beginner beekeeping – week 4
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Beginner Beekeeping – Week 4. Fall Management. What’s Your Mite Count?. Economic Thresholds Natural drop < 20-30 per day (3 day avg.) Alcohol shake – 7 mites per 300 Sugar shake – 4 mites per 300 (1/2 cup). What if my mid-season count is too high or I’m seeing deformed wings?. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Beginner Beekeeping – Week 4Fall Management
What’s Your Mite Count?Economic Thresholds
◦Natural drop < 20-30 per day (3 day avg.)
◦Alcohol shake – 7 mites per 300◦Sugar shake – 4 mites per 300 (1/2
cup)
What if my mid-season count is too high or I’m seeing deformed wings?Consider treating during the
August “dearth” (we’ll get to how in a few minutes)
Site the hive, or prune to get maximum sunshine on the hive◦Sun helps reduce both varroa and
nosema
Fall ManagementCombining Hives
Why combine hives?To save the bees in a weak hive
To re-queen a queenless hive
To unite a late season swarm with a strong colony
Weak hives
In the fall, a hive may not have thrived due to many factors and has a low chance of surviving the winter
A hive may be queenless, and too small to justify re-queening (or it’s too late in the season)
A Captured Swarm
If you catch a late season swarm, it may be too small to survive the winter
Hive the swarmLet it settle, then combine (in a
week or two)
Assess hive strengthIs the population low (i.e. not
filling out the brood boxes)?◦Good rule: 6 frames with brood in
September Are honey stores low? Tilt or pick-
up the hive. Check frames. If you see many empty ones and it is light to lift, it may be a candidate
Is the queen weak? See week 3 but spotty brood pattern, many drones.
How to combineUnite weak to strong. Two weak
hives does not equal a strong hive, it equals a bigger weak hive.
If you have two weak hives, then it is better to create nucs. The smaller colony has a better chance of survival.
Pick a day when the temp is above 60 and then temps won’t fall below 50, otherwise the bees will cluster
How to combineYou will need to kill the weaker queen
firstReduce the size of both hives by
removing empty frames, moving fuller frames (honey, pollen, bee bread), into consolidated box
You may not be able to reduce the hive to 3 mediums or two deeps. You can over-winter with more boxes provided they have resources in each box.
How to combineYou can’t just put the hives
together because they will fightNeed to gradually combineNewspaper method
Newspaper combine
Combining3 boxes
Newspaper method
Newspaper combineRemove inner and outer covers
from receiving hive (stronger one)
Place a single sheet of newspaper over the top of this hive (on top of bars), making sure that the paper overlaps the edges.
Cut a few slits in the newspaper. This allows the bees to become accustomed to the other hives smells
Newspaper combineCover the top box as you would
any hive, but add a feeder. This hive may lose its field force due to the move so you will need to feed it. Cover as you would any other hive.
Leave it alone for a week.Check it. The newspaper should
be chewed through and the hives happy together
ConsolidateAfter another week, inspect the
hive and see if you can reduce it further.
The goal is one hive with normal number of boxes.
But, if all the boxes are full of bees, brood and food, over-winter it like that. You can split it in the spring, requeen the split and have a new hive!
Mite Treatments, Chemical
Apistan (fluvalinate)Checkmite (coumaphos)Amitraz/ApivarHivastanMites quickly develop resistance – all we’re doing is breeding stronger mites.Studies are showing sub-lethal negative effects on brood viability and queen health.Please, just don’t.
“Natural” or Soft Treatments
Follow label instructions and the following products are very safe and very effective.
Each has different limitations, so decide what works best for your life
Do it for the next generation of beekeepers
ApiLifeVar (Thymol and Menthol)(not to be confused with ApiVar)Tablet form – works with vapors3 treatments, 7-10 days apartPut wafers on top box top barsClose up holes and reduce the entrance
Put in your inspection board It can make the bees a bit testy
Treat with honey supers off (and don’t put them back on for a month.)
Use when daytime temps are between 54-95°
Menthol treats tracheal mites
Apiguard (Thymol)Gel form in a tray – bees clean it out and it
gets all over them2 treatments, 14 days apartPut above top box top bars with a shim so
bees can get into the trayPut in inspection board
Bees may cluster on the front of the hive
Treat with honey supers off (they can go back on when you’re done)
Use when daytime temps are between 60-105°Treat for tracheal mites with grease patties, or
keep Russian bees and don’t worry so much.
Mite Away Quick Strips (Formic Acid)Slow release of (stinky) vapors in a gel strip1 treatment, works for 7 daysPut 2 pads on top bars between brood boxesRecommended for hives 6 brood frames strongLeave ventilation openTreat with honey supers on if you want (formic
acid occurs naturally in honey)Use when daytime temps are between 50-92°Treat for tracheal mites with grease patties, or
keep Russian bees and don’t worry so much.
Oxalic AcidDire warnings about safety to the
beekeeper kept me awayThere is no approved on-label application
for the state of Maine
HopguardJust approved last summerResults look very positive, but it is
expensive and challenging for people with 2-3 hives.
Honey Harvest! Typical fall harvest happens between Labor Day
and September 20th
Now is the time to start getting your hive set for winter Repositioning frames – for winter we want
honey top and sides and brood centered below A top hive body of capped brood will most
likely emerge and those cells will be filled with honey
Getting the bees out:Shake or brush
◦Dramatic but quick and efficientEscape boards
◦Convenient if you have the extra day or two
Fume boards◦Works great if it’s sunny and warm
Wear gloves and a veil!
Extracting HoneyPlease don’t crush and strain – your
bees worked too hard for this.Borrow the Club Extractor
◦If you’re going to sell honey – apply for a Home Processor License, Dept. of Agriculture
Consider hiring a pro
Uncapping and spinning
• Use a hot knife, or a cold knife in a pan of simmering water
• If using a tangential extractor, spin the first side slowly, then the second side, then go back and re-do the first; get maximum honey without blowing out combs
BeeswaxDon’t waste it – put burr comb in
the freezer and add it to your cappings wax
Don’t use your good pots for wax – get cheap ones and dedicate them to wax
Cover sticky wax with water; heat till it’s all liquid; pour through an old t-shirt into a bucket; let it settle and cool
Dry and re-melt the disk in a double boiler and filter through paper towels.
Other hive products to considerPropolis – has amazing health
propertiesPollen – super food, and in huge
demand for allergy relief◦(We’ll buy your frozen pollen!)
Fall FeedingMedicate or not? (I don’t.)Why are we feeding?
◦Feed 2:1 syrup to hives low on stores It should be their fault, not yours At least 1 deep or 2 mediums of capped honey on
top at Thanksgiving (with at least 3 weeks to cure.)
Stop feeding by mid-October
Honey is healthier◦Feed back frames above inner cover
After nectar flow
◦Extract unfinished honey and feed it backConsider feeding pollen if a hive is behind or
unhealthy