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FARMING & COUNTRY LIFE / Re: Laser projects
« Last post by Lesgold on Today at 05:05:31 am »Just another piece of machinery that every farmer should have.
Obviously, you have confidence in the sugar roll method but I have heard others express differing positions on it. I'd like to know more about the pros and cons on it.I use Dawn dish detergent for a mite wash. 2 tbls. per gallon of water. Sugar rolls are not accurate. Just swirl the bees, dont shake or it gets too soapy. Sampling 300 bees for 6 months is only 1800 bees per colony, thats nothing. More bees die daily from attrition and the sampling saves hundreds of thousands of bees or more in my apiary.
What causes a brood break and how long do they last?
And lastly, we are still having spring here so our weather is above and below bee flying weather. What do they all do in there when they have no-fly days?I use slatted racks, so on no fly days, or overnight, foragers will typically cluster under the rack unless its hot out, then they will cluster on the outside of the hive even in the rain.
Obviously, you have confidence in the sugar roll method but I have heard others express differing positions on it. I'd like to know more about the pros and cons on it. Or the whys and why nots, however you want to put it.A sugar roll is not as accurate as an alcohol wash, so I multiply my results by 1.3 to make up for that difference in accuracy. I find the sugar roll easier and it doesn't require me to kill bees, so I prefer it. I like to do sugar rolls regularly because I'm someone who likes data, but I'm honestly moving away from treating based on sugar roll numbers alone. I'd rather treat colonies with high mite loads who also are showing signs of stress, because I'm trying to breed for not only resistant bees but resilient bees. That's my take on it anyway.
What causes a brood break and how long do they last?
And lastly, we are still having spring here so our weather is above and below bee flying weather. What do they all do in there when they have no-fly days?Well the bees who are of inside work age just do their inside work like always. I'm not sure about foragers, but I'd guess they will sometimes just rest or maybe help with guard duty. I opened a hive once on a rainy day, I can't remember why, and there was a cluster of bees just hanging on the underside of the lid, who I think were foragers just hanging out there because they couldn't go outside.
A sign you're getting old, I guess ... finding things funny that seem normal to others ... I've been noticing many "new ones" over the years.Ha! That is kind of funny. It didn't strike me until you mentioned it though.
Just curious, but who else chuckled a little ...
When they saw "Laser Projects" under the category of "Farming and Country Life"?