CHECKED MY 4 HIVES ON THE FARM TODAY.3 HIVES ARE VERY STRONG WITH ALOT OF BROOD AND EGGS.WILL DO SPLITS ON THEM THIS WEEKEND.MY OTHER HIVE HAS ALOT OF BEES BUT NOT LIKE THE OTHERS.IT TOO HAD BROOD AND EGGS,BUT I NOTICED LIL BROWN BEETLES ON ALOT OF BEES.SHOULD I BE CONCERNED ,IF SO WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT IT.
Quote from: schawee on March 11, 2010, 11:45:19 PM
CHECKED MY 4 HIVES ON THE FARM TODAY.3 HIVES ARE VERY STRONG WITH ALOT OF BROOD AND EGGS.WILL DO SPLITS ON THEM THIS WEEKEND.MY OTHER HIVE HAS ALOT OF BEES BUT NOT LIKE THE OTHERS.IT TOO HAD BROOD AND EGGS,BUT I NOTICED LIL BROWN BEETLES ON ALOT OF BEES.SHOULD I BE CONCERNED ,IF SO WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT IT.
If you saw mites, they are reddish brown and would be on your bees. If small hive beetles, they would be amongst the bees but in and on the comb and woodenware.
Every hive and most swarms in southeast Louisiana have shbs in/with them. As long as your hives are strong, they most likely will survive.
If your one weak hive is very weak and contains a lot of beetles, you could try condensing the colony if there is too much space/boxes in that particular set up.
...JP
JP,THEY ARE REDDISH BROWN AND THEY ARE ON THE BEES.I WATCHED THE BEES TAKE THEIR LEG AND WIPE THEM RIGHT OFF.THE HIVE IS A STRONG HIVE.THEY LOOK REAL HEALTHY.I NEVER SAW THEM BEFORE ON MY BEES.IWAS GOING TO SPLIT THE 4 HIVES THIS WEEKEND,BUT I WILL LEAVE THAT HIVE ALONE.THANKS ALOT FOR YOUR INFO.
:bee: SCHAWEE :bee:
Quote from: schawee on March 12, 2010, 09:11:50 PM
JP,THEY ARE REDDISH BROWN AND THEY ARE ON THE BEES.I WATCHED THE BEES TAKE THEIR LEG AND WIPE THEM RIGHT OFF.THE HIVE IS a STRONG HIVE.THEY LOOK REAL HEALTHY.I NEVER SAW THEM BEFORE ON MY BEES.IWAS GOING TO SPLIT THE 4 HIVES THIS WEEKEND,BUT I WILL LEAVE THAT HIVE ALONE.THANKS ALOT FOR YOUR INFO.
:bee: SCHAWEE :bee:
Bruce, a lot of us on here are treatment free, including myself. I would agree with you on leaving the hive with mites alone, not splitting them and not treating them either.
I have a hive that had a decent mite load last year that pulled through all on their own. I watched them struggle but they made it through just fine.
The way I look at it is if they cannot survive, I don't want them anyway. I know this may sound harsh, but this works for me and you'd be surprised how often it works for the bees as well.
Do a search on sugar shakes for mite control, also oxalic acid as well.
...JP
Reddish brown is Varroa Mites " on the bees". Hive beetles are black Amongst the bees not on them. :)doak
thanks doak
Could you not dust them with powdered sugar to give them a hand?
Quote from: Beaver Dam on March 13, 2010, 09:54:38 PM
Could you not dust them with powdered sugar to give them a hand?
Yes, sugar shakes are always welcomed by the bees.
...JP
If you have screened bottom boards put down a piece of butcher block paper under the hive before you sugar them and pull the paper out in a half hour and you'll see mites everywhere. If they're bringing in pollen you'll see a lot of pollen balls hitting the paper too because it slips off like the mites.
You could pinch the queen off and let them make another, that is what I normally do if the hive isn't thriving, for whatever reason
Bob