Help! :shock: Either my ladies have become radical feminists or do I have problems looming? :shock: (JK) :-D Actually I have a question or two. From what I've been able to learn, hygenic queens produce bees that can detect varroa in the brood and will abort them as a means of control. I haven't seen any bees with malformed wings in the hive and a sugar shake showed a number well below the economic threshold. They are a feral hive I got from a birdhouse, so they were a small colony of barely 4 frames. I hived them with a SBB and haven't seen piles of dead bees around the hive, only 5-6 a day or less. A few of them have "K" wing, but not many. I know that if 10% of the bees have "K" wing it is usually indicitative of a trachaeal mite infestation and not varroa. Also, TM's don't infest the brood. They just haven't built up like I think they should and the abortion rate isn't helping. :? What does "K" wing indicate other than TM's, and what else (if anything, besides varroa) could be causing them to abort brood? :roll:
did you have a cold snap after they started raising more brood?
Quote from: kathyp on February 08, 2010, 12:31:52 AM
did you have a cold snap after they started raising more brood?
We've had totally freaky weather this winter--we've actually had WINTER! We just came out of 2 solid weeks of cold (for FL). It hasn't been this cold for this long since the 1930's. It was even on the national news (So much for global warming!) My other 2 hives haven't aborted any brood, though. The other 2 have continued to produce brood--in fact, they're busting with brood in all stages. What do you think?
"K" wing is a sign of Paralysis Disorder. Whether the mites play a role I don't know. :)doak
Quote from: doak on February 08, 2010, 11:30:39 PM
"K" wing is a sign of Paralysis Disorder. Whether the mites play a role I don't know. :)doak
That's a new one to me. I guess I'll have to study up on that one... :roll:
Kelly
"Google" Honey Bee Paralysis.
These sites and books is where I get my info to pass on. I do not decide it on my on.
I am not that knowledgeable in the Disease of honey bees. I do know odd signs when I see them.
doak