@ BFB
on 1 yard mite count was surprisingly high and formerly strong hives had dwindled. One had died. That hasn`t happened to me for quite a while!
that?s interesting! Just today I read in the bee magazine ( Biene und Natur) that this is a this years phenomena. Not only with you!
The weaker hives are humming, the stronger ones have difficulties.
You told me yourself that it?s very difficult to keep your bees alive in your setting, but since you take care of them rather good I suggest this is a bad location, it must not be reinvasion coming from the outside.
Perhaps your hive 5% got some spraying out of the forest. Forest plantages use much spraying and you know how difficult this year was because of the wood beetles.
Spraying: short lived bees, dwindling broodnests, more mites in brood.
There are places which have mites with higher and different virus levels or mutated virus, there are places with nosema present. Can be many factors.
It can be a pool of cold and humid air.
Bees that struggle or are weakened by virus or nosema have no defense against mites at all, so treatments might come too late.
I know of some tf beekeepers in black forest. They count mites and cull broodcombs not to have their hives crashing. Believe me they do not want losses too.
But tf beekeeping is almost not possible in an area with so many migrating commercials. So perhaps it?s a myth and it?s a commercial near you who sets free the mites because he has not such a well done schedule like you have.
Mite reinvasion comes mostly because of drifting, I learned from the swedish resistant bees breeder. He will use robber screens on all hives next year,got the idea from me.
You will have no reinvasion from the bad tf beekeepers then
except your hives have no defense at all. But if your bees are the ones that rob...mmh.
@ Ace
As you know I use small cell and a cut out drone corner, following Dee Lusby. I monitored the mite infestation by opening cells. The drone cells are much more infested in my hives than the worker cells.
So the mites are still using the drone cells more, but IMHO they go into worker cells when bees expel the drones in summer.
This expelling does not happen in most of my hives. They have drones all season and to me this is a trait I want to preserve.
My breeding goals will be drones until winter, entrance defense, mite biting,VSH. This I want to propagate, if I have survivors.
I think this developement to lure mites into worker cells by culling drone frames can be returned to a better management if beekeepers would follow. That the drones eat too much honey is a myth in my opinion. Drones are valuable.
@ gww
hello, nice to meet you again.
