Nice to see lots of members again at the apiary though the weather could have been a bit nicer but it was very mild, following a cold spell and ideal for the tasks ahead.
We had started, two weeks ago, treating a stack of 6 supers of drawn comb, with Acetic acid. These were dismantled and replaced with a further 6 supers, having first removed the metal side bars, and stacked them inside a large polythene bag ( ex new mattress cover) with a pad between each super containing Acetic acid. This kills the spores of nosema and any wax moth eggs and helps preserve the drawn comb.
Oxalic treatment for varroa has its advantages and disadvantages. It can reduce the life expectancy of the winter bees if they are unable to go out on their poo flights due to bad weather. The process of cleaning each other means the acid ends up in their stomach and without cleaning flights it shortens their life. Overdosing or two applications could cause the colony to die, so caution is very necessary.
we first checked, cleaned and replaced the varroa boards, then lifted the lids and crown boards and with a specially designed applicator that pre measures 5ml, each seam of bees were treated. It is recommended that all hives in an apiary are treated at the same time, so even some colonies that had a low varroa drop were treated.
Hive#1 varroa count 42 in 14days = 3 / day. treated with OA
Hive#2 varroa 30 = 2/day. treated with OA
Hive#3 varroa 8 less than 1/day. treated with OA
Hive #4 varroa 7 less than 1/day. treated with OA
Hive #5 varroa 87 nearly 6 /day . treated with OA and top super removed as empty.
Hive#6 varroa 16 around 1/day. treated with OA
Hive #7 varroa 46 nearly 3/ day treated with OA
Hive #8 varroa 20 over 1 /day treated with OA
Hive#9 varroa Solid floor Warre hive treated with OA and top box removed as empty and mouldy.
Hive#10 Top Bar hive not treated
Nuc 15 F varroa 15 approx. 1 /day . treated with OA
Nuc 15H polly nuc not treated
