A quick look ( Help )

[djgriggs]

I left work early today , why , "just because" :).  I got home before it started to rain . I noticed a bee walking on the concrete in front of the hives. I have seen this before but was told that it was bees that have been rejected from the hive. I have seem them before but thought nothing of it due to what I was told previously.
   For some reason I decided to take a closer look as it turned out it was a young be but it's wings were shriveled up and it could not fly..First thought that come to mind was crap I must have varroa in the cells.  Now that I think about it I wonder how many bees are infected.. I took a quick glance ( not really that quick ) into the hives starting with the foundation-less hive. in the foundation-less hive I only looked at the top brood box.. I did not see the queen but plenty of drawn comb with larva. Wow, one come was full of drone cells. hmmm... Could all of the drone cells "drones" be a bad thing ? I notice plenty of larva, some brood, lots of honey . I will let them draw some more comb and then install the honey super. I am told at first to put it on without the excluder so that they can learn where the new ceiling is ? ..

I boxed everything up and moved to the foundation hive. Once again only going through the top box. In this hive I could see lots of brood Honey / capped honey larva and a hatching baby bee "awesome" I did not see many if any drone comb / cells..

The issues that I am having is that I have never been in or inspected the complete hives " bottom brood boxes" sense day of install "April 29" I very highly suspect that I have Varroa either floating around or in cells or both.  I have been debating on what to use for treatment. i like the idea of the MAQS as I believe it is able to get into the capped cells. but then again I like the idea of Oxalic Acid as it is natural but you have to do it once a week for three weeks, i believe this is to cover the life cycle of the varroa ?

At this time if I have varroa mites or varroa in the cells I suspect that they are in the lower brood boxes.
I am kind of concerned about all of the drone cells in the foundation-less hive however the natural comb is beautiful to look at .. but then this is not an observation hive :)

Things I need to do and learn.

Learn " everything " no matter what I watch and learn by the time I get out and look in the hives the only thing I can remember are what cells are what :)

I need to decide what the best treatment is for here in North Alabama "for the bees, not for me"

need to get a bee vented jacket -- as the full suit is getting a bit sweaty in the Alabama heat :)
does anyone have any recommendations -- so far I am looking at the ultra breezy jacket and veil $163

Does anyone have any advice on some good lasting smoker fuel ? I am using pine straw , seems to not last very long?

I have been wanting to take photos / video of what I am seeing .Any recommendations I was thinking of a head cam .

Thank you all for your time and thoughts I am very appreciative of all of your knowledge and experience.

[cao]

Does anyone have any advice on some good lasting smoker fuel ? I am using pine straw , seems to not last very long?

I can usually have a smoker full of pine needles last for several hours.  The key is to really pack it full after you get it going good.  I will take a handfull of needles and ball them up and stuff them in the smoker.  Puff the smoker to check that it is still going and repeat until I can't get any more in.  If you pack it full it should still be going strong well after you are done with your two hives.

I did not see the queen but plenty of drawn comb with larva. Wow, one come was full of drone cells. hmmm... Could all of the drone cells "drones" be a bad thing ? I notice plenty of larva, some brood, lots of honey .

Typically a strong hive will produce drones.  In a foundationless hive they can draw drone comb wherever they want.  I've seen an entire deep frame with drone on more than one occasion.  In a hive with foundation they are limited to where they put the drone unless they rework the foundation.  Alot of the times it will be between the boxes or the outer edges of the frames.  As long as you have plenty of worker brood then I don't a problem.

Learn " everything " no matter what I watch and learn by the time I get out and look in the hives the only thing I can remember are what cells are what :)

Taking notes(or pictures) will help.  After I close up a hive, I put a strip of the blue painters tape on the back of the hive and use a sharpie to write down the important things I saw in the hive(queen, eggs, larva, honey, space, etc.).  Once you open the next hive you will forget the details from the first.  Then upon the next inspection you can easily review what you have written before you open the hive.  You will know what you need to look for. 

I can't advise you on a jacket since I only ever used hat/veil.

I also can't advise you on treating for varroa since I've never treated any of my hives. 

 

[Van, Arkansas, USA]

Mr. Griggs, sounds like you are having fun with the bees.  Also sounds like you have dwarf wing virus which is transmitted by varroa, very common in the South, not your fault.  I am leary of mite treatments except for oxalic acid because I consume, extract my honey.

I would be very concerned about a treatment that can penetrate wax such as Formic acid.  Consider miteacides may affect your queen.  I have studied in detail Oxalic Acid from PubMed:

Journal of Apiculture Research, volume 54, issue 2, 2015. TOWARDS INTEGRATED CONTROL OF VARROA: COMPARING APPLICATION METHODS AND DOSES OF OXALIC ACID IN THE MORATALITY OF PHOTETIC VARROA DESTRECTOR MITES AND THEIR HONEY BEE HOST.

This is a detailed scientific study, 32 pages, 18 months of data to determine long term effects of oxalic acid on bees with emphasis on queen procuction of eggs.  The detail is mind boggling to the extent the scientists built special traps to collect any dead bees carried off by nurse bees.  These guys know their stuff and considered everything.

Oxalic acid improved egg production 1 year later when the acid is correctly applied.  The reason is postulated varroa elimination improves overall health of the colony as determined in long detailed studies.

I have not acquired scientific bonafied knowledge of detrimental effects of Oxalic acid on honey bees with constant timely searches of PubMed.  These detailed studies are not readily available with google searches, one must utilize PubMed.

I am void of bias but very skeptical when I ascertain bonafied scientific articles.  I cannot count the pages I have studied on honey bee health, both opinions based on nothing more than bias and bonafied information with impressive attention to detail.

I would like to add thanks to Cao and others for detail corrections to my past post.
Blessings

[BeeMaster2]

DJ,
CAO had a lot of good advice.
Pine straw is probably your best bet for your smoker, you just have to pack it tight. I did a complete cut out, about 4 hours, and I had to snuff out the smoker to put it in the smoker can when I was done. Only loaded it once.
Don?t feel bad about not tearing your hives apart. That is a good thing. I only do full inspections in the spring and fall and when I see there is a reason to do one.
Seeing a bee with DWV damaged wings is normal. Seeing a whole lot of them is an indication of a serious problem.
Jim

[iddee]

DJ, I hate to sound snotty, but I have to in this case. Would you go to the doctor and tell him half of your symptoms, then ask him to treat you, but don't take any tests to see what is wrong?

Go through the hive 100%, then do a sugar roll and count the mites, then come back and we might be able to help.

[djgriggs]

DJ,
CAO had a lot of good advice.
Pine straw is probably your best bet for your smoker, you just have to pack it tight. I did a complete cut out, about 4 hours, and I had to snuff out the smoker to put it in the smoker can when I was done. Only loaded it once.
Don?t feel bad about not tearing your hives apart. That is a good thing. I only do full inspections in the spring and fall and when I see there is a reason to do one.
Seeing a bee with DWV damaged wings is normal. Seeing a whole lot of them is an indication of a serious problem.
Jim

sawdstmakr-- today I had seen at least 3 bees walking around on the concrete in front of the hives 2 of which had DWV.. I then seen another bee or two that seem to have no idea what was going on. could not fly and wondered around like they were drunk.I may need glasses but I do not recall seeing anything wrong with the wings on these but they still could not fly...

[djgriggs]

DJ, I hate to sound snotty, but I have to in this case. Would you go to the doctor and tell him half of your symptoms, then ask him to treat you, but don't take any tests to see what is wrong?

Go through the hive 100%, then do a sugar roll and count the mites, then come back and we might be able to help.

iddee, oddly enough I do not think you sound snotty believe it or not my first official inspection is next week by the Alabama Inspector... we will be going through everything.. I just like to ask questions to see how relevant my suspicions are close to being correct.. If I had more information on matter I would offer it :) but know I do not ever take anything to heart especially when it is a subject that I do not know about or do not know enough about ... after all I am here to learn....

[djgriggs]

I would like to thank everyone that has taken time to read and respond to my post and as always I thank you for your thoughts / rants / help and spankings  .. I realized one of the things that I wanted to state earlier is that I have yet / ever to see my queens in fact the only way that I know that they are around is due to the larva at different phases. I would eventually like to find them. I guess as long as I can see production I am good right ?

Thanks again

[BeeMaster2]

?I guess as long as I can see production I am good right ??
DJ,
 
That is correct. An egg standing straight up means a queen was in the hive within a day, leaning over-within 2 days, laying down-within 3 days.
Hope that helps with your inspections and can give you peace of mind without having to see the queen.
Jim

[iddee]

Glad you understand. I hope your inspector does a sugar shake. I never recommend treating a hive until I know the mite count. Then I have a better idea what and how much to use.

[djgriggs]

I have seen him explain what he does.. it is not a sugar shake If I remember correctly he has a little jar.
Scoops up some bees puts them into the jar then feels the jar with I think Alcohol < could be wrong , might be something else. > He then shakes them and apparently the mites fall to the bottom. ( Well something to that affect ) .