The Honey Factory

[Apis mellifera]

Unfortunately, it was bound to happen. Poor Aussie beekeepers have no idea what they are up against.

https://amp.theguardian.com/environ...bee-lockdown-after-deadly-parasite-discovered

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Unfortunately, it was bound to happen. Poor Aussie beekeepers have no idea what they are up against.

https://amp.theguardian.com/environ...bee-lockdown-after-deadly-parasite-discovered

Why don't they just lockdown the hives and treat them?
It seems like a waste to me.

 

[Apis mellifera]

Why don't they just lockdown the hives and treat them?
It seems like a waste to me.

They are trying everything they can. But from what Im hearing, mites are probably beyond the 10km range already. Except for burning, no mite treatments have a 100% kill rate.

 

[Apis mellifera]

You can watch the spread here:
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/biosecurity/seasonal-pests-and-diseases/spring/varroa-mite
Its alarmingly fast.

 

[karenerwin]

I wondered. Carniolans are good wax builders but a conservative bee.
You probably won't be able to harvest honey from them the first year, so it will be imperative to keep them alive through the winter.
Do you have a mite treatment plan? @Apis mellifera has a lot of info on it.
Do you just have 1 hive?
I use this because I just have a couple hives and can buy singles. Keep in mind that the mite treatment stuffs have expiration dates on them.
https://www.bbhoneyfarms.com/store/c-42-beehive-medications/p-700-apiguard-singles

I’m going to see if I can get my friend’s husband ( a bee keeper with experience !) to come over and help me do a mute count. I’ve never done one before. When I had bees before this is when my mentor became too busy to be able to mentor me any more. I’m also hoping he will have advice for treatments since he just lives about an hour away from me.
I hadn’t planned on trying to harvest any honey this year in the hopes that that will help them survive the winter

 

[jerryse]

Back home and worked the bees yesterday . Pulled some honey . Trapped swarm had left but it was a small swarm . I hive was queen less . So I had already set up for a new queen . Took a in state road trip for the queen . Extracted today and installed queen . Going to be hot today so I am probably done for the day . Oh I used a fume board to remove bees from super . Worked really well .

 

[duluthralphie]

I had a queenless hive last Monday. I moved eggs across from the other hive.

The queenless hive has laid away a ton of honey.

Hopefully they will be strong enough for winter.

The swarm trap hive is empty again.

The other hive seems to be going strong.

I am not going to get as much honey as I did last year.

 

[jerryse]

I had to release the queen Tuesday as she was not out yet . Candy was almost gone . I had my ablation procedure yesterday . 10 pound lifting restriction for a week .

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I had to release the queen Tuesday as she was not out yet . Candy was almost gone . I had my ablation procedure yesterday . 10 pound lifting restriction for a week .

I hope you start to feel better.

 

[jerryse]

I saw a post about robber fly or was it fly robber yesterday . They eat mosquitoes and bees . Another beekeeper wanted a ID and this is what it was . I have them hanging around my bee yard .