BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > NATURAL & ORGANIC BEEKEEPING METHODS
TF hives often die out in yr 2- how to avoid it ?
charentejohn:
Another first year keeper like myself was asking for info and I made the following recommendation.
When looking for advice always bear in mind the size and type of operation people are running. So in the case of beekeeping skills and experience this would have more impact for those with a large number of hives. For example recovering from losses by splits etc. Larger operations that harvest honey also need to manage hives more.
For myself, and the other person, it is just a matter of two hives and those not used for honey production. Maybe later but not the main purpose.
So that is a differet situation as losses are more damaging, but then again a split from someone else is often available so same in the end.
My hives will swarm and live as natural a life as I can provide in a warre box. In that sense they are wild bees so live or die by that life. They can swarm, supercede etc as they would in the wild so I would hope they would have a good chance of survival.
I am always aware of the situation of those responding when looking for information as there are so many variations of keeping. Not a problem just something to consider. With only two hives I could lose 50% at any time, and obviously will as that is just how it works. My hope is that if I try to keep them both in good condition that when that does happen the other will just spread out into the empty hive, or others will.
Ben Framed:
--- Quote from: JojoBeeBoy on September 18, 2020, 11:21:09 pm ---I despise the whole idea of treating, but alas, the 2 year die-off has happened like clock-work. I saw one mite on a package I installed in April-May and thought, "Oh, if you see one, there are thousands". I then drunk the koolaid and slapped in some apivar strips. I had a few hives set up for honey and ended up not being able (mentally) to fully insure that 1 part per trillion trillion hadn't made it from one of the other hives.
.
--- End quote ---
I am sorry that you lost your bees. I hope you do not give up and come back strong.
According to Dr Samuel Ramsey, the Scientist who discovered that varroa feed on fatty tissue membrane instead of bee blood, which was once accepted. If you see a varroa mite ON a bee, that is representation of only five percent of mites which are in that hive. So yes hypothetically speaking, your assumption of volume of mites, based on Dr Ramsey?s findings may not be that far off?
charentejohn:
My average mite count on a sticky board is 20-30/day as we go into autumn. The arrived in May after being treated by the supplier and had a count of 5/day the last one in september showed 16 and 25/day for the two hives. There will always be varroa present and I am now ok with the current numbers, not excessive.
I read that the majority of varroa are on the nurse bees, which makes sense, so most should drop onto the sticky board from there.
I am basing my optimism on the idea that when they arrived they had been treated so must have had the same mite count as they do now prior to that ?
So if they made it once they should make it again. They are active and still bringing in pollen so I take that as a sign of wellbeing.
I know sticky boards are not especially accurate but do show trends. I will keep doing them on the basis that all is well now and if they hold steady they must be coping with it.
Temperatures dropping now and 10c this morning, should improve a little next week. They are in adapter boxes (5 frame nuc size) with 18mm (3/4") pine walls in a sheltered corner. As they are under cover and won't get wet I may add a couple of layers of cardboard just to be sure.
Acebird:
Pre fall the queen lays up a storm to prepare the hive for wintering over. The population of mites explode because of this massive build up. Then the queen shuts down and the bees have little to do but groom when flows end. You can see a very high number of mite fall during this period. What matters most is if the new bees are healthy which is why I would never take honey or pollen during the expansion period.
Ben Framed:
Quoting AR Beekeeper. (added below), Who quoted the Scientist from Germany who advocates the brood break method, (Ralph Blucher) your hive may be in very serious trouble? You are experiencing a drop of 20-30 mites per day. That?s not even taking into account the numbers which may be under your capped brood. According to the AR report. 1 to 2 percent varroa are lost per day when NO brood is present. Considering this, Excluding your brood, 30 per day drop, which may represent only one to two percent of your mite problem. AGAIN IF THE REPORTS ARE ACCURATE FROM GERMANY.
If that 30 drop is one to two percent, your outer brood mite count will be roughly anywhere from
2,940 - 2,970 mites. Again not counting what is in and beneath your open and capped brood.
Concerning a 25 day brood break quoting ARBeekeeper
--- Quote from: AR Beekeeper on September 24, 2020, 01:39:53 pm ---According to Ralph Blucher, their studies in Germany show that the varroa on adult bees are lost at a rate of 1 to 2% per day. .
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: charentejohn on September 25, 2020, 05:54:27 am ---My average mite count on a sticky board is 20-30/day as we go into autumn. The arrived in May after being treated by the supplier and had a count of 5/day the last one in september showed 16 and 25/day for the two hives. There will always be varroa present and I am now ok with the current numbers, not excessive.
I read that the majority of varroa are on the nurse bees, which makes sense, so most should drop onto the sticky board from there.
I am basing my optimism on the idea that when they arrived they had been treated so must have had the same mite count as they do now prior to that ?
So if they made it once they should make it again. They are active and still bringing in pollen so I take that as a sign of wellbeing.
I know sticky boards are not especially accurate but do show trends. I will keep doing them on the basis that all is well now and if they hold steady they must be coping with it.
Temperatures dropping now and 10c this morning, should improve a little next week. They are in adapter boxes (5 frame nuc size) with 18mm (3/4") pine walls in a sheltered corner. As they are under cover and won't get wet I may add a couple of layers of cardboard just to be sure.
--- End quote ---
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