|
 Monday
May 10th 2010
May past:
2009,
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
We're scheduled to drive north
today. I look out the window and can't see as far as the tracks.
Maybe by the time I am ready to go, the visibility will be better.
 I
have not marked any queens yet, but here is
a link to a video.
At right is a hive with a
Swienty box on top and (BeeMax)
on bottom. I did not glue the (BeeMax).
I think I should have. Most of the boxes are not sprung
like this on, and I can glue it if I take it out of service for
a few minutes. Neither was painted and I am not sure both
have been outside for the same amount of time since my brood
chambers were not all in use all the time. I have another
Swienty in the yard and I'll have to take a shot of it.
From this picture, the Swienty looks appreciably better.
Tonight, I'm in Falher at
the Honey Comb Inn. Nice enough motel.
I used the Rogers Rocket Hub on
the way up, running it off a small inverter plugged into the
cigarette lighter and making phone calls using Skype. I also
was able to surf the web and do email (I was not the driver for much
of the trip). There were a few drop-outs along the 300-mile
drive, and at points the sound was less than perfect, but for the
most part the test was a success. With and external antenna, I
am sure the performance would have been almost perfect. I have
yet to figure out the data cost, but should have an idea soon.
BTW, I have discontinued the
scale hive charting for now, since I have split the hives and
generally changed things. I'll start up again soon.
 Tuesday
May 11th 2010
May past:
2009,
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
I slept well.
Finally, all over the province,
after some trying weeks, the weather looks stellar and the bees
should really get a lot of brood started this week. I'd love
to be home to do some lawn and bee work, but I am on the road.
By the time I get back on Friday night, things should look a lot
different. Dandelions are in bloom and the fruit trees should
be starting any day.
 I'll
have to get more boxes under all the hives before I go west on
Monday for ten days on
Salus.
I'm hoping to get some more (BeeMax)
boxes before I get too far into splitting because I will need them
to winter. Once before I made the mistake of mixing wood and
plastic brood chambers in double hives and discovered that I could
not wrap them in any easy fashion.
I should also check for varroa
and consider using some formic.
 Wednesday
May 12th 2010
May past:
2009,
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
I spent a twelve-hour day
inspecting bees with another inspector, in the yards with the
beekeepers. The weather is great and the beekeepers we visited
have great-looking bees. With few exceptions the
beekeeper works with us and pulls the frames and we sample and
comment. Occasionally the beekeeper cannot make it and
we work alone, but I think in such cases, the beekeeper misses out
on a good opportunity to get a second opinion.
These visits are a very useful
opportunity for the beekeepers to get an idea where they stand and
what we have learned by visiting around the region. Most
of the varroa levels we see are very low and in some surveys we see
no mites at all. We may, however, have saved one beekeeper
from major losses by providing early warning and insight about his
abnormal and alarming varroa populations.
 Thursday
May 13th 2010
May past:
2009,
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
Another fine day, and two more
good operations visited. We have now spot checked about -- I'm
guessing -- 15,000 or 20,000 hives. These are pretty good
commercial beekeepers and their bees all look good and wintering
losses were in the 10 to 20% range, which this far north is
excellent.
Tonight we stay in Grande
Prairie, and tomorrow we do one small inspection out near the BC
border in the morning, then drive the five hours back south to the
Crop Centre North. From there, I have a three-hour drive home.
I expect to arrive late.
It seems my plans for the
upcoming San Juan Islands cruise have been altered and that I've
moved up to skipper. The member of our trio who was to be
Number One has run into some wrinkles at work and will be unable to
arrive as early as the rest of us.
 Friday
May 14th 2010
May past:
2009,
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
We did the last inspection out
at Beaverlodge and returned to Edmonton. From Edmonton, I
returned home, arriving around 10 PM
 I
have been using the Rogers Rocket Hub connected to an inverter
in the car and had Skype wherever there was coverage.
Coverage is spotty in the North, but for the most part it was
OK. I can get an antenna for it which would be a big help,
I assume, since the unit is sitting down in the car and is
partly shielded.
I don't have a cell
phone any more. I fired Bell Mobility after all these
years for cheating me just one time too often.
If there is one thing I have
learned on this trip it is that the successful pros make sure they
monitor and treat. I've been puttering with my bees and not
being very serious. What I see in my yard and what I see in
these yards tells me that I am slipping. When I was
commercial, I never lost one hive to varroa to my knowledge and had
AFB 99.9% under control. In combing through hundreds of hives
this week we never found any AFB and very few cells of chalk, sack
or EFB. We often found whole yards where alcohol wash turned
up no mites at all.
 Medhat
Nasr gets much of the credit for this. He spends long
hours working with beekeepers to gather consensus and cooperation
and networks with the top scientists worldwide. When I
returned to the office last night on the way home, the Edmonton
Journal was on the table and this article was on display.
image
article
 Saturday
May 15th 2010
May past:
2009,
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
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1999
| > Hello allen,
>We have had a problem with an
underground hive in our yard for the last 3 years. The
bees don't really bother us except the kids are scared
of them and they fly into the garage, house, truck etc.
I don't really want to kill the bees but they are
starting to annoy the whole family. Any suggestions on
how to chase them to a new home, or if need be kill
them. Any help would be appreciated.
These are not likely honey bees.
They could be bumblebees or wasps. Without being there
and seeing what they are and exactly where they are, I'm
afraid I cannot make any recommendations. Chances are
they will die out by themselves at some point.
If they have not stung anyone to this point, they are
not particularly likely to do so in the future. Bees and
wasps are quite peaceable and we have had wasp nests in
a doorway where opening the door exposed part of the
comb, and no one got stung. They did come out to look
when we opened that door, though. We had a big nest
about 8 feet from our picnic table all summer at about
waist height on the house wall in a window indentation.
No one got stung.
Mass stinging attacks that people fear are extremely
rare and usually related to something disturbing the
nest. Bees and wasps are usually quite peaceable and
good neighbours.
Besides, a sting or two is no big deal. There is pain,
there are tears, there is swelling, then it passes. It
is a life experience, that can be good for kids.
Studying bees can be educational. Perhaps you could take
pictures and look for the bees on the net and in the
library and learn their habits. If, then, after getting
to know them you feel like killing them, you'll know
how.
|
It's our wedding anniversary
today. Forty-two years. 1968 was the year we married and
bought The Old Schoolhouse.
I'm home again for a day or
two, then it is off to Bellingham for ten days on
Salus, seven of them in a flotilla organized by
FACS.
The inspecting trip was great.
I had a lot of fun and think that we may have saved a beekeeper or
two from big losses due to nosema or varroa getting out of control.
It makes me think I should take a better look at my own bees.
Time is short and I have a lot
to do before I go, so I won't have time to write much here for a
while. We'll see.
 On
the left is a really good picture of something that amazed me in the
last inspection of the trip. (Click
for a close-up).
This is what we saw in the burr
comb under a lid in a hive we were inspecting. This hive only
showed three mites in an alcohol wash of 300 bees. In addition
to the mites in the small area shown in the picture, we had already
pulled four varroa out of those cells to examine! We did not
look further, since we were out of time, but if there were 7 varroa
in just that small region, how many more were hidden?
We also compared some
foundation we came across. The wax is a popular product made
locally in the Peace. The plastic
is Permadent, I think. I'll have to check.
 Count
ten cells along the ruler and measure. The result, divided by
ten is the cell size in millimetres.
I get 5.5 for the wax and 5.3 for the black
plastic.
 There
are 7-1/2% more cells on the plastic than the wax sheet shown.
That results in greater brood density -- 7-1/2% more cells in a
brood chamber and can be a consideration when running single brood
chambers as many are these days.
What is the 'proper' size for
cells? That is a matter of debate, but when bees swarm around
here and build comb, it seems the cells always average around 5.2mm.
It has been demonstrated, too, that bees are adaptable and can
manage just fine on cells 5% larger or smaller than that. A 5%
change in diameter (D) from 5.20 to 5.46 results in a 10% increase
in cell area. A=π(D/2)2).
That means about 10%
fewer cells per frame when using the larger cells. That is
equivalent to one less frame in a brood chamber. I don't
know of any 5.2mm foundation on the market now, but Pierco
one-piece standard depth frames are 5.25mm, and with the smaller
top and bottom and end bars, there are about 20% more cells per
frame. I like them, especially in black. So do the
bees.
Our rented inspection van in a bee holding yard in the Peace River
country. Black plastic bags draped over the hives add warmth
early in the season.
I checked with Derrick and he
can get me 100 (BeeMax)
boxes in about two weeks for about $15 each. I think I should
buy them, judging by how much better the styrofoam hives look
compared to the others.
This morning I ran up to Heavy
metal and picked up a transmission for the forklift. Wouldn't
you know it? The forklift worked fine when I got home and I
used it to unload the transmission.
In the afternoon, I went
through all the hives and looked for mites, disease and queens.
Most of the queens were accepted and laying, but several were not
there. I used up the rest of the queens, made two more splits
and a four-frame nuc. I saw only a few cells of EFB, otherwise
no problems were apparent.
We have some very warm weather
coming up and I expect that by the time I get back, some will be
thinking of swarming, or close. I'll split again before I go
east. I now have 43 hives and a four-frame split.
If I had queens or cells, I
could split more now, but it would be stretching things. In
two weeks, the weather will be more settled and maybe I can get
another 40 splits, if I have cells queens. I think I
prefer cells.
The thymol is on its way and
should arrive mid-week. I ordered 25lbs to split with friends.
  Where
was I last year on this date? Out in the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf
Stream, somewhere between Bermuda and Sandy Hook, New Jersey riding
some big waves. That is Frank at the wheel of his
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 45.2,
Compass Rose X.
Salus
is a 40-foot model in the same design.
We have some hot weather coming.
Hot days and warm nights allow the bees to get ahead.
Even the weaker colonies can raise a lot of brood, since the
dandelions are in bloom as well.
Here are some timely topics:
| A lot
of Alberta beekeepers are using Apivar™
these days. What do we know about it?
Here is
an abstract:
Abstract – An apiary trial
was conducted in 1999 in Northern Sardinia
(Italy) to evaluate the effectiveness and the
persistence of amitraz impregnated in plastic
strips against Varroa destructor Anderson and
Trueman. Twelve colonies of bees derived from
Apis mellifera ligustica Spin. in Dadant Blatt
hives were used; six colonies were treated with
2 strips per hive and the other six were left
untreated control. Two methods for the
evaluation of treatment efficacy were compared:
the per- cent effectiveness measured as the
percent reduction of V. destructor infestation
in treated hives, and the percent control which
took into consideration natural mortality in the
control hives. Percent effectiveness was greater
than the percent control. Amitraz residues were
determined in honey and the plastic strips. No
amitraz residue higher than 0.01 mg.kg–1 was
detected in honey. The amitraz con- tent was
stable during the trial in plastic strips placed
in the colonies, and in the control strips. A
higher adult bee mortality in the treated hives
was recorded only after the first week of the
treatment.
And from
Portugal:
Portuguese beekeepers
depending on blind and repeated use of amitraz
in fighting Varroa have meant a selection
pressure towards amitraz‑tolerant Varroa
populations. Some of these Varroa populations
were recently pin pointed during a nationwide
monitoring effort (by field and laboratory
testing), allowing for investigating the
practical meaning such increased levels of
tolerance have to properly applied Apivar field
treatments and how quickly those populations
regress to normal levels of susceptibility to
amitraz. Samples of amitraz‑tolerant Varroa
populations were collected in capped worker
brood left to emerge in newly artificially built
colonies. During the following 4 months,
experimental colonies were treated twice (with
Apivar and Apistan) and periodically assessed
for (i) levels of apparent Varroa infestation in
capped worker brood and adult bees, and (ii)
daily rates of dead mature Varroa that had
fallen to protected hive bottom boards. Finally,
thymol (Apiguard) was applied to all
experimental colonies and bees and brood samples
were collected to account for Varroa that could
eventually have survived previous acaricide
applications.The main results we obtained mean
that Varroa populations that stood out, in field
and laboratory tests, as being highly tolerant
to amitraz, quickly revert to a status of high
susceptibility to a properly applied Apivar
treatment (overall mean efficacy of 78 %) if
removed, for a few months, from contexts where
amitraz applications are excessively recurrent
> >No residue higher
than 0.01 mg.kg-1 was detected in honey. >
And likely won't
normally be. What will be detected is the
degradation product, DMPF, which may actually be
of more concern to human health. See a typical
residue sample from a U.S. commercial operation
(here)
Randy Oliver
|
Here is a method I favour,
but have never personally tried:
From Frank C. Pellett's
1929 book, "Practical Queen Rearing" BIG BATCHES
OF NATURAL CELLS BY THE HOPKINS OR CASE METHOD
Many extensive honey
producers who desire to make short work of
requeening an entire apiary, and who do not care
to bother with mating boxes or other extra
paraphernalia, make use of the Case method,
which has been somewhat modified from its
original form. This method is advocated by such
well known beekeepers as Oscar Dines of New York
and Henry Brenner of Texas. The plan was first
used in Europe.
To begin with, a strong
colony is made queenless to serve as a cell
building colony. Then a frame of brood is
removed from the center of the brood nest of the
colony containing the breeding queen from whose
progeny it is desired to rear the queens. In its
place is given a tender new comb not previously
used for brood rearing. At the end of four days
this should be well filled with eggs and just
hatching larvae. If the queen does not make use
of this new comb at once, it should not be
removed until four days from the time when she
begins to lay in its cells. At that time nearly
all the cells should be filled with eggs and
some newly hatched larvae.
This new comb freshly
filled is ideal for cell building purposes. The
best side of the comb is used for the queen
cells and is prepared by destroying two rows of
worker cells and leaving one, beginning at the
top of the frame. This is continued clear across
the comb. We will now have rows of cells running
lengthwise of the comb, but if used without
further preparation the queen cells will be
built in bunches that will be impossible to
separate without injury to many of them.
Accordingly, we begin at one end, and destroy
two cells and leave one in each row, cutting
them down to the midrib, but being careful not
to cut through and spoil the opposite side. Some
practice destroying three or four rows of cells,
and leaving one to give more room between the
finished queen cells.
This excerpt is lifted
from
this page at Michael Bush's excellent website.
The article continues there, plus much more.
(Note: I don't agree
with quite a few of Michael's assumptions or
conclusions and I am not recommending following
him blindly (don't follow me blindly either),
but I do respect him as a beekeeper and for his
web presence.
|
From
BEE-L today, an interesting report on
success using oxalic drizzle. OA drizzle
is the method I have been using, but only once
in the fall -- so far:
My buddy Rick Drutchess brought one (two headed
jars)down to our Florida farm this last spring
and I was very impressed.
In my experience, the two headed shaker will
reveal more than twice as many mites than the
ether roll. I've read some posters claim that
ether rolls are ineffectual to get an accurate
count. I think they are just a different
measuring stick akin to inches vs. centimeters.
I think a beek can get a good feel are where
she/he stands either way.
That being said, I am going to order some more
shakers and I do agree with the Dr. that 10
mites is perhaps a good threshold on the shaker
system.
All things considered, I will say it again,
keeping the mite count very low is number one in
keeping bees healthy.
I have to update my oxalic trials from last
winter/spring. Took a yard of 80 from a 16 mite
ether roll to almost zero with 3 treatments with
oxalic. Both deeps (doubles)were treated each
time with 25 ml, more or less, for a total of 50
ml per hive. I would generally be able to treat
80 hives per gallon. This is a spring treatment
with lots of new hatch.
On the last treatment, I gave each deep
(doubles)50 ml of 3.5%. That is about 100 ml per
hive. NO damage. That's 40 hives to one gallon
on the last treatment. I must point out that
there was a constant hatch of new bees coming in
and also nectar coming in daily.
After hearing so many stories of beekeepers
hurting their bees with too much formic, thymol,
oxalic, fuji mite, etc., I would like to make a
recommendation to all beeks. Trial every new
treatment on a few hives before treating all
your hives. Test each treatment according to
conditions like temp, nectar flow, population,
etc. Put a sticky board on the bottom on the
trials. You may need more or less treatment.
Conditions can vary greatly.
Then roll roll roll.
Or shake shake shake. ;-)
Kirk Jones
Sleeping Bear Farms beekeepers making honey...
Benzie Playboys cajun and zydeco band........
Beekeeping Journal Blog thoughts on beekeeping
|
I'm not normally a big fan of gloves in
the bee yard, but as inspectors, we are required to wear
disposable gloves. I have not been impressed with any
I saw until I gave these a try. They are nitrile
(chemical-proof).
They cost $10 for 100 and can be
re-used a time or two. The fit is comfortable and the
feel through them is excellent. My hands feel great
when I take them off and there is no need to wash up.
They protect from miticides as well as propolis, honey, wax
and other goo as well as stings! I think I am a
convert. I bought a box and now use them for
mechanical work, too.
 Monday
May 17th 2010
May past:
2009,
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
This morning, I leave for the coast.
The bees are ready for two weeks on their own, but by the
time I get back, I expect that some will be hanging out.
Yesterday I took a look at my (BeeMax)
boxes and ordered another 100. I had simply tapped
them together in
2002 and used them thereafter. They were not
painted or glued. Not all were outside the whole time,
but I have a pretty good idea how they perform.
  I
tapped apart several which had sprung a bit. I see
some damage from wax moth or ants and from prying on them
too hard with a hive tool. (One time a hive got really
gummed up and while I should just have laid the hive back
and pried each frame through the crack, I tried forcing the
boxes apart). One tab is broken, possibly from dropping.
The good news is that they are simple to fix. A little
Weld Bond applied
to a break or joint and clamping for a few hours and the
piece is restored.
  I
put a little bead of glue into the joints and tapped them
together. I glued the broken tab back on and glued the
joint and the box is stronger than ever.
At right is a joint partly tapped
open, showing some ant or wax moth damage. It looks
bad, but the box actually seals well and is OK. I
think a little paint and possibly Vaselining the contact
surfaces once a year might mitigate the problem. At
any rate I am only showing the worst problems.
 It
also occurs to me that when the boxes get old, that I can
run them across a saw and glue wood strips on the contact
surfaces. to extend their life. In the meantime, the
message is that I should not let the hives get so glued up
that extreme prying is necessary.
Dandelions are blooming at last.
 Tuesday
May 18th 2010
May past:
2009,
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
I'm in a motel in
Kamloops this morning and expect to be in Bellingham after
lunch. After a Skippers' Meeting, we board
Salus and spent the night. In the morning, Rick
and I are free to set sail into the San Juans once we
provision a bit more and plot our course. You can
follow our progress on the web in real time. The
address is
http://tinyurl.com/39o49h6
and the page auto-refreshes periodically to expose any new
fixes (map pins).
Meantime, Ellen and the
animals are holding down the fort at home. The
temperatures are expected to hit 30 today, with a low around
13, so I expect that the brood areas will be expanding
rapidly.
I asked Ellen to check
and pull entrance reducers if any hives start hanging out
while I am gone. Hanging out attracts the skunks and
teaches them bad habits which they may pass on to their
offspring. The best policy with wildlife is to be
careful not to train them to be pests.
We arrived at
Bellingham around 2 PM and boarded Salus. After a
check-out of the inventory and settling in, we went out to a
brew pub with the crew from "Just Fiddlin'", also members of
FACS, and did a little grocery shopping.
 Wednesday
May 19th 2010
May past:
2009,
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
 Today
we took Salus for a sail out on Bellingham Bay and returned
by 3 PM since a gale was expected.
Soon after we got in, the storm
began and continued all night. Rick (pictured beside
the boat) and I had an excellent supper at an Italian
restaurant, bought a few more groceries and then called it a
night.
The rain continued heavy, with
strong, gusty winds all night and into the morning.
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