Anyone know of some good natural treatments i could use on my hives? Im really trying hard to stay away from chemicals, i was told that putting tea tree oil in sugar syrup works well is this true?
What makes you think that your bees have Nozema?
Jim
I noticed a bunch of brown spots around the entrance and I also noticed a few bees on the ground in front of the hive and one of them had K wing.
Nosema isn't the only type of "bee diarrhea", and Nosema doesn't cause "K wing".
Maybe you're seeing "Deformed Wing Virus".
Have you done a mite count? That's where I'd start.
"Complete Bee" is a combo supplement. It's supposed to help in many areas especially digestion and overall health. It's a bit pricey but came highly recommended from several large commercial operators. We put a teaspoon in their sugar water. It can also be drenched or sprayed.
Sometimes other hives will let loose and it'll hit someone else's hive. Nosema is a virus, not a disease. Part of the cause of nosema is the floral of their gut is out of whack. One reason could be sugar water. I always put one teaspoon of organic(from the mother) apple cider vinegar with each quart of sugar. This makes the ph of sugar water closer to that of nature.
The K wing could have come from fighting or mites. Have you noticed any bees that looked like their wings had been singed, like with a lighter? That's DWV (deformed winged virus) which comes from mites. Let us know what you see and we'll try to make some suggestions.
I havent spotted anymore bees with messed up wings. I popped open the hives today and checked some drone brood and found no mites, not quite sure whats going on. I think i might go ahead and try the vinager and see what happens with that.
Quote from: GSF on May 31, 2016, 04:07:36 PM
Sometimes other hives will let loose and it'll hit someone else's hive. Nosema is a virus, not a disease.
FYI:
"Nosema apis is a microsporidian, a small, unicellular parasite recently reclassified as a fungus that mainly affects honey bees. It causes nosemosis, also called nosema, which is the most common and widespread of adult honey bee diseases".
Not a virus, very much a disease!
Phil, you may be right, I've always heard it referred to as a virus.