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I?m in trouble again

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max2:
Guitarman.
Don't open the hive if you don't know what you are looking for.
Ask somebody with more experience to help you out.
Robbing in September would be very unusual here. This is the time when there is plenty of food around - no need to rob.
The drones - a new one to me.
It sounds to me like your bees have swarmed.
if you are opening up the hive, look for queen cells.
Check for brood at all stages of development.
Much honey stored?
Report back....

Michael Bush:
A huge amount of activity is usually robbing.  A large amount might be robbing or orientation flights.  Bees fighting is pretty good evidence that robbing is taking place, but sometimes there doesn't seem to be any robbing.  Robbers are frantic.  Local residents are not.  Robbers will be trying to get in every crack.  Locals will be going in the entrance.

The15thMember:
Welcome back, Guitarman!  :happy:  Yes, doing anything with bees at night is risky business!  I agree with max2 that it might be a good idea for you to find a mentor who can help you out.  Opening the colony to take stock of the situation is probably a good idea, but it might be more informative if you had someone with a little bit of experience could help you understand what you are looking at and what to expect for your upcoming season as far as colony growth, the timing of flows, etc.  If you don't have access to a mentor and want to go ahead with the inspection yourself, maybe you could film the inspection or at least take some pictures and post them here, them maybe we could help you sort through the situation a little better.   

Guitarman:
Wonderful news re-my hive. Really bad news re-varroa and other people?s hives in Sydney.
I fixed my hive. By myself. I opened it. And it was full of honey. Not full of brood like it usually is.Only 2 frames had a little brood. I took the opportunity knowing queen won?t be in the honey frames. I took a large knife and cut through the mess very slowly and gently  and pulled frame after frame out. I now have ten new  frames in that box at last. And about 30 kg of honey to extract when I get a chance.

For all Sydney people, experiencing varroa for the first time. Today I went and helped an 86-year-old beekeeper who was going to help me with my hive. I only met him about a week ago. He had six hives that he wanted to go and empty the supers on. When we arrived at the location. His two best hives which were triple high were dead. The others were doubles. One was looking ok but the others weren?t very active. The one looking okay the super was full and we took that. But the Varroa has killed his best and strongest hives and I suspect he?ll lose a few more even though he?s going to buy formic pro and put it in tomorrow try save those remaining  weak hives. The pupae when I dug them out had varroa on them very alive. Some having 3 mites in the one cell. Pupae all dead of course. First time I?ve seen the varroa and the first time he?s seen it too. Took his strongest hives down very quick.

I?m buying formic pro as well. I?m certain my hive has varroa. Im sure all Sydney has it now. I?m going to treat it. I hate the idea of killing so many bees to test the count but I probably should do so. The big problem we have is you can?t use formic pro over 29?C and it is often over 30? for the whole summer. I?m not sure how we meant to treat varroa in the middle of summer if needed.

Terri Yaki:
Sorry to hear about those losses. I was wondering...my understanding is that the temps are only important for the first 2 or 3 days. Could the strips be left out in the open for those first days and installed after they dissipated a little?

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