My eco solution to rat problems

[dr dkbee]

On Boxing day I did as advised and opened up my beehaus to treat with oxalic acid and to give them fondant. I was not sure whether to use the oxalic acid but with a mite drop of 2.5 mites per day a graph in the defra guide to varroa said treatment was necessary. Out of interest I have been counting the mites that have dropped each day since treatment. I was quite shocked by the number. There were 108 on the next day then 230 on the day afer that, followed by 135 today. Does this imply a severed infestation? I have also been using a mirror to look under the hive to check on the bees. The cluster is clearly visible just above the mesh floor. I am surprised they are so low down. With a draft through the floor, don't they get cold? I have also noticed quite a number of dead bees on the floor outside the hive. Is this normal? What is happeneing in other beehauses out there?

[Olly]

haven't checked mine recently, as it's been too wet when I've been about - but I'd say the mite drop just shows that the oxalic acid is working.

 

v8landy just posted about entrances, here so I guess it's normal to have some dead bees at this time of year.

[Guest]

Mite drop: 2.5 mites per day indicated five times the action base line!

 

Little wonder there is a high mite drop!! Yes quite a severe infestation which would indicate an early collapse of the colony in the new season. Twice as many would indicate a high probability of colony collapse some time fairly early in the next season. Whether the colony might be severely checked or killed in the winter months is not something I would like to be definite about, but that may have been the outcome due to a smaller population of bees and greater spreading of disease pathogens among the colony by the large ratio of mites to bees.

 

You should not be shocked by the mite drop, if you fully understand those danger signals given by a mite drop of that magnitude. Remeber mite drop is not an exact science and requires regular monitoring to form a 'trend' (individual results can have a wide tolerance of accuracy).

 

Position of cluster:The bees would have been clustered much tighter in the coldest periods but as long as the coldest bees do not drop below about 8 degrees they will survive without ill effect.

 

This indicates plenty of stores and you should not be feeding fondant unless they actually need it. The effect of this may well be that the bees will feed on this supply (fondant) and not clear comb ready for brood rearing (as the weather warms up), resulting in a reduced expansion rate ready for the spring campaign. Bad news for an early crop.

 

Bees on the ground: There will always be a few dead bees which have failed to return to the hive and may have been old/diseased/damaged. They are very obvious with snow on the ground.

 

Bees can also be tempted out into the cold by strong sunlight reflections from the sun on snow, even though too cold to fly; this can lead to high losses of bees from a colony and should be avoided, as any healthy bees lost at this time of the year will possibly affect the well-being of the colony and slow the spring build-up, at the very least.

 

Even solid floored hives can be susceptible to this risk and a board stood in front of the entrance can be used to avoid/reduce the temptations of flying in too cold conditions. A further effect is that any bee landing on the snow will be chilled beyond recovery within a very few seconds.

 

Hope this helps, and you consider the effects of you actions before actually doing it!

 

Regards, RAB