The Honey Factory

[duluthralphie]

I am assuming my bees were killed by mites. I have not opened the hives yet. The weather and my health have not made that possible.

Is there anything I can do to assure the mites are dead? We have not had a lot of extreme cold since I last saw my beea. I can not be sure it froze hard enough to kill them. But then, I don’t know how cold it has to be to kill the either.

Can I Fumigate the hive with Oxalic acid vapors?

Attached is my next weeks temps.

 

[R2elk]

I am assuming my bees were killed by mites. I have not opened the hives yet. The weather and my health have not made that possible.

Is there anything I can do to assure the mites are dead? We have not had a lot of extreme cold since I last saw my beea. I can not be sure it froze hard enough to kill them. But then, I don’t know how cold it has to be to kill the either.

Can I Fumigate the hive with Oxalic acid vapors?

Attached is my next weeks temps.

View attachment 3033855

You know what happens when you assume.

 

[jerryse]

Ralphie if no robbing of dead hives I guess no live colonies in the area . Sad .

 

[duluthralphie]

Ralphie if no robbing of dead hives I guess no live colonies in the area . Sad .

Nothing moving anywhere.

 

[Apis mellifera]

I am assuming my bees were killed by mites. I have not opened the hives yet. The weather and my health have not made that possible.

Is there anything I can do to assure the mites are dead? We have not had a lot of extreme cold since I last saw my beea. I can not be sure it froze hard enough to kill them. But then, I don’t know how cold it has to be to kill the either.

Can I Fumigate the hive with Oxalic acid vapors?

Varroa mites are obligate parasites. No bees, no brood, no mites. If they can't complete their life cycle they die out with the bees. New mites will come with packages and nucs.

 

[duluthralphie]

Varroa mites are obligate parasites. No bees, no brood, no mites. If they can't complete their life cycle they die out with the bees. New mites will come with packages and nucs.

How long can they hang out in. Hive without a bee to suck off?

 

[Apis mellifera]

How long can they hang out in. Hive without a bee to suck off?

18 to 70 hours according to research. In cold temperatures they probably die much sooner. Mites that I collected in the summer usually live between 8 and 24 hours in a container. I haven't tried putting a couple in the freezer and if I had to guess they wouldn't last long.

 

[duluthralphie]

18 to 70 hours according to research. In cold temperatures they probably die much sooner. Mites that I collected in the summer usually live between 8 and 24 hours in a container. I haven't tried putting a couple in the freezer and if I had to guess they wouldn't last long.

I found online a study that said no more than 5 days so I will be fine. Without treating the hive.

 

[R2elk]

Checked the supposedly empty hive.

There is capped and uncapped honey.

Thousands of workers. No drones. Never saw a queen but.... One frame has some capped brood and live larvae on both sides. The capped brood does not look like drone brood to me. I did not see any eggs but my eyesight is not great.

 

[Apis mellifera]

Never saw a queen but....

Found her!
Bottom left hand side in the third photo with a white mark.