The Honey Factory

[Egghead_Jr]

Consider a level teaspoon of Oxalic crystals as 4 grams. Mix that to 100 ml of warmed 1:1 sugar syrup. Ensure it's all dissolved, may require more heat.

You can get the plastic 60 ml syringe from an Agway or Tractor Supply type store for 5 bucks. Does not come with a needle and you don't use it. 5ml dribble of solution per seam of bees. Not empty seams (between frames) rather those that are covered in bees. Total amount needed depends on how large the brood nest covered in bees is. It's a one and done treatment and perfect for cleaning packages and as a last fall treatment when they are nearly brood less. Only need latex gloves for safety and maybe goggles if you splash around or like to rub your eyes.

Oxalic (wood bleach) can be picked up at a hardware store for around $10 for plastic 12 oz tub. Sublimation of Oxalic is great too but you'd want a respirator with face mask or wear goggles. Amazon has the type below with pink filters, for organic acid vapor, for $37.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Formic acid is good for summer when you have supers on. Formic pro is the newer pad. Has a longer shelf life. The storage time has to do with the membrane degrading.

I will be playing with formic this season with flash treatments. The pads are a slower release and I'm confused by the idea of that. It results in queen Supersedure as it's strong enough to kill young brood and the bees blame the queen. Randy O. has better luck with that not occuring if you tone down the off gassing. Use the package the pad comes in and cover the top of it so it's only gasing out the bottom.

Formic is nasty stuff. I highly recommend using the above mentioned respirator with full face mask. And use kitchen dish or neoprene gloves.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Friends, i am confused now. The local bee-keepers around here either use Oxalic-acid with a vaporizer or powdered sugar to address the mites. I helped out during an acid treatment and accidentally inhaled some of the vapor. Made me cough for days - maybe i am overly sensitive to volatile organic acids, i can't stand vinegar and formic acid, makes me coughing immediately. That's why i decided to go with the powered sugar method.
Anyways, i received the new Dadant catalogue yesterday and i read through the turquoise section (Medications and Pest Control) and found literally a ton of "medications" against varroa:

• APIGUARD - a slow release thymol gel that is also effectively treating Tracheal mites
• Formic Pro strips - I assume those strips slowly release formic acid
• Mite Away Quick Strips - Formic-Acid polysaccharide gel which (i assume) is supposed to be fed by the bees to the brood as it »kills the varroa mite where it reproduces under the brood cap« (?)
• Apistan strips - contains a »synthetic pyrethroid tau-fluvalinate«, so basically a mite targeting insecticide that is (more or less) harmless for the bees?
• Apivar - wow! "Controlled Release Technology" - Or in other words a strip that releases Amitraz, an acaricide, over time. Whatever an acaricide might bee…

Has anyone any experiences with these products?
Any recommendations?
I will receive my packaged bees in 2-3 weeks, when should i start with mite treatment after installing the bees?

I've used Apiguard.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Well then i will put in an order for some mite treatment strips, not sure which ones though…
And i will prepare a formic-acid treatment for summer…

Another question, looking through the Dadant catalogue is stumbled upon their EZ-Frames:
https://www.dadant.com/catalog/m58725-6-1-4-ez-frames-each
Basically they have replaced the wood parts of a frame with plastic, creating a single piece of extruded plastic. - Imho that has a lot of advantages:

• Can't fall apart due to loose nails, glue failing or wood rotting
• Easier to clean
• Actually a tad cheaper than the classic wood-frame/foundation

I am thinking about using these frames in the honey supers this year. What do you think about those?

 

[5Australorpasaures]

Talk to other bee keepers, take their recommendations and opinions. There are +/- to everything. If you think you would be strapped for time plastic may be the way to go. Make sure the frames are for brood and honey, there is dedicated Drone foundation, I think. As for me I am retired, stubborn and a traditionalist. Something just rubs me wrong about plastic frames I enjoy assembling frames but will admit I like the ease of the bee's wax double coated plastic foundation. I have not had any comb collapse as I would get with the old wired foundation during extraction.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Talk to other bee keepers, take their recommendations and opinions. There are +/- to everything. If you think you would be strapped for time plastic may be the way to go. Make sure the frames are for brood and honey, there is dedicated Drone foundation, I think. As for me I am retired, stubborn and a traditionalist. Something just rubs me wrong about plastic frames I enjoy assembling frames but will admit I like the ease of the bee's wax double coated plastic foundation. I have not had any comb collapse as I would get with the old wired foundation during extraction.

My old mentor, from which i bought the first bees said to me: »If you want to produce honey, work smart not hard, use plastic wherever you can«.
I feel the same about plastic as you! Looking at these flow-hive monstrosities makes my toenails stand up…
I remember helping my uncle preparing frames. He did everything himself, ge cut the pieces for the frames, glued them together (no nails or staples!) and drilled the holes for the wires. It was my job to place the eyelets and fiddle the wire through the holes. In the meantime he was rolling out the wax foundation, he had a rolling pin that pressed the hexagonal pattern into the wax and used the battery of his VW beetle (6Volt!) to heat the wires… As much as i would love to follow his lead, my packaged bees are supposed to be shipped on March 25th and i also have a garden to start-up, so i won't have the time to build everything myself.
I definitely will try out those full plastic frames in a honey super

 

[5Australorpasaures]

My old mentor, from which i bought the first bees said to me: »If you want to produce honey, work smart not hard, use plastic wherever you can«.
I feel the same about plastic as you! Looking at these flow-hive monstrosities makes my toenails stand up…
I remember helping my uncle preparing frames. He did everything himself, ge cut the pieces for the frames, glued them together (no nails or staples!) and drilled the holes for the wires. It was my job to place the eyelets and fiddle the wire through the holes. In the meantime he was rolling out the wax foundation, he had a rolling pin that pressed the hexagonal pattern into the wax and used the battery of his VW beetle (6Volt!) to heat the wires… As much as i would love to follow his lead, my packaged bees are supposed to be shipped on March 25th and i also have a garden to start-up, so i won't have the time to build everything myself.
I definitely will try out those full plastic frames in a honey super

An old man across the road when I was a kid had one of those manual comb impression machines. It took three men a boy to pick it up. He made all of his woodenware and foundation. I'm with you on these Flow Hives, also Horizontal and Styrofoam, The Original Langstroth works so let's fix it.

 

[Sally PB]

The Original Langstroth works so let's fix it.

Yeah, I imagine there is a reason all the hives I see are Langstroths.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

An old man across the road when I was a kid had one of those manual comb impression machines. It took three men a boy to pick it up. He made all of his woodenware and foundation. I'm with you on these Flow Hives, also Horizontal and Styrofoam, The Original Langstroth works so let's fix it.

My uncle Willie was like this old man! - I like to learn how to build at least part of my woodware myself. Most likely not the frames, the Chinese can mass-produce these parts, its not worth my time. But i will certainly build my own hive-boxes, sturdy and thick wood to keep the bees warm in winter and cool in summer.
Styrofoam-Hives! I cannot write what my uncle had to say about those, that would be censored here. Her tried one of those and out of habit set down his smoker on a part of the hive…
The guy from whom i bought my first bees and hives was not using Langstroth hives, but he was not into producing honey, he earns his bread by making queens, packaged bees and nucs. He called them "resource hives".

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

So i got a package from the tropical river today with Apivar strips and a pollen pattie:

The bees can come…