So much to do and so many decisions to make.
I've been making splits and pulling brood frames to
interrupt the brood cycles of varroa. I know that I'm also interrupting
the brood cycles of the bees and I wish it weren't so but it may inhibit
swarming. One of my hives had 8 queen cells, they're now in nuc boxes
with brood, honey, pollen, nurse bees, foundation and empty frames. I'll
be keeping an eye on that colony, they may still want to swarm.
I've gone through my hives inspecting for healthy laying
patterns and for the overall size and temper of each colony. So far they
look good. The photo above is of an evening grosbeak eating drone larvae
that I had first frozen... They and the chickadees are such careful eaters, the
comb looks perfect when they're done.
One experiment I'm doing this spring is trying a fungi tea
with 3 colonies. Last October Cindy Conry provided some Northern Berkshire
beekeepers with an extract of 3 fungi that grow on dead birch trees. I
saved mine all winter in the fridge (Bruce tasted it but the rest of us stayed
away, he said it didn't have much flavor) and this spring I mixed it as 10% of
a sugar/honey solution. I'll let you know if I can figure out if those
hives are doing better that the others. The theory is that they will be
healthier and more able to defend against illnesses.
My next task is to do mite count checks of all my
hives. I'll do a sugar roll test, I'm hoping to get really good at it and
to get results I can rely on. I'll then decide if I should do a spring
treatment.
Speaking of mite checks... please don't forget to sign up
for:
The
Bennington Beekeepers Club Workshop: Honey Bee Pest and Pathogen.
Intermediate Workshop, June 16, 6:30 - 8:30PM,
VT Veterans Home,
$6 fee and no potluck supper. Presenters- Samantha Alger and Alex Burnham, UVM.
The workshop will include a slide-show of common bee diseases and pathogens. There will be several stations where participants will get hands-on experience looking at pathogens under microscopes. We expect to have examples of Nosema, waxworms, small hive beetles and hopefully foulbrood. There will be a demonstrations of how to do standardized mite load counts.
The $6 fees will be directly used to help fund Samantha and Alex's research studying pathogens in bumble bees and honey bees. Alex and Samantha are funding all of their own research on small grants.
Intermediate Workshop, June 16, 6:30 - 8:30PM,
VT Veterans Home,
$6 fee and no potluck supper. Presenters- Samantha Alger and Alex Burnham, UVM.
The workshop will include a slide-show of common bee diseases and pathogens. There will be several stations where participants will get hands-on experience looking at pathogens under microscopes. We expect to have examples of Nosema, waxworms, small hive beetles and hopefully foulbrood. There will be a demonstrations of how to do standardized mite load counts.
The $6 fees will be directly used to help fund Samantha and Alex's research studying pathogens in bumble bees and honey bees. Alex and Samantha are funding all of their own research on small grants.
Call or email Jeanne (802-823-7955 or jdavisbwheat@comcast.net)
or Julie ( 802-447-1194 or jcassida@williams.edu) to reserve your spot.
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