm holes) and help themselves to the torpid bees on the outside of the cluster, eating up to 125% of their body weight daily which is about 50 bees! They’re active day & night and don’t hibernate.
6mm mesh and some different metal mouseguards are arriving today so hope that stops the little buggers.

 

[The Poot]

Discovered I have Pygmy Shrews snacking on the bees. The piles of eviscerated & headless dead bees behind the hives have been a mystery until I was reading Healthy Bees are Happy Bees and found a note in the section under ‘minor pests’. They’re absolutely tiny - so small that they easily squeeze through a standard mouseguard (with 10mm holes) and help themselves to the torpid bees on the outside of the cluster, eating up to 125% of their body weight daily which is about 50 bees! They’re active day & night and don’t hibernate.
6mm mesh and some different metal mouseguards are arriving today so hope that stops the little buggers. View attachment 41892View attachment 41893

If they’re feeding inside the hive, why the piles of dead outside? I have some sort of rodent snacking on the dead outside the hives, leaving the corpses on the inspection trays. I think they live under the pallets the hives are on and have a sheltered spot with food served daily this time of year.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

@Moobee Sounds like a plausible culprit for a pile of bodies under one end of the stand, directly under a hive. Didn't know what it was. Including headless bees. Cleared and we'll see if it reappears.
I have underfloor entrances with an 8mm slot upwards and a sealed undertray. I agree with @The Poot , why would they retreat back under the hive to eat each individual bee. Might be from foraging for dead bees in the grass in front of the hive. Will report back.
. . . . Ben
#thinks I've seen a local cat sitting waiting for some rodent in front of my hives. ?

 

[Moobee]

If they’re feeding inside the hive, why the piles of dead outside? I have some sort of rodent snacking on the dead outside the hives, leaving the corpses on the inspection trays. I think they live under the pallets the hives are on and have a sheltered spot with food served daily this time of year.

I have checked various wildlife sources plus it’s also mentioned in the above book that’s its typical Pygmy Shrew behaviour - they don’t stay in the hive to eat but take the bees outside and form piles of corpses. I’ve seen other references to problems in Canada with the same beastie.

 

[Moobee]

@Moobee Sounds like a plausible culprit for a pile of bodies under one end of the stand, directly under a hive. Didn't know what it was. Including headless bees. Cleared and we'll see if it reappears.
I have underfloor entrances with an 8mm slot upwards and a sealed undertray. I agree with @The Poot , why would they retreat back under the hive to eat each individual bee. Might be from foraging for dead bees in the grass in front of the hive. Will report back.
. . . . Ben
#thinks I've seen a local cat sitting waiting for some rodent in front of my hives. ?

Apparently they can squeeze through such small spaces, it needs to be 6mm. Fitting mine tomorrow.

 

[Antipodes]

Discovered I have Pygmy Shrews snacking on the bees. The piles of eviscerated & headless dead bees behind the hives have been a mystery until I was reading Healthy Bees are Happy Bees and found a note in the section under ‘minor pests’. They’re absolutely tiny - so small that they easily squeeze through a standard mouseguard (with 10mm holes) and help themselves to the torpid bees on the outside of the cluster, eating up to 125% of their body weight daily which is about 50 bees! They’re active day & night and don’t hibernate.
6mm mesh and some different metal mouseguards are arriving today so hope that stops the little buggers. View attachment 41892View attachment 41893

Cute little thing.
How did you get that to stay in your hand….is it dead?

 

[Moobee]

If they’re feeding inside the hive, why the piles of dead outside? I have some sort of rodent snacking on the dead outside the hives, leaving the corpses on the inspection trays. I think they live under the pallets the hives are on and have a sheltered spot with food served daily this time o

Cute little thing.
How did you get that to stay in your hand….is it dead?

Ha ha! No, pinched the photo off the interweb.

 

[Moobee]

6mm mesh fitted to keep out Pygmy Shrews. That wasn’t what I thought might be challenging this winter

 

[Goran]

Shrews.. Employ the cat or rat/mouse bait underneath the hive. They go into the hives as mice. Some here put mouse guards with 6mm entrance, or just fix the plain metal on entrance to reduce entrance to 6mm.
I never had mouse guards on the hives. Luckily had no bigger trouble with them. Two times I found something went into the few hives in the bottom box when I moved brood box up and minor damage to couple of empty frames. But strange was that happen in September/October when bees are active.

 

[Cerdic6]

Now it's warming up I'll be getting around to cleaning my empty boxes. I usually take the runners off and clean underneath, which is a bit of a chore. Is it good enough to leave them in place and give them a bit of extra heat when scorching the boxes?

 

[Sutty]

Now it's warming up I'll be getting around to cleaning my empty boxes. I usually take the runners off and clean underneath, which is a bit of a chore. Is it good enough to leave them in place and give them a bit of extra heat when scorching the boxes?

Why are you scorching the boxes, have you had disease in your apiaries?

 

[Penninetrader]

Why are you scorching the boxes, have you had disease in your apiaries?

I scorch any of mine prior to reuse and even more so for a new box

 

[Sutty]

If no recognisable disease (so far so good) i just scrape off excess propolis.
I can't see any reason for scorching new boxes!

 

[Penninetrader]

If no recognisable disease (so far so good) i just scrape off excess propolis.
I can't see any reason for scorching new boxes!

Smell of new pine or other, I don't go mad with the blowtorch just a once over to ensure a clear out of any unwanted parasites or spores.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Smell of new pine or other, I don't go mad with the blowtorch just a once over to ensure a clear out of any unwanted parasites or spores.

Any crack or joint can provide refuge for nasties. Flame doesn't penetrate more than a miniscule distance. Try clamping a piece of damp paper between two lumps of wood. Flame it then open up and see how far the effect has penetrated. In a similar vein try passing a flame hood over tilled soil then examine how deep the "cooked" layer is.

 

[ericbeaumont]

take the runners off and clean underneath

Wax moth will lay under the runners, but unless real disease has been in the system, it will be enough to scrape the box to ensure efficient use.

Agree with John: scorching doesn't penetrate far.

 

[Penninetrader]

Any crack or joint can provide refuge for nasties. Flame doesn't penetrate more than a miniscule distance. Try clamping a piece of damp paper between two lumps of wood. Flame it then open up and see how far the effect has penetrated. In a similar vein try passing a flame hood over tilled soil then examine how deep the "cooked" layer is.

The cracks ? We don't have those in my boxes, any I have missed then the girls will have propolised. My flame over is via a Rothenberger. Nonetheless I will continue the practice. I will add this is not undertaken in the field but within my workshop on dried equipment. One does the best one can.

 

[masterBK]

On two occasions over the last 65 yrs , I have found dead shrews in my hives (presumably stung and killed by the bees) when checking them after winter. One was dead on a floor board and the other was found dead on the frame tops of the lower BC in the bee space between brood chambers (I winter my bees on double BCs ). In the latter case the bees were all in the top BC having eaten all their stores in the bottom one)