Late summer/Fall confusion.

rockink · September 15, 2019, 11:28:45 PM

So I know I need to test for varroa and make sure they have stores in my hives but I'm not sure what else this time of year.

The temperatures are still in the 90's in central, MO and i see some bearding on the front of the hives.

I'm planning on doing a full inspection this week and other than stores and overall hive health(brood, eggs, larva, etc)should I be checking for anything else?

If they are packed with bees do I add more space? Any fall flow I need to put supers on for?

I'm still running a deep and a single medium for brood boxes which is still annoying since I wanted either single deep or double deep.

Sorry for all the questions.

Ken

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van from Arkansas · September 15, 2019, 11:43:00 PM

Ken, you need to address varroa ASAP. If Varroa feed on Winter bees the bees will be weakened and will not make it through spring. It late 9:45pm so more later.

Van

BeeMaster2 · September 16, 2019, 08:49:28 AM

Ken,
First of all, we love the questions. Keep them coming.
A lot of areas have a fall goldenrod flow. If you do, your hive will have a rotten sock smell while they are bringing it in. Don?t worry it makes good honey. Just keep an eye on how much space is available.
Right now you want a lot of honey weight and a lot of bees in the hive. If they are light start feeding.
Jim Altmiller

rockink · September 16, 2019, 10:17:52 AM

So just before I posted this I made a varroa alcohol washer tester. So I will be doing that today.

However last year I was hesitant to do the testing and just treated all my hives with apivar. Is this okay? I will probably test and treat going forward but just cause I want to know.

Thanks,
Ken

Here is my homemade alcohol washer.

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rockink · September 16, 2019, 12:01:20 PM

I'm not sure if my first attempt was a complete success or failure!?!?!

Did I alcohol wash some bees? Yes!
Did I manage to piss off every single bee in the hive? Yes!
Did I find any Varroa? No! (But I only washed about 1/4 cup)

I immediately went to the bottom box to get nurse bees and was confident I could find the queen. And that didn't happen as I searched and searched.. Maybe she was in the top? The more I search the more my bees get restless. I try to be as gentle as possible but there becomes a point where I start to get intimidated and want to walk away with so many bees bouncing off of me. But I maintained course and finished a single hive..

My homemade alcohol wash contraption kinda work however the gorilla glue didn't stand up to the alcohol.

So I'm left with more questions than answers.. Was that a big enough sample size? Do I still treat? Do I need to make sure I find the queen? (I seen capped brood and young larve).

Overall my bee's looked great. I was really focused on wings and didn't see any deformation or anything like that.

Thanks,
Ken

Michael Bush · September 16, 2019, 12:03:52 PM

If you do it right, a sugar shake is just as effective and doesn't kill bees. If you evern alcohol wash a queen, you'll give up alcohol washes...

Nock · September 16, 2019, 09:15:48 PM

Quote from: sawdstmakr on September 16, 2019, 08:49:28 AM
Ken,
First of all, we love the questions. Keep them coming.
A lot of areas have a fall goldenrod flow. If you do, your hive will have a rotten sock smell while they are bringing it in. Don?t worry it makes good honey. Just keep an eye on how much space is available.
Right now you want a lot of honey weight and a lot of bees in the hive. If they are light start feeding.
Jim Altmiller

It?s been strong around mine the past couple days. I can smell it 15-20 feet away.

rockink · September 17, 2019, 09:36:36 AM

I didn't smell anything yesterday out of the normal. I haven't see much golden rod in the immediate area though. My hives definitely are filling up with honey so they are getting it form somewhere.

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CoolBees · September 18, 2019, 09:16:40 PM

Ken - fwiw - Randy Oliver (google him) has detailed instructions for making your own Alcohol Wash Mite Count jars ... but for me, it was worth the $20 to buy this one ... https://www.mannlakeltd.com/shop-all-categories/hive-colony-maintenance/medications-treatments-herbicides/varroa-mites/varroa-easycheck

Easy to use & cheap (imho).

rockink · September 18, 2019, 11:44:32 PM

I appreciate it. Thank you for that information. I ended up using a tube of JB Weld and it worked good.

Thanks,
Ken

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saltybluegrass · September 19, 2019, 07:21:11 AM

Quote from: CoolBees on September 18, 2019, 09:16:40 PM
Ken - fwiw - Randy Oliver (google him) has detailed instructions for making your own Alcohol Wash Mite Count jars ... but for me, it was worth the $20 to buy this one ... https://www.mannlakeltd.com/shop-all-categories/hive-colony-maintenance/medications-treatments-herbicides/varroa-mites/varroa-easycheck

Easy to use & cheap (imho).

Amazon wants 33 for that and Mann wants 20

CoolBees · September 19, 2019, 02:10:13 PM

Quote from: saltybluegrass on September 19, 2019, 07:21:11 AM
Quote from: CoolBees on September 18, 2019, 09:16:40 PM
Ken - fwiw - Randy Oliver (google him) has detailed instructions for making your own Alcohol Wash Mite Count jars ... but for me, it was worth the $20 to buy this one ... https://www.mannlakeltd.com/shop-all-categories/hive-colony-maintenance/medications-treatments-herbicides/varroa-mites/varroa-easycheck

Easy to use & cheap (imho).

Amazon wants 33 for that and Mann wants 20

Haha - "free shipping" has its price ... maybe not your free shipping, but someone has to pay for everyone else's free shipping.