Poorly chicken

[essexgary]

Hi all, just found this on the BK Forum website. really useful read - so thought I would paste it here. Gary

 

Could I ask you please to put out a reminder to all of the

District Secretaries about members looking at the food levels of

Their bee colonies, and also highlight Varroa Management at this

Critical time.

 

I have been out inspecting quite a bit recently and almost exclusively

Have come across bees which are starving, some to the point where their

Demise was only hours away - I have even taken to carrying syrup in the

Car with me, as, in general terms beekeepers have nothing in stock for

contingency feeding. In some cases I have had to pour syrup into empty

Comb and onto the top-bars for the bees to feed to get them going again

As they were at that 'creeping' point which signs almost imminent demise

Of the stock

 

A very sad state of affairs I am sure you would agree? – These are not

Isolated incidents, but on some days are reflected in every site we visit.

 

Also in many cases I am seeing increased levels of Varroa - this becomes

More and more ‘visually’ evident in colonies whom are short of food as

the brood nest diminishes and the mites move onto the bees themselves. Again in

Some of the cases the Beekeeper had neither thought about, nor prepared

To carry out any sort of Varroa controls, or doing much in the way of

Monitoring. Can I emphasise again that where insert boards are used with

Open Mesh Floors the boards must be made sticky before use, otherwise

A consistently low mite count will be realized, as the mites will simply

Walk off! Often back into hive to continue their quest.

 

I am seeing in lots of cases of people using icing sugar as a 'Varroa Treatment'

It should be borne in mind that Icing Sugar is to be seen as a complimentary

Technique to other forms of Integrated Pest Management. As a standalone it

Rarely has sufficient knock-down to achieve the full controls on its own

Unless it is done regularly, skillfully and with the correct Open Mesh Floor

In place, IE: With sufficient drop beneath to ensure that the mites cannot

Return to the Hive, and sufficient cover onto the bees – the value of just

Sprinkling icing sugar onto top bars is very questionable, although in some

Cases it has helped to keep the bees alive! By giving them something to eat.

 

Again something else which rears its head regularly is where a beekeeper

Has taken delivery of a Nucleus – filled up the compliment of the Brood Chamber

with Foundation And provided no supplementary feed – the bees are sitting there,

just surviving On the drawn comb with no hope of expansion to survive the winter.

 

Please Please – Heft hives to check for Weight, Look inside and see

What is happening, Feed now to ensure winter survival unless hives are

So heavy you can hardly lift them.

 

Keep an eye on the wasp situation and reduce entrances / set traps where

Necessary.

 

We are now approximately three weeks into a dearth of nectar, unless you

Are within flying distance of a specific crop which is providing something

Of value, and from what I can see in most areas a minimum of 10 days before

The Ivy comes properly into flower to be of use.

The link below will take members to the Fact Sheets Section of

Beebase where they will find information on many of the subjects

Outlined

 

https://secure..fera.defra.gov.uk/be...cfm?pageid=167

 

 

Many Thanks and Kindest regards

 

Andy

 

 

Andy Wattam

National Bee Inspector

[Olly]

Thanks for posting that - very useful!

[Daphne]

and rather chilling

 

We are going to take our honey this weekend, and I have certainly noticed a lack of bee activity over the past couple of weeks. We always leave them quite a bit of honey but this is a timely reminder about extra feed as well. I've also got my Apiguard at the ready. Thank you.

[essexgary]

I've got my usual dilema of how much to feed - have a new-ish queen and she is still laying - do I feed so that they fill up all the space, do I leave it. same every year! so i'm feeding...