Author Topic: Beekeeping in Poland (Read 51247 times)

Vance G · « **Reply #20 on:** January 26, 2013, 03:12:16 pm »

What does a bilingual man, who has an advanced beehive system superior to anything sold here; need with paragraphs? He's obviously just out slumming anyway.

Are you smart enough to post on a forum in Poland? I thought not!

Me neither and that is why we need paragraphs!

tefer2 · « **Reply #21 on:** January 26, 2013, 03:22:14 pm »

Thanks Vance, that helps my old eyes.

Polish_beekeeper · « **Reply #22 on:** January 26, 2013, 03:22:26 pm »

You have many work with warming bees in spring, but Styrofoam is not so great like you thinking. Its has two problem - dont pass moisture and its susceptible to damage. Therefore i prefer hives consisting of wood and styrofoam like this (other dimensions, of course, but the principle of construction, such as in the link):
http://www.pszczelarz.republika.pl/Obraz%20005.jpg
this is better photos and pictures almost like me woody hives:
http://www.atpszczoly.pl/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ul-wielkopolski-standard.jpg
I don't have problem with small particles of wax. I use double strainer:
http://www.lyson.com.pl/zdjecia/foto/4007.jpg
How do you fight in USA with varroa? In Poland we evaporate amitraz (four times every four days in August and one time in November when in hives is no brood). We used baywarol but doesn't work. I don't use acids to killing varroa. I heard about Hopguard in the USA. Are you testing its? I've heard that it is very effective.
How you fight with other diseases like AFB? Whether it is a problem? Have you problem with CCD? Nosema cerane?
You write about protein suppliment what you mean? You buy pollen or substitutes? Have you link about this products?
Are you produced your own bee queens or you buy all?
How many honey can you take with one bee family in last year? In 2011 I took average 28 kg but in 2012 only 15 kg. Do you traveling with hives or hold your hives in one place?

tefer2 · « **Reply #23 on:** January 26, 2013, 03:52:04 pm »

Gorskie, I found the research in Avinionie on ccd and pesticides very interesting.
Who would have thought to place microchips(RFID) onto honey bees to track them.
Do you have a link you can post on that study?

Polish_beekeeper · « **Reply #24 on:** January 26, 2013, 04:08:46 pm »

Here is link:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0030023

Vance G · « **Reply #25 on:** January 26, 2013, 04:20:21 pm »

I understand that styrofoam is easily damaged and that you can have moisture buildup problems. If I did not have an entrance close to the top of my wooden hives that are wrapped in plastic, I would have water problems too. The region I live in is very dry and I think that the styrofoam hives would work well here. There are some that have them north of me in Canada and they manage well with them. They think that the added heat results in more brood and more vorroa mites.

Yes! Mites are the worst problem we have here. I have no personal experience with hopguard which was only released last season. Some think it worked well, but others believe it was hard on the bees or didn't work all that well. I used a product called Apiguard this fall. I had tried controlling the mites with non chemical means and found in late August that I had high mite populations. I think the product worked because all of colonies treated are still large clusters.

What many beekeepers use very successfully is oxalic acid in a sugar syrup drizzled on the cluster when the bees are broodless. It is all the treatment many find neccessary if they can catch the bees with no brood. I am sure one of the people who post here by the name of Finski who I think is from Sweden can tell you about it in detail. Apparently one needs to carefully follow directions with it. He also uses styrofoam equipment. You may benefit more from talking to him than with me.

I plan to feed a pollen substitute that has 15% Pollen in it. It is irradiated to kill any disease spores. I have fed other pollen substitutes and mix in lemon grass oil which makes it very attractive to the bees and gets them to eat it better.

The AFB here is largely immune to tetracycline antibiotic. I bought equipment from an old man quitting beekeeping and the equipment was saturated with the disease. All the nucs I made using the equipment were infected with AFB. I am in the process of salvaging the wax to make candles and burning the rest. A commercial beekeeper told me to just admit I have AFB and start using an antibiotic called Tylosin which apparently will clean up the AFB in between one and three dustings with the chemical mixed in powdered sugar.

As far as yields, that depends on the sun and the rain and the bees God gives us. Last year was a drought and most did not make enough to feed themselves this winter. I already have dry sugar on top of bees for when they reach the top of the box. Last year I got eighty pounds per colony surplus. Long ago in a better place to keep bees six hundred miles from here, I averaged probably 160 pounds per colony. I think the average for the state of Montana where I live is around fifty pounds, but commercial beekeepers in this area have gotten many times that in an exceptional year. It all depends on rainfall and your bees population when the flowers are here. Great talking with you. I hope I answered all your questions.

Vance G · « **Reply #26 on:** January 26, 2013, 04:32:48 pm »

http://globalpatties.com/ This is one contact on pollen substitute

http://www.latshawapiaries.com/ This is a noteworthy bee breeder and nutritionist.

Polish_beekeeper · « **Reply #27 on:** January 26, 2013, 05:21:39 pm »

Vance G. Great talking with you too ;)
I heard about apiguard but i never used this product on my bees.
In Poland we use too oxalic acid but in November when is no brood in colony oxalic acid stimulated bees and there are problem in winter. More often in UE scientists write about bad effects of acid on bees.

This is our recepture:

1 liter water
1 kg sugar
85 gram oxalic acid
100 ml 50%V/V alcohol with 5% propolys
10 gram citric acid
10 drops of eucalyptus oil
10 drops of thyme oil
10 drops of anise oil

You can use this one time for 2 months - 5ml on one alley between two frames. Best in period without brood. This is like Bee Vital Heave Clean.

Hives made from Styrofoam have better start on spring than wood hives (about 1-2 weeks faster). This is true, but price of such a hive in Poland is higher by 50% and therefore I have more and more wood around house;), which are cheaper and more durable.
But in this year i want testing and wintering very strong families in August i want combine normal family with nuc (made in may with young queen). Old beekeeper said me about that made bee family give me two times more honey like normal. I must watching this ;).
I bought 8 years ago equipment from an old man too. And i had the same problem like you. I used oxytetracyclie with sulfonamide. But now we cant used in Poland antibiotics to fight with AFB. Remained breaking the law in difficult situations ;). But luckily illness omit my bees.

tefer2 · « **Reply #28 on:** January 26, 2013, 10:24:06 pm »

What can you tell us about your use of amitraz for varroa control. Your method for delivery is very different from here in the USA.
Is it under the brand name of Apivar in Poland?

Polish_beekeeper · « **Reply #29 on:** January 27, 2013, 10:17:11 am »

My method is similar like Apiwarol in Poland. But apiwarol is more expensive.
I buy Tactic 12,5% and I use varomor like Ukrainian but I made it myself. This is link for Ukrainian varomor:
http://medkarpat.com/?p=27
and video from Ukraina:
обрабатываю от клеща
This method is very fast and nice ;)
Recepture on fluid for 80 hives:
92 cm3 kerosene or paraffin oil
8 cm3 taktic (1cm3 of clean amitraz)
Varormor is calibrated on 1.2 cm3 of liquid, evaporated to the hive when you press. One press on one hives.
Evaporated amitraz on one hives is 12 mg like in Polish Apiwarol. But this method is very cheep, faster and very effective.
I use Varromor after the last honey harvest. Four times every four days. To close varoa cycle(1- day 0, 2- day 4, 3- day 8, 4- day 12). All Varoa come out at that time with the young bees. In this time I killed about 90-95% varroa. And last time in October or November when in hive is no brood I use once. In this time I kill all varroa. Maybe can stay max 5 varroa in hive. And I have stillness to the next year. Of course you can use varomor one time when is no brood in hive but when is small infection of varroa (1-300 pieces in October). Of course you must evaporated when all bees are in hives (evening) and when temperature is above 10 Celsius (50 F).
You need 10-15 second to one hive ;) That is very fast method and relations are used less amitraz. You can lie on the bottom of the sheet greased with oil and count after two hours, the amount of varroa. And you know how many was in hive.

silviu318 · « **Reply #30 on:** January 29, 2013, 01:31:53 pm »

Hi!
I am a beekeeper in Romania.
My question is whether you pay taxes on beekeeping? (How much?) Receive a subsidy from the government for beekeeping?

Polish_beekeeper · « **Reply #31 on:** January 30, 2013, 11:00:04 am »

i dont pay taxes on beekeeping. In Poland you must have more like 80 hives to pay taxes. If you belong to the Polish beekeeping organization you can get the part of money to buy equipment. But by this grant (since 2004) prices of "bees equipment" went up strongly. And in principle you must pay this money like earlier. Only the federal government to use money;). Sorry for this but European money destroyed healthy competition of bee equipment companies. for example Apivarl (warroa medicine) before subsidies cost 15 polish zloty. Now when is in Majority free for Beekeepers associated cost 60 polish zloty. The same medicine produced by the same polish company in Ukraine cost 15 polish zloty. So its the same problem with other things. Easy money always create pathology.

silviu318 · « **Reply #32 on:** January 30, 2013, 04:05:20 pm »

Thanks for answer! Best regards!

Maryland Beekeeper · « **Reply #33 on:** February 01, 2013, 10:53:19 am »

Polish Beek,

Thanks for sharing. I like the angled roofs, are those supers ? American, "Varomor" :

Controling Varroa Mites in Bee Hives, Naturally

Cheers,
Drew

Polish_beekeeper · « **Reply #34 on:** February 01, 2013, 01:03:32 pm »

i dont know about this roofs. I paste first video from Youtube about Varromor ;). Yes this Amercan Varomor works in a similar way. I had the same in my apiary. But they was no precision. So i was made my varomor like in video in Youtube. And now it works ideal.

Finski · « **Reply #35 on:** February 01, 2013, 04:26:11 pm »

.
You propably have a good brood break in Poland. Why you do not use Oxalic trickling?

That oil gazification seems to be in early autumn because feeding boxes were on. It is time of thymol or formic acid.

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kampie · « **Reply #36 on:** March 19, 2013, 06:32:11 pm »

I'm looking for "checkmite strips", supposedly a very good remedy for warroa? Where can I buy it?

Michael Bush · « **Reply #37 on:** March 20, 2013, 03:47:59 pm »

>"checkmite strips"

They are very ineffective here now due to resistance. They are very deadly to bees and humans, and they cause residues in the wax that have ill effects on queen fertility and longevity as well as drone fertility and longevity. They are an organophosphate, a class of insecticides that were outlawed here in the US because they are too deadly to humans, and it was allowed only as an emergency measure for Varroa.

kampie · « **Reply #38 on:** March 21, 2013, 05:54:02 am »

Thank you for your answer. What do you use inside the Varroa? Is it possible to buy a pure substance coumpahos?

gplizga · « **Reply #39 on:** January 30, 2014, 06:43:20 pm »

My husband and I are planning on visiting Poland mid October and we are looking to visit apiaries, can you recommend contacts for us please? We will arrive in Warszawa and start from there.
Thank you
Galina Plizga