BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > NATURAL & ORGANIC BEEKEEPING METHODS
Fantasy beekeeping ?
yes2matt:
In your original post you said that you would wait until the mite drop was over a threshold then dose them with sugar to get them thru winter. I think it will bee too late by then.
It's the "winter bees" that go thru wintertime with (as I understand) enlarged fat bodies. They are raised on jelly and bread provided by nurse bees, and those need to be healthy. Most of that generation's health is determined in the larval/pupal stage.
So it is the health of the nurse bees two generations before winter bees which is critical. I suggest make your decision one generation before that and commit. Of course I realize that broodrearing is continuous and it might be difficult to count generations *exactly*. But it's the bees that make the bees that make the winter bees where decision makes a difference.
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charentejohn:
As it turns out sticky boards on today again, cold and bees not outside as below 10c. That said due to pick up soon but then rain.
So far results don't need treatment, 25/day and I think 50/day should be ok. Sugar dusting timing is tricky, as you said it is hard to know when they will be settling down for winter. Too cold to open a hive now anyway as daytime 14c or so.
Any treatment or intervention is something I am trying to avoid, just because of the disruption to the hive.
So many opinions and thoughts on this, from 2 mites add chemicals to some can tolerate loads of mites so don't worry. In the end I have to trust the bee's judgement on as much as possible.
My hope is left to make their own decisions they will prevail. I would be most upset to lose these ones in yr1 as from then on they have the chance to swarm so the bees I have now would technically be gone. I would have some of them and a new queen with half their dna for the future.
There is an idea that if bees have a few varroa they will ignore them, if they have a lot they will deal with it. For the future it really has to be the latter as varroa will never go away, other country's bees have learned to deal with them and so will ours in time. Hoping mine are ones that can deal with them now.
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