Fall Management

[Teena]

Question for the more experienced than I am.

I am in East Point, GA which is a town 7 miles southwest of Atlanta.

I have a hive that is very large and very not gentle! It is about 3 years old. They can only tolerate me for a short amount of time before they let me know they are not happy. This hive use to be nice and gentle last year, but not now. I use 8 frame wooden ware. I have a deep and a medium for the brood chamber and I currently have 1 honey super on that is mostly full of capped honey. I pulled a full super off for harvest in June and another one the end of August, and have left this last full one on for them for the winter. I know it is too late in the year to try to split this down and re-queen to try to get it back to manageable size and temperament. I think it is too big and too early to try to crowd them down for the winter. As it seemed they are still storing honey and I saw bright orange pollen on a bee today, I did pull the middle 2 frames of capped honey, pushed the frames together and put an empty drawn comb frame on each end.

My questions....I want to do a sugar shake for mites, which I have never done. 1.) Should I pull the honey super off and clear the bees from it and wait a few days. Store the honey and put the box back on after I do the sugar shake? or just leave the box on and do the sugar shake?    2.) Should I harvest the honey to feed back to them in the winter via a feeder?  or should I just leave the box on for them to take at will? I am feeling like the colony is large enough to cover the 3 boxes now, but not sure how far they will dwindle down before the winter clustering.

What say you guys?
Thanks so much for any advice and wisdom you can share.
Teena

[sc-bee]

First of all take my advice with a grain as I do not run 8 frames. But the amount you have seems fine to winter with. I winter with a 10 frame deep and one and sometimes two shallow supers of honey .  If they put up another super extract it for you. I would leave it as is not extract to fed back just extra labor.

As far as a sugar shake I have never done one but why remove the honey super. The point of the sugar is to release the varroa not feed the bees. IMHO not enough sugar to adulterate your honey if you were not going to pull it. They will not use the dry sugar as much this time of year.

And how would you store it a few days. Take extreme care for shb if you choose that route.

[Teena]

sc-bee,

I have a small chest type freezer I can easily set the whole super into.

Thanks for your thoughts, I appreciate it! I see your point about just leave the box on during the sugar shake and I am considering leaving that super of honey on for the winter.

Teeana

[rwlaw]

 Don't you want to get the bees from the brood nest area for the test, the mites hang onto the bees more in that area than if in the honey boxes.

[sc-bee]

Don't you want to get the bees from the brood nest area for the test, the mites hang onto the bees more in that area than if in the honey boxes.

As I understood the post, no test,  doing a sugar shake for a treatment. I may have read it wrong. Just remove the honey supers, shake the powdered sugar on the brood boxes and put hive back together. And I too would leave the extra honey super(s) for winter feed.

[Jim134]

    You do realize to do a proper sugar shake for varroa mites you need to do it 3 times 7 to 10 days apart each.


       

        BEE HARRY Jim 134 :)

[CBT]

When you test for percentage of varroa you put the powdered sugar in a mason jar, about 1/2inch shake a frame of bees into plastic shallow tub and try to get 300 bees I think that's about 3 inches in the jar and put your #8 screen with lid on it and roll them about a minute and shake the powder and varroa onto a white paper plate or something we like a white frisbee and put a little water to melt sugar. Count the varroa (use a magnifier) if more than 7 that is suppose to be the cut off where you need to treat your hive When you let those bees in the jar go they will be mad.

[sc-bee]

When you let those bees in the jar go they will be mad.

You reckon :)

[CBT]

It's getting late to start treatment isn't it?

[Jim134]

It's getting late to start treatment isn't it?

    You should be doing mite counts the first of August in Northeast the and decide if you are going to treat or treatment you should be all done with treatment by the second week or 3rd week in August. The reason being bees are trying to make winter bees in September you need about two rounds of laying 21 days about you don't want sick bees to go into the winter.

Randy Oliver...........

300 bees or 1/2 a cup

http://scientificbeekeeping.com/sick-bees-part-11-mite-monitoring-methods/

   IMHO,.......
  The alcohol wash is the most accurate. I can hear it now you are telling me you're killing bees.
   
   Next time you go to the doctor and get some blood work done tell him you want the blood back after the lab work is done.   :shock:


   This is what Michael Bush say about killing Varroa mites   :shock:

  http://www.bushfarms.com/beesvarroatreatments.htm


   How to properly do a sugar-roll method. It's okay to believe if these bees come out unscathed or not.

http://youtu.be/oFL7zbTHUy8

   Alcohol wash method for phoretic varroa mite sampling

http://youtu.be/yUzsU5trBP4



                BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

[10framer]

i'm a little south of you.  i'm more interested in the aggression issue than the mites.  i don't treat other than brood breaks.  keep in mind that bees get a lot more irritable this time of year.  the same bees may not be too bad during a honey flow.

[BeeMaster2]

As to the aggressive problem, did you use a brush to remove the bees for the honey removal? That can make for some really mean bees. Try using bee quick and then shaking the remainder of the bees off.
Jim

[jayj200]

or wiping each frame in the grass. does not piss them off.