The Apiary in January

Fetching the fondant

 

We’ve been patiently waiting for the right conditions to treat our colonies for Varroa mites.  The idea is to reduce Varroa Mites to a minimum now so that when the weather starts to improve and the Queen starts laying eggs the colony has the best chance of outstripping the increase rate of Varroa Mites.  A healthy and strong colony at the start of the season will give them the best chance of combatting other diseases that can be spread by the Varroa.

We don’t like the idea of using chemicals but the recommended treatment is oxalic acid.  We bought a handy dispensing container of ready mixed oxalic acid which came complete with a demonstration from Bob at the bee shop on how to use it.  He showed me how to use a finger to mark the seam (the gap between two frames) that you’re treating and then move the finger to the next seam before squeezing the dispenser to measure out the next dose.  He zipped the dispenser along the imaginary seam to indicate the speed of application.

Oxalic acid is supposed to be applied after a suitable cold period so that the queen has stopped laying and the amount of brood is as low as possible.  It’s not good for brood.  However, the day for application should be cold enough for the bees to be in a huddle in their nest but not wet or windy to minimise exposing the bees to cold and damp.

After a long cold, wet spell, finally we had the right conditions with a glorious sunny day,  the air temperature at +4C and no wind, or if any, wind from the South.

In the middle of the afternoon, we decided to go ahead with Operation Oxalic Acid.    As instructed by Bob, we were both there for this two man operation; one lifting the lid, top lift and crown board and the other dispensing the chemical to minimise the time the hive was open.

We loosened the straps securing the hives against high winds and “went in”.   In Queen Bee’s hive there was absolutely no sign of life.  We hope the bees were huddled in their nest but it was ominously quiet.  We were in and out as quickly as possible, the sun was shining, we moved on to the G Bees.

Anyone who has read all of these blogs will already be expecting a different situation in Queen G’s hive and you will not be disappointed.  True to form, when the crown board was lifted we could see lots of bees moving about on the top of the frames.  They were close together and fairly central but definitely looking very lively.   Our instructions were that if the bees were crawling around on the frames that implied a high enough temperature for brood so we shouldn’t use the chemical.  We immediately closed the hive.  The top of the hive is where it should be warmest but if the bees are there, they may not be accessing stores lower down or at the sides.  Therefore we rushed back in to the house and put a block of fondant over the hole in the crown board.

We calculated, as best we could, that with the honey we left and the feeding we did in the Autumn, both colonies should have enough stores to get through the Winter but we bought fondant as an emergency top up.  We are assured that the bees will use it if they need to and if they haven’t finished the fondant when they start going out foraging in preference, any that remains can be kept in a sealed container for next year.  So, the G Bees have fondant immediately above their nest and don’t have to go out to the cold edges of the hive for stores.

As new beekeepers, we don't know which of the two situations we found was more normal for the time of year.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the Beebettes but I am worried for them.