Hive Autopsy Finished on Bee Glad...

On Saturday, I finished examining Bee Glad... and found a disturbing surprise. The bottom board was covered with thousands of varroa mites. What part this played in the death of Bee Glad... is still debatable but my surprise lies in how did this occurred. I checked the hive for mites all spring and summer, did periodic drone brood frame extraction, along with sugar dusting. When the mite count became too large in August, I treated it with Thymol and the count went down significantly. I was confident going into winter that the mite load was reasonably low, but, having seen the state of the bottom board, I imagine my confidence was unfounded.

I will be publishing some photos of the bottom board later this week.

I Hope Not...

...but it looks like both my hives are dead.

We've had some brutal temperatures this January in Minnesota. However, yesterday was in the 'thirties. I went out to Beelandia to check out both Metpropolis and Bee Glad..., hoping to see or hear some signs of life. Without daring to open either hive, I observed neither.

If both are dead like I suspect, the next step is to figure out the possible causes and go on with new packages this spring. I am quite sure that I left both hives with enough to eat, but with the cold we have been having, starvation is still very possible. If the cluster was positioned in such a way that food was not directly accessible and the cluster could not move for a few days because of the sub zero temperatures we were having, the cluster could've still starved even with plenty of stores left.

Also, I wonder what effect those high mite counts might've have had on the colonies at the end of August. I treated each with Thymol when I observed the counts but was this simply trying to close the door after the horse was gone?

I must also ask myself about the quality of foraging that exists in the area I keep the hives, especially with a golf course, and all its pesticides and herbicides, three blocks away. Am I exposing the bees to too many stresses in this small city environment?

Lastly, I need to honestly examine my own apicultural abilities. I have tried to learn as much I can but was it enough and applied correctly.

Autumn Assessment

With both hives wrapped up, it's time I did a little assessment (I hate that word!) of what I've learned in my first year of beekeeping. So, here is my list! I reserve the right to add to it as I await spring.

1. I have found that, at least for me, starter strips do not work that well when attempting foundationless frames and bars. My bees chewed up the strips, tore them out, and built comb helter-skelter all over the place. Once I used simple Popsicle sticks as a guide, 99% of my cross-comb problems ended.

2. Related to the above, I learned not to wait for the bees to solve cross-comb "problems" on their own. It will only lead to a more disruptive problem later on when you try to move bars around for the winter.

3. You can learn an awful lot about the health of your bees by simply watching the entrance. You don't need to open them up constantly, as interesting as that might be. I have learned so much about bees simply by sitting in front of the hives and watching the bees leave and return.

4. It really pays to monitor each hives varroa count periodically throughout the season. Had I gotten lazy in August, because my mite counts had been so low throughout the year, I might've missed the rapid population increase that happened in August. I did not want to have to use any miticide, no matter how soft and sustainable the chemical, but the extra high count called from some action, other than the approaches I'd been using. To paraphrase Gary on the biobees forum says, "Dead bees can't adapt to their environment!"

5. If this first season is any indication, you can keep bees in town without annoying your neighbors. All that's needed is a few precautions (e.g. tall fence) and some consideration of those you live with in the community. I still think keeping them in town offers some nutritional advantages for the bees, compared with more monocultural areas just a few miles away.

6. I would urge any beginners to start with two hives and no more. Two hives allow comparisons to be made on the one hand, and doesn't become too much of a burden initially on the other.

Any of you readers want to add any thoughts here? I would greatly appreciate hearing about what you learned this season from your own apicultural practice, especially you beginners out there.

Catching Up With the Blog

I started the semester last week and that fact has taken my attention away from keeping up with my blog.  The following are a few notes I have been meaning to write about:

I did some mite testing a week and a half ago and the count just skyrocketed over previous weeks. I recognized that this was not a good situation to go into fall and winter with so I did treat, very reluctantly, with Apiguard, a Thymol-based miticide. I hate being put on the pesticide treadmill and the bees did not like it as well. There is not really much written about the bees initial reaction to thymol use, but, between the 90 degree temperature and the Apiguard, both hives got an extreme case of bearding that scared me a bit. 

The temperatures plummetted this week, so the bees are much less active right now. I am observing them closely.