🐝💗Our Backyard Beekeeping Journey!💗🐝

[drstratton]

Got home last night. Dale went out to check the bees this morning. He said they are bringing in lots of pollen, then a guard bee chased him off... So, they are feeling protective of their stores.
We will definitely need to gear up before I give them their fresh sugar syrup.
I'll report back how it goes.

We also received our OA vaporizer. I'm thinking we might treat tonight. I need to see if our respirators have the correct filter.
Our schedule is going to be every 3 days (72hrs) for 28 days. The vapor completely dissipates in 72hrs and the 28 days allows time for all of the drones to emerge.

 

[drstratton]

We fed the bees and didn't note any aggressive behavior.

The buckwheat is in full bloom. We figure it's about 160 acres.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

We feed the bees and didn't note any aggressive behavior.

The buckwheat is in full bloom. We figure it's about 160 acres.
View attachment 4200370

That should keep 'em busy.

 

[drstratton]

That should keep 'em busy.

That's what we're hoping!

 

[Sally PB]

Our bees found the buckwheat patches I've planted in my garden. you go girls! The goldenrod is just starting to bloom. We're really hoping for another honey harvest.

@drstratton, do you do a mite check before you do the OA vapors? Since we'll have honey supers on, we're planning to use Formic Pro. I told hubby we need to do a mite check first, and he reluctantly agreed. He doesn't want to do an alcohol wash and kill 300 bees to see what the mite load is.

 

[drstratton]

Our bees found the buckwheat patches I've planted in my garden. you go girls! The goldenrod is just starting to bloom. We're really hoping for another honey harvest.

So glad they are still on your buckwheat. Another harvest would be amazing.

@drstratton, do you do a mite check before you do the OA vapors? Since we'll have honey supers on, we're planning to use Formic Pro. I told hubby we need to do a mite check first, and he reluctantly agreed. He doesn't want to do an alcohol wash and kill 300 bees to see what the mite load is.

Yes, we did an alcohol wash on the 10th. 4 in one hive 0 in the others. We're going ahead with treatment. I'm not sure we'll use anything other than OA and drone frames this year. It will depend on our numbers after we use the OAV.
I felt the same way, but realized it's important to test to see what the counts are. Without it, you're blindly treating and there's no way to know if it's working. Still, it's not a fun thing to do.

 

[Apis mellifera]

I felt the same way, but realized it's important to test to see what the counts are. Without it, you're blindly treating and there's no way to know if it's working. Still, it's not a fun thing to do.

For the roughly 1500 bees I wash in one season in each hive, it's nothing compared to number of bees its saves. Hundreds die foraging and just through attrition each day and we don't even notice. But if we have colonies die out every winter from mites and the diseases they vector, we notice!

 

[Apis mellifera]

Since we'll have honey supers on, we're planning to use Formic Pro. I told hubby we need to do a mite check first, and he reluctantly agreed. He doesn't want to do an alcohol wash and kill 300 bees to see what the mite load is.

Just the formic treatment alone will kill a lot more than 300 bees.

 

[drstratton]

For the roughly 1500 bees I wash in one season in each hive, it's nothing compared to number of bees its saves. Hundreds die foraging and just through attrition each day and we don't even notice. But if we have colonies die out every winter from mites and the diseases they vector, we notice!

Exactly. This is what we came to realize. It's important to know what's going on in their hive to help them survive.

 

[drstratton]

@Apis mellifera
I read Randy Oliver's article on using thymol. I found it interesting that he used Denatured alcohol. I had shared a post on FB about using it to clean propolis off of my tools and I thought some people's heads were going to explode...lol I'm about finished sharing anything there.

Do you make your own?