========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 13:06:47 GMT+0200 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Garth Organization: Rhodes University South Africa Subject: Re: Feeder question Hi All I noticed the thread on the feeders and what to put in. Another thing, similar to the hay Andy mentioned, is to use polystyrene pellets from packing material. I use these and find they work reasonably well - if however the bees get overexcited they tend to push each other under, so using a dilutish sugar is better. The bees chew the styrofoam up and use it in their propolis - so if your are selling propolis this is not a good idea. Another thing that is quite interesting is how they stick all the pieces together after a while making almost a raft. Reduces the efficiency of the setup though. Keep well Garth Garth Cambray Camdini Apiaries Grahamstown Apis mellifera capensis Eastern Cape Prov. South Africa Time = Honey After careful consideration, I have decided that if I am ever a V.I.P the I. may not stand for important. (rather influential, ignorant, idiotic, intelectual, illadvised etc) ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 12:56:38 GMT+0200 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Garth Organization: Rhodes University South Africa Subject: Re: Killer wasps Hi all/Madelleine I think the killer wasps you discuss are something along the line of 'Melanogaster (sp?? and species??)'. These are blackish wasps, big wings and a long tube between thorax and abdomen. They have a sting containing a tissue toxin which kills about 7 cubic milimeters of flesh where they sting resulting in first a swelling followed by a little hole forming. I have been stung on numerous occasions by the south african equivalent species and would take 100 bee stings in preferance to one sting by these. (I was once removing bees when suddenly I felt something akin to a person with a nailgun moving slowly up my leg. Three of these wasps had decided I was the enemy and that my leg should be seriously damaged - quite unpleasant) Keep well Garth Garth Cambray Camdini Apiaries Grahamstown Apis mellifera capensis Eastern Cape Prov. South Africa Time = Honey After careful consideration, I have decided that if I am ever a V.I.P the I. may not stand for important. (rather influential, ignorant, idiotic, intelectual, illadvised etc) ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 01:02:48 -0400 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Charles Frederic Andros Subject: Re: Slotted rack -Reply MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I use slatted racks on all hives to increase use of bottom brood chamber (honey bridge is equal front and back, with lots of brood), reduce swarming (due to increased cluster space), and eliminate gnawing of comb and propolizing next to entrance. It also eliminates ladder comb which makes reversing a breeze! I wouldn't bee without them! Charles Andros lindena@sover.net -----Mensagem original----- De: Frank Fox Para: BEE-L@CNSIBM.ALBANY.EDU Data: Sexta-feira, 28 de Agosto de 1998 18:58 Assunto: Slotted rack -Reply >my 2 cents on the subject..the first 4-6" of the slatted rack is 1 solid = >plank of wood to reduce the amount of light coming in as a result of the = >entrance. because of this, the girls will supposedly do a better job of = >drawing out foundation in the lower corners of the frames as well as = >filling up more of the cells with honey, pollen, etc. therefore, if you = >believe this, always place the slotted rack on the hive entrance with the = >solid section FACING THE FRONT. Also, some beekeeps insist that the = >bottom board be painted a dark color to again reduce the amount of light = >coming into the hive. i really don't know if there's merit to anything = >i've described here. i've run hives with and without slotted racks and = >have not noticed a difference. therefore, i've eliminated that piece of = >equipment and the ensuing costs. after all, it's a nickel and dime = >business. > >frank fox lebanon, tn > >ffox@genesco.com >beebeard1@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 11:56:50 +0200 Reply-To: Jorn Johanesson Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Jorn Johanesson Subject: new Url MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Dear Bee-l'er After reinstalling windows. outlook decided to kill my mail folder! so = you hwo have mailed me woul do me a favour to replicate their mail to = me. Special those who want membership of Beenet! and those who want the = registernumber for the Pollendata base. now when changes are to be made I have moved my homepage and the bidata = software to www.apimo.dk which is placed in US. The url need some = shining up, but is working as is. if you want the beekeeping establishment accounting spreedsheet. please = e-mail me. available in german danish and english. regards Jorn Johanesson Beekeeper since 1970 EDBi =3D Beekeeping Multilingual software since 1986 homepages Http://www.apimo.dk http://wn.com.au/apimo http://home4.inet.tele.dk/apimo e-mail apimo@post4.tele.dk apimo.@apimo.dk =20 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 09:39:00 -0400 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Sid Pullinger Subject: Mouse excluders and fermentation. MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 <<<<>>>> Quarter inch is suitable for winter use. Three eighths gives plenty of room for queens and drones so could be left on all year and will keep out= all but an anorexic mouse. Half inch would not keep out our small Englis= h mice. Appliance firms in England offer strips of aluminium drilled with a line= of holes diameter three eighths. This strip is flexible and is easily pinned to any entrance. <<<<>>>>>> The first sentence is true but only if the honey is completely sealed or kept at a very low temperature. Honey in comb is not completely sealed even if fully capped. In time moisture from the atmosphere will penetrat= e the cappings and given the right temperature fermentation will commence.= = The only safe place for combs you wish to store is the deep freeze where yeast cells cannot function. It's too late now but for anyone else in th= is predicament I would suggest uncapping the combs and rinsing them well und= er running water to wash off as much alcohol and vinegar as possible and the= n giving them back to the colony late in the day to clean up. Never put o= ut combs of honey for all and sundry to clean up. This is an ideal way to spread disease and start robbing. Sid P. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 10:49:33 -0400 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Tim Sterrett Subject: Inside the hive MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Greg Z wrote: " Today I noticed a problem with a hive that I have been tending and would like some help. Bear in mind that prior to my tending of this hive this spring it had not been touched in 5 to 7 years, no honey pulled, no antibiotics, no apistan, nothing...." *********************** The queen may have stopped laying eggs as the nectar supply dried up. Things should pick up again as goldenrod and aster bloom starts; maybe that's why you have seen eggs in the comb. Look again in a week. 1) Treat for Varroa mites now if you have not already begun treatment. Many people treat twice a year; extract early and treat at the beginning of August and then again as soon as possible in the spring. (I don't know how much experience you have had with bees!) 2) Think about starting a second colony. (Using a swarm next spring is the easiest way.) Then you will have something for comparison. This doesn't always help; bee colonies are not all alike in temperament or behavior. (Put the word out that you are keeping bees. Many people have dropped out of beekeeping in the last five years because of mites and they might be glad to have you cart away their old equipment.) 3) Menthol may not work. The Penn State bee web site (http://www.psu.edu/dept/beehive/index.html) has an article on disease treatment (http://www.psu.edu/dept/beehive/VT/Beesurvey.html) which includes this line "One unexpected finding in both surveys was the ineffectiveness of menthol treatments. " Menthol won't hurt; I use it because someone gave me some. I do try to be consistent in treating with grease patties. 4) You won't see the effects of tracheal mites (without a microscope) until early spring. If, on a good flight day, you see lots of bees walking in the six feet of space in front of the hive, they may have clogged tracheae which prevents them from flying very far so that they end up on the ground. Tim -- Tim Sterrett sterrett@voicenet.com (southeastern) Pennsylvania, USA ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 20:09:45 +0200 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: "Kai-M. Engfer" Subject: German Homepage URL MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8BIT Hello all, please have a look to the new honeybee homepage http://home.t-online.de/home/Kai-M.Engfer/bees.htm You can find there information of the Dark European Honeybee Apis mellifera mellifera, literature, watch photos and interesting bee-links. Yours sincerely: Kai-M. Engfer, Tel. 04347-8861 Ostlandstr. 1 D-24247 Mielkendorf, Germany ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 12:43:35 EDT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: "(Thomas) (Cornick)" Subject: Re: Wet Combs Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Many caution about placing wet combs out to be cleaned by the bees because of robbing and disease spread. What do you do instead? It seems to me storing combs wet is a bad idea. Tom in CT ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 12:16:21 -0700 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Paul Nicholson Subject: Formic acid treatment recipe Comments: To: "Dale Q. Marmaduke" , "catkinson@ipa.net" , Jon C Peacock In-Reply-To: <35E574FC.F61FCC66@iquest.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" This method was reportedly developed by the Ontario Beekeepers Organization. It is not legal in the U.S.A., and I have no experience with it. Users do so at your own risk. Cut an 8 x 9 1/2 inch piece of 1/2 inch homasote board. Homasote is a building material that looks like is is made out of recycled newspaper pulp and is very similar to suspended acoustic ceiling tile. Mix a 65% percent solution of formic acid by diluting 2 parts 100% acid with 1 part water. Be careful the stuff is very nasty. Place the homasote piece in a ziplock bag and pour in 250 ml of the 65% FA. Seal it up. It is reccomended that you double bag the board for safety. Let the FA soak in. To treat, put the saturated homasote in a perforated ziplock vegatable storage bag. Use in the spring or fall when daytime temparatures are 54 to 77 F, with night temparature above 45 F. Place the perforated bag containing the homasote on top of the brood chamber, using a 1 inch hive body riser to make room. Treat for 15 to 21 days. I have heard of some beekeepers in the Southeastern U.S. who have tried this are less than fully satisfied. Personally, it seems like a massive dose of FA to me. I have heard of another method which uses wooden toungue depressors soaked in pig miticide, which is also no doubt illegal in the U.S.A. No further details on this method were available. Good Luck. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 21:17:36 GMT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Beenetuk1 Organization: Amigabee computer networking for beekeepers Subject: Re: Wet Combs On Aug 29, 1998 05:43pm, INFORMED DISCUSSION OF BEEKEEPING ISSUES AND BEE BIOLOGY wrote to ALL: Hello Tom, IDOBIABB> Many caution about placing wet combs out to be cleaned by the IDOBIABB> bees because of robbing and disease spread. IDOBIABB> What do you do instead? It seems to me storing combs wet is a IDOBIABB> bad idea. I store all my supers with wet combs every year with no adverse effects. My supers are stacked in the garage in blocks of 10 with a whole newspaper between each of them, top and bottom of the stack are air tight. To guard against Wax moth I periodically remove any cocoons and larva by inspecting each frame while in storage from August to March. Over 6 years I have never lost a frame to Wax moth damage or had mouldy frames. The above system works fine with four hives. Regards Steve STEVEN TURNER G6LPF Beekeeper/gardener Sysop of ZBeeNet BBS. http://www.beeman.dircon.co.uk/ Email: beeman@zbee.com .. Platinum Xpress & Wildcat!..... Nice!!!! ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 19:22:42 GMT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Peter Hutton Organization: Amigabee computer networking for beekeepers Subject: 'Killer' Wasps CHRS: IBMPC 2 CODEPAGE: 437 MSGID: 240:244/116 43d1e937 REPLY: 240:44/0 cf12423f PID: FDAPX/w 1.12a UnReg(397) Hi all and tom, Para vespula crabo are known as hornets here in the UK, we do not find them in South East england but in the New Forest they are common. I expect the large wasps of which Tom writes are Paravespula dolich median the European middle size wasp from France and Germany, the queen has the size and markings of a crabo worker and the workers have the size of vulgaris queens, the workers have three distinctly different markings, wide black and narrow yellow abdominal bands, equal abdominal bands and narrow black and wide yellow abdominal bands, they are more docile and less quick to sting than vulgaris which together with germanica are the two most agressive social wasps I have come across. Median nests are built in the open hanging in trees or hedges with overhanging protection, colonies rarely exceed 500 insects much like crabo, stings are no more powerful than either crabo or vulgaris, venom is designed to paralyse prey not to kill, it is therefore logical to suppose it cannot be stronger or the prey might die. If children were badly stung there might have to be another explantion. ANYTHING REPORTED IN THE PRESS ABOUT WASPS AND BEES HAS TO VIEWED WITH SCEPTICISM. Journalist writing for daily papers have no time to research facts and there job is to ensure attention is grabbed sufficient to sell the newspaper. Who would buy a paper to read all this guff I have just written, to read this you have to be interested in insects not headline news. Regards from the Garden of England peter.hutton@btinternet.com ps. Hans von Hagen, a German wrote an excellent article on these wasps some years back, it was published in the Deutsche Imker Journal --- * Origin: Kent Beekeeper Beenet Point (240:244/116) ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 10:37:03 +0100 Reply-To: beelist1@lochness.co.uk Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Thomas Woodrow Subject: new beekeeper by Loch Ness, Scotland MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Just wondering who's out there? I'm just in the process of obtaining materials to build a hive etc. We have enormous heather moors here so I'm pitching for a good crop of heather honey next year. Cheers Thomas ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 20:49:50 -0400 Reply-To: mpalmer@together.net Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Michael Palmer Organization: French Hill Apiaries Subject: Re: wet combs MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Tom - I have a small home yard do the robbing. With 1000 + colonies, I have a lot of supers to rob. Last year I averaged 140 lbs on three nucs started in may. This year I have 7 colonies to do the job. Took 180 lbs off one, and 120 of most of the rest. I like going to the yards with dry combs - never any robbing. It's amazing how much honey is saved that would otherwise be wasted. Any AFB would be isolated to the home yard, though I've yet to see any here. Mike ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 19:43:55 -0700 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Jeff Dugan Subject: Did I hear piping? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I had my one and only hive open today down to the bottom hive body, and heard a sound coming from down within the lower hive body. It seemed to emanate from the lower portion of one of the center frames. It sounded just like a sound I remember from an old Atari-era video game, and "beeped" 6 to 10 times at a frequency of about 2 per second, then quit. This repeated about 1-2 minutes later. Not terribly loud, but clearly audible over the hum of the bees. A bit like the sound of a (U.S.) garbage truck backing up, but not as high-pitched, nor as loud, and with more of a buzz to the sound. I remember reading that a newly-emerged queen will start "piping" to see if there's a response from another newly-emerged or soon-to-emerge queen, so she can locate and kill the competition. Is this what I heard in my hive today? If so, does this mean my hive has undergone or is undergoing supersedure? I did not see queen cells on the frames I inspected in either hive body, but I only looked at about half of them (didn't think about searching all frames for Q cells until all was closed back up). I was surprised how little brood I saw on the frames I did inspect - spotty pattern filling about 1/3 to 1/2 of the inner frames in the top hive body, almost no brood in the bottom hive body. I also didn't think to look for eggs until too late. There was also less honey than I expected to see. If not supersedure, could this be a sign of imminent swarming? The hive has been a bit crowded since I extracted in July, and even with a new super of undrawn foundation on, now that goldenrod is starting to bloom, the entire front of the lower hive body is usually covered with bees when the foragers are home. As I mentioned, goldenrod is just starting here in northeast Tennessee, at about 2000 ft. elevation. If this is a supersedure, does this mean I will miss most or all of the fall honey crop? What about hive strength for the winter? If hive survival is at risk, should I feed syrup to the large population of bees alive now, to build up witner stores? If the hive survives the winter, would it mean I would not necessarily need to re-queen next fall (assuming 2nd-year requeening)? Thanks in advance from a 1st year beekeeper-wannabe. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 21:47:16 -0400 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Tim Sterrett Subject: Storing Wet Combs MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Tom in CT wrote: "What do you do instead? It seems to me storing combs wet is a bad idea." ************************ I also store wet combs in an unheated shed, stacked as high as room allows, (no paper between supers) with paradichlorobenzene crystals on a piece of paper at the top, topped with an outer cover. I do not air out the supers (before use) any longer than it takes to carry them to the hives and put them on. I've had a swarm move into a stack of equipment with with paradichlorobenzene crystals on it. With suburban houses all around my bee hives, I am reluctant to leave supers for bees to clean up. Tim -- Tim Sterrett sterrett@voicenet.com (southeastern) Pennsylvania, USA ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 12:05:55 +0100 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Computer Software Solutions Ltd Subject: Reading a varroa floor Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hi All I have recently fitted a varroa floor to one hive in each of my apiaries. I will fit one to each hive as soon as the floors are ready. I have not yet used the Bayvarol strips on the hives to test for varroa - I hope to do this next weekend, when I take off the last of the honey (such as it is this year in Ireland!). However, I have been trying to make some sense of the debris which appears on the vaselined sheet of paper. I notice what appears to be chalkbrood, and various tiny pieces of wax, propolis and other items which I cannot yet identify. I also observe dozens of little tiny creatures crawling around - I have not the foggiest idea of what they are. Thankfully, I have not yet seen any varroa mites. It appears to me that there is a wealth of information on varroa floors, and that such data could reveal a lot of information on what is going on in the hive. I am wondering if anybody has carried out any study on this, or if there is a text book, study notes, etc. which I could buy to gather more information. With the onset of winter in these latitudes, when we will soon not be able to open the hives, the data on the varroa floor will be available to us continuously without disturbing the hives at all. Would it be correct to say, that the use of a varroa floor in a hive, will eliminate the need to change the floorboard next spring?. I look forward to your postings on this subject, and thank you for any assistance I receive. Sincerely Tom Barrett 49 South Park Foxrock Dublin 18 Ireland e mail cssl@iol.ie Tel + 353 1 289 5269 Fax + 353 1 289 9940 Latitude 53 Degrees 16' North Longitude 6 Degrees 9' West of Greenwich ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 07:16:49 -0400 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Charles Frederic Andros Subject: Re: Wet Combs MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Tom, You can put wet supers over the inner cover with hole reduced to the minimum so bees won't put more honey up there. You can stack 10 supers o= ver hives that are light. Remove when clean or when weather turns cold (fros= t) on a cold morning. Bees will be below inner cover. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with storing supers wet, if you don't have time to put them back on. Bees will clean up in the sprin= g. Charles Andros lindena@sover.net My address: Linden Apiaries/Boulder Wall Gardens 1 McLean Road Walpole, NH 03608-0165 603-756-9056 -----Mensagem original----- De: (Thomas) (Cornick) Para: BEE-L@CNSIBM.ALBANY.EDU Data: S=E1bado, 29 de Agosto de 1998 17:03 Assunto: Re: Wet Combs > Many caution about placing wet combs out to be cleaned by the bees because >of robbing and disease spread. > What do you do instead? It seems to me storing combs wet is a bad ide= a. > >Tom in CT ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 23:32:42 +0930 Reply-To: Frank Farrell Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Frank Farrell Subject: Introduction MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi, I recently joined bee-l.I live in Darwin, tropical northern Australia and have about a dozen hives . Fortunately we dont have any AFB, EFB, or mite problems, yet. A few months ago a swarm of Asian bees was found in darwin, but they had no mites. No more Asian bees have been found, however we are working with a number of control areas that restrict the movement of bees and an eradication zone in which all feral hives of European bees are being destroyed by the Dept of Primary Industry. In 12 months we will probably know if all this has been successful. Wishing you all happy beekeeping. Frank Farrell ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 23:02:58 +0930 Reply-To: Frank Farrell Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Frank Farrell Subject: Re: Odp: Re: chalk brood? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit -----Original Message----- From: unman To: BEE-L@CNSIBM.ALBANY.EDU Date: Friday, 28 August 1998 20:25 Subject: Odp: Re: chalk brood? >For a chalk brood is effective thymol. 10g/hive. If I see in front on a hive >lot of chalk brood I splash the entrance and bees which there are with a >vinegar (10%). Also give syrup with vinegar (2 ccm/1kg of sugar). > >Andrzej, Poland Greetings Andrzej I am interested in your advice about chalkbrood. My area has been infected with chalkbrood for about 3 years now. What is thymol? How do you give it to the hive? Does vinegar 10% mean 90% water with 10% vinegar? How often would you have to repeat these treatments. Andrzej, if you applied this treatment to a badly infected hive, how much reduction chalkbrood infection would you normally expect to see. I am interested in hearing if anyone else has methods for controlling chalkbrood. Thanks in advance, Frank. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 09:55:59 -0400 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Lloyd Spear Subject: wet combs Like others, I put wet supers out to my home yard for them to clean up. I only do this because I prefer to not handle wet supers in the spring. I live in a suburban area, and there is certainly a lot of activity when bees and wasps are cleaning up the supers, but I have never had any bad experiences with stinging. To me, the white face hornets and yellow jackets attracted to the wet supers are potentially more dangerous than the bees, but again, I haven t had any problems. After robbing, I move the supers inside for the winter. I do this on a cold morning, as I don t like working around the hornets and yellow jackets. Lloyd LloydSpear@email.msn.com Owner, Ross Rounds the finest in comb honey production. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 10:21:02 -0400 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Lloyd Spear Subject: queen replacement and hive survival Jeff Dugan wonders about the possibility of swarming or supercedure and the effects on his hives. I believe that piping is a sign of a new queen, as you thought. It probably means either a swarm or supercedure is imminent. Early fall swarms are not unusual, although I always hate to see them, as the swarm has no chance of surviving the winter. Of course, the old queen leaves with the swarm and a new queen will have to be mated. Some beekeepers think that fall swarms are a good thing as the hive population is greatly reduced for the winter. If they do swarm, you should check in 2-3 weeks to be certain that there is young brood and eggs in the frames. If not, it will mean that the new queen failed and your hive will die during the winter. If that is the case, protect your frames from wax moth damage and start over in the spring with a package or (and preferably) a nuc purchased locally. If they don t swarm, supercedure will probably take place. This is not a bad thing, as you will have a nice new, young, queen to go through the winter. Again, check the brood nest in 2-3 weeks to be certain she mated properly. You don t need to see her as long as you see either eggs or very young larvae. Whether you re-queen next year should depend on how well she does in terms of brood pattern, gentleness, honey production, etc. If she does well in these regards you can certainly keep her another year, but if you do there will be a higher probability of swarming early in 2000. It is not likely that either swarming or supercedure will put hive survival at risk, as long as there is a new queen. However, you need to be certain they have enough food for the winter. To check, around October 15 try lifting the back of the hive. If it is very heavy, they have enough food. If not, feed syrup of a ratio of 2 sugar to 1 water. I d say a minimum of 3 gallons, but it really depends on how much honey is actually in the hive. A local beekeeper should be able to tell you how much is necessary for the winter I d guess around 40 pounds of honey/syrup (excluding weight of wood). Dissolving 2 parts sugar into 1 part water can be a challenge. I do it in a five gallon pail, and use a dry wall cement stirrer that goes into my = drill. Good luck Lloyd LloydSpear@email.msn.com Owner, Ross Rounds the finest in comb honey production. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 16:34:58 GMT+0200 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Garth Organization: Rhodes University South Africa Subject: Re: warning - freezing does not always kill microbes Hi All Just a note - keeping supers at low temperatures does not kill yeasts and fungi neccessarily. We have a lab contaminant growing in our walk in freezers that grows at 2C (two degrees above freezing). This is a dark green fungus that can in a week cover an area about the same as a hand. (it has a temperature range that it can grow on ranging from 2C to 28C near body temp) The best way to keep supers free of yeast and fungi is to make sure they have nothing easily fermentable in them. One wants to avoid having yeast spores etc in your supers as this may lead to the bees not always being able to cure honey completely. Keep well Garth Garth Cambray Camdini Apiaries Grahamstown Apis mellifera capensis Eastern Cape Prov. South Africa Time = Honey After careful consideration, I have decided that if I am ever a V.I.P the I. may not stand for important. (rather influential, ignorant, idiotic, intelectual, illadvised etc) ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 10:23:19 +0100 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Tom Speight Subject: Re: BEE-L Digest - 27 Aug 1998 to 28 Aug 1998 In-Reply-To: <904363238.2017480.0@uacsc2.albany.edu> MIME-Version: 1.0 In message <904363238.2017480.0@uacsc2.albany.edu>, Automatic digest processor writes >I read somewhere that honey was found in sealed containers in the >catacombs (like honeycombs?) of Egypt and it was still in good condition. I think you are refering to the supposed find in Tut's tomb. I also read (or heard) somewhere that this is untrue. What they found was a black deposit which on analysis proved to be honey. I can't remember where it was, but then again I don't believe all I read!! -- Tom Speight ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 20:57:46 EDT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: "John R. Valentine" Subject: No Brood, 10 Queen Cells / Questions Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hello Bee Friends, We had the annual family Picnic today. I gave a beekeeping demo for about 30 friends and family members. When I opened the hive I found lots of bees, No brood or eggs and about ten (supersedure) queen cells. I decided not to waste time and wait to see if in a week or two if I would end up with a queen right colony. I united the colony with a weaker one. I placed everything above the excluder just in case there was a young queen running around, some cells had hatched. The thinking was: 1. It's late in the season to start/save a weak/problem colony. 2. By combining colonies I would increase honey production this season with an extra strong hive. 3. A strong hive with good honey stores will make it through the winter better. I wonder if I should have added a few frames of brood and given the colony a shot at the winter. And I guess I'm wondering what would cause this hive to go queenless this late in the our season. Does anyone have any ideas?? John CT ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 21:43:28 GMT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Peter Hutton Organization: ZbeeNet computer networking for beekeepers Subject: Formic acid treatment recipe CHRS: IBMPC 2 CODEPAGE: 437 MSGID: 240:244/116 43d3f910 REPLY: 240:44/0 02332a19 PID: FDAPX/w 1.12a UnReg(407) Hi all, Formic acid, I use it! But CAUTION,PLEASE, you must add ACID TO WATER not the reverse, if you add water to dilute then explosions sometimes occur, like when there is lime in your water. You can use a cloth on a saucer to evaporate acid from below the brood at 85% or from above at 65% and as you were advised previously temperature is critical, there are many evaporats available from Europe which are very effective, I use those made by Weinold in Berlin from a design of Herr Becker which was tested at the Berlin Free University Frau Dr. Eva Rademacher, Prof B Schricker and B Polanski, I have translated their published work which you can get by emailing me direct. peter.hutton@btinternet.com You can also pick up the Swiss webpage from Apiservices.com German language webpage, the Swiss page is in german, but should be available in Italian swiss, French swiss or even Romande. Used carefully and safely, formic acid is effective and cheap!! Best wishes Peter Hutton --- * Origin: Kent Beekeeper Beenet Point (240:244/116) ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 16:12:38 -0600 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: "Richard H. Glassford II" Subject: Bad honey Comments: cc: glassman@utah.uswest.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hello, I was reading in our local paper the following article. "Don't put your honey where your mouth is". In the article it advises consumers not to purchase honey from backyard bee keepers. The article mentioned that the suburban landscape may have flowers that produces poisonous honey. The following plants were listed as causing problems: rhododendrons, azaleas, jessamine, strawberry trees, melaleuca trees, agave plants or privet. Is this true? Behind there are a lot of rabbit brush (Chysothamnus nauseosus) and big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) I have been told that the rabbit brush produces bitter honey and the sage great honey. Both of these plants inhabit the same area. Any suggestions? Good luck, Rich ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 18:39:00 -0700 Reply-To: JamesCBach Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: JamesCBach Subject: Chalkbrood MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Andrzej and Frank Farrell ask about treating this bee disease. From the exhaustive work of Dr. Martha Gilliam of the USDA it is very apparent that nothing will cure chalkbrood. She used all kinds of substances including kitchen flour to see if they would have any control of the organism. What she found was that any of the substances she tried stimulated the hive cleaning behavior of bees and chalkbrood disappeared. My advice: Please don't put any chemical into your hives for chalkbrood control! All of these chemicals are foreign to the bee hive and we know that wax absorbs and holds many chemical substances. Breed better house keeping bees instead! Another idea that occurred to a very experienced beekeeper here with a severe chalkbrood problem was one that had its genesis in the coffee shop. He queried what prevented his cinnamon sweet roll from forming a mold. Without the cinnamon the sweet rolls will produce a mold after some time. He tried using one tablespoon of cinnamon per pound of Terramycin/powdered sugar mixture for foulbrood control. He claimed that it reduced chalkbrood levels about 95 percent in his area which has quite wet weather. Several commercial beekeepers used this idea in dry eastern Washington. They also claim it worked well. We know that just putting the TM/Pwd. sugar mix in the hive didn't work because this was his normal foulbrood control and it hadn't reduced chalkbrood levels. Perhaps the cinnamon did the trick. I'd like to see it tested by a scientist. James C. Bach jbach@agr.wa.gov jcbach@yvn.com ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 19:05:28 -0700 Reply-To: JamesCBach Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: JamesCBach Subject: Queen losses MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit John Valentine asks about queen losses and combining colonies at this time of year. I think you did the right thing John, though you don't say how large the colony was that was superceding their queen. Also you didn't say how old the queen was, what size the queen cells were, or how many there were. This information would give a more complete picture to someone attempting to analyze your problem from afar. Unfortunately, queen losses between spring introduction and fall (October) is much more common than it used to be. Back 15 to 20 years ago queens used to last two years easily. Now most beekeepers say that only 50 percent of their introduced queens last a year. We did a survey here in Washington State and found that beekeepers reported a range of losses from ten to 80 percent, if I recall the numbers correctly. Of course, the data is not quite reliable since most beekeepers don't use marked queens, making it impossible to say for sure the original queens were replaced. I have used marked queens for 25 years. I find that usually only about ten to 25 percent of queens last from April introduction to June the following year. I usually find that 25 percent of my newly purchased queens don't make it to July. While breeders usually tell me and other beekeepers that we are the cause of the losses, I know its not true. Many of the beekeepers I know have been using the same queen holding and introduction process for ten to 20 years. From all the bee behaviors I've studied over the last 30 years, I strongly suspect that our honeybee gene pool is too narrow to prevent inbreeding. This idea is supported by Dr. Steve Sheppard's study of genetic diversity of queen sources accross the south and in California, USA. He found that all production queens come from about 300 queen mothers, and that these are only statistically significantly different. Compare this to the recent report from a carrot breeder/researcher who had 2,000 different lines to breed from! I remain sincerely concerned about queen quality in the US. And I've seen the same problems in Canada and in US queens in Egypt. James C. Bach jbach@agr.wa.gov jcbach@yvn.com ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 23:28:50 -0400 Reply-To: vcoppola@froggernet.com Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Vince Coppola Subject: Re: No Brood, 10 Queen Cells / Questions MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit John R. Valentine wrote: When I opened the hive I found lots of bees, No brood or eggs and about ten (supersedure) queen cells. I decided not to waste time and wait to see if in a week or two if I would end up with a queen right colony. I united the colony with a weaker one. I placed everything above the...... I wonder if I should have added a few frames of brood and given the colony a shot at the winter. And I guess I'm wondering what would cause this hive to go queenless this late in the our season. Does anyone have any ideas?? Hi John, Sounds like they swarmed. Usually there are fewer supersedeure cells. And I would guess that they had a virgin queen rather than no queen. Its hard to say without a bit more info. Were the q cells open? If they were not and all the brood has hatched they are defective. You should see at least one cell opened normally, the others opened from the side. If the q cells were not open they are either dead or the bees in them are from eggs laid AFTER the queen stopped laying, in other words from laying workers. In any case your action was the safest. They may have made it through the winter if they had a virgin, and if she mated, and if enough young bees were produced before winter. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 10:25:16 GMT+0200 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Garth Organization: Rhodes University South Africa Subject: Agave honey - poisonous?? Hi All I just saw the post mentioning that agave honey may be poisonous - is there a reference for this - I sometimes get agave honey and quite like it? Keep well Garth Garth Cambray Camdini Apiaries Grahamstown Apis mellifera capensis Eastern Cape Prov. South Africa Time = Honey After careful consideration, I have decided that if I am ever a V.I.P the I. may not stand for important. (rather influential, ignorant, idiotic, intelectual, illadvised etc) ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 10:05:32 GMT+0200 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Garth Organization: Rhodes University South Africa Subject: Re: Hive materials Comments: To: beelist1@lochness.co.uk Hi Thomas/All As far as regards cheap goodies to make your beehives: - I have used the following recipe for my 100+ hives which I have built. - Metal lid - contact your local newspaper and buy their aluminium contact sheets - I get mine for R1 (US$0.15c) a piece. These will not rust. You also get to read the news each time you open your hive. (I have two apiaries with collections of pages I found interesting - I ask the local printer to put any metal sheets aside with stories about my University, old School, and anything about bees I put in the paper) - Inner cover and bottom board - corrugater plastic - contact your local estate agents and advertising companies and ask if a bottle or two of honey would secure all their old boards - they usually print on boards about the right size for a bottom board. Wood - go to your local saw mill and ask them if you can have untreated wood - this is better - then treat by painting your starting hive bodies with PCP wood preservative. Paint the inside with PVC paint, and the outside with enamel. If you have a year to wait you can paint the hives with creosote - leave them in the sun for a year - after this the bees don't mind them and you have a hive body that will last 20+ years apparently. Frames - buy these - the time taken making your own is not worth it, as well as the stress. Foundation - buy this. Wire for frames - many people use special bee wire. I live in an area with high theft of comb, and have found that this is cut too easily. I use .3mm fencing wire instead - this has the advantage that it gives less blowouts - in my area I have worked out that if I get no blowouts per ten frames, the increased honey harvested in the one or so frames that would have blown otherwise pays for the slightly higher cost of fencing wire. Excluders - waste of money - if the bees want to go up but cannot they will swarm instead. Inner cover - corrugated plastic works quite well here, and has the advantage of being flexible - if you want to get wax of it, replace the cover with a new one, leave the old one out overnight in a cold spot, and as the dew drips of it in the early morning bend it and the wax cracks of, as does propolis. Hope that helps Keep well Garth Garth Cambray Camdini Apiaries Grahamstown Apis mellifera capensis Eastern Cape Prov. South Africa Time = Honey After careful consideration, I have decided that if I am ever a V.I.P the I. may not stand for important. (rather influential, ignorant, idiotic, intelectual, illadvised etc) ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 21:50:22 GMT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Peter Hutton Organization: ZbeeNet computer networking for beekeepers Subject: Reading a varroa floor CHRS: IBMPC 2 CODEPAGE: 437 MSGID: 240:244/116 43d412f3 REPLY: 240:44/0 0b79b34c PID: FDAPX/w 1.12a UnReg(407) Hi Tom Aye there are lots of creepy crawlies and much more, it's like looking for nosema spore in some mashed up be guts, until you know whay you are looking for it could be anything. I always carry a dissecting microscope around with me, it helps me to see and identify the wee things. By the way if you want to find nosema spores all you have to do is scrape up some faeces, add water and hey presto there they are with only pollen and not much else. 600x is a good magnification at which to see nosema. You can recognise many pollens as well. Regards Peter Hutton --- * Origin: Kent Beekeeper Beenet Point (240:244/116) ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 22:09:58 -0600 Reply-To: fltdeck1@ix.netcom.com Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Matthew Subject: Re: EXCLUDING QUEENS? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Mick & all, I lost an extremely large swarm early on the season from not using a queen excluder between the deep & the bottom board. NEVER again! I'll always use an excluder on NEW swarms to keep the queen from taking flight - though I'll remove it following 6-10 days as the queen should have a 'stake' in here new home by then by laying brood. Matthew in Colorado Bozard, Charles Emmett (Mick) wrote: > HELLO FELLOW BEEKEEPS, > WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WERE TO PUT A QUEEN EXCLUDER UNDER THE BROOD BOX > AT > THE ENTRANCE, PREVENTING THE QUEEN EVER TO LEAVE. ALSO ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 08:39:08 -0400 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: "Emily M. Pruyn" Subject: Learning curve - update Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I'm Emily, New beekeeper (-haver, at this point?!?) Northwest of Boston, MA..... Logging in with an update to the nasty bees plea. Thanks to you all for your excellent advice and timely words of encouragement. Special thanks to Lloyd for his tip on how to tip the top deep without lifting (it worked!!!) And to Madeline for all the information on robbing and the water bottle (I took it along, but didn't need it). My bees are now all medicated .....with no adverse affects to the beekeeper!! I now do have another question. Is there any reason not to put some sort of handles on the hive boxes to give a better purchase for lifting. I realize it would take up too much space as far as commercial beekeepers are concerned, but for the hobby beekeeper? Would the bees care? I find it awfully difficult to lift/tilt a deep super full of honey stores just by the indents provided on the sides of the boxes. If any of you do install handles of some sort...what kind? Even with my local beekeepers association, without this list I might very well have become an ex- beehaver and never had the chance to try to become a beekeeper. Thanks VERLY MUCH for all your information and support. Cheers, Emily Emily M. Pruyn emlake@aerodyne.com ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 22:46:34 PDT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: T & M Weatherhead Subject: Re: Treating boxes with PCP In-Reply-To: <199808310959.TAA29677@iccu5.ipswich.gil.com.au> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Garth wrote > Wood - go to your local saw mill and ask them if you can have > untreated wood - this is better - then treat by painting your > starting hive bodies with PCP wood preservative. Paint the inside > with PVC paint, and the outside with enamel. There is research published in the USA that points to PCP, when used to = treat bee boxes, being able to leave a residue in honey. I had used pent= achlorophenol (PCP) over 20 years ago but stopped when I read the researc= h and also the PCP would not allow the paint to stick properly to the out= side of the box. I was using both enamel and oil based paints. Trevor Weatherhead AUSTRALIA ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 09:10:05 EDT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: tomas mozer Subject: Re: Inside the hive some opinionated thoughts on greg's hive and tim's response: a colony that survives 5-7 years without any treatments may have some degree of tolerance/resistance worth trying to confirm/preserve...what you could be seeing at present is a queen supercedure, resulting in some break in the brood cycle, or perhaps a late summer swarm requeening with the same effect which has been suggested as a natural defense mechanism against disease/parasites, much as artificial requeening by beekeepers. 1)check your varroa levels before you attempt any treatment....anything less than 10% infestation may be tolerable depending on environmental conditions and presence/ absence of brood/adult stress symptoms; 2)making a split to prevent swarming at the appropriate time would indeed be a way of trying to preserve this strain's characteristics, although with no guarantees but again breaking the brood cycle may preempt need for treatments; 3)mixed results with menthol is symptomatic of other "soft" treatments, such as essential oils and organic acids...often they can have a repellent effect on the bees with brood abandonment and queen balling as possible risks; 4)crawling bees may be the result of viral infections (acute or chronic paralysis) activated/vectored by both mites and nosema or other agents, as would deformed wings...however, there is not necessarily a correlation between stock survival and susceptibility to these pathologies. _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 11:29:34 -0400 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Tim Sterrett Subject: Adding Hand Holds to Hive Bodies MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Emily Pruyn writes: " Is there any reason not to put some sort of handles on the hive boxes to give a better purchase for lifting." **************************** I have always been reluctant to do this because I was sure that putting two pieces of wood together would cause rot in the wood-wood joint. I just peeled two wooden hand-holds from an old hive body that I have been using for ten years and I found no obvious rot. Do people who add hand-holds to hive bodies treat the wood? How long does the hive body last? I have used a dado blade on a table saw to make deeper hand holds in home-made honey supers. Perhaps a router would work, too. (Another solution to the lifting problem is to use medium-depth supers as brood boxes. This topic was discussed recently on Bee-L and should be in the archives.) Tim -- Tim Sterrett sterrett@voicenet.com (southeastern) Pennsylvania, USA ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 11:50:39 -0400 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Tim Sterrett Subject: To Treat or Not to Treat... MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Tomas wrote: "Check your varroa levels before you attempt any treatment....anything less than 10% infestation may be tolerable depending on environmental conditions and presence/ absence of brood/adult stress symptoms." *************************************** I agree. But don't get caught out on this. Varroa mite populations can build rapidly and overwhelm a colony. People who do not treat have to watch carefully and frequently for a change in the number of mites in their colonies. Some of my beekeeper association aquaintances chose not to treat for Varroa when the mites appeared in southeastern Pennsylvania. ALL of their colonies died as did every feral colony in my area. If Greg's bee colony was five miles from any other honeybee colony, perhaps it had no contact with mites. All of us are interested in the possibility of Varroa resistant bees. Have any Varroa-proof bees been documented? Tim -- Tim Sterrett sterrett@voicenet.com (southeastern) Pennsylvania, USA ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 17:53:23 +0200 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: "Kai-M. Engfer" Subject: Polska MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8BIT Czesc!! Czy ktos z Polski jest czlonkiem tego forum dyskusyjnego BEE-L? Prosze odezwijcie sie! Hello, is there anybody from Poland member of this discussion forum BEE-L? Please let me know! Kai-M. Engfer, Tel. 04347-8861 Ostlandstr. 1 D-24247 Mielkendorf ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 12:47:14 -0400 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: "Dr. Gerald L Barbor" Subject: Re: Adding Hand Holds to Hive Bodies Added hand holds work well as far as lifting goes, but be really sure that they are attached well. I have bought some used equipment with hand holds and have removed them because of the previous experience of having them come loose while trying to lift a full super of honey. Those that I had difficulty removing usually had five 1 1/4" nails from the outside and five from the inside. The fact that they project from the box is not a problem as long as one uses a telescoping cover - the cover projects just as far. Jerry in PA _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 13:37:14 +0200 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: unman Subject: Odp: chalk brood? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-2" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi! I didn't requeen. I treated them with thymol (10g per hive) and sugar with vinegar (2ccm per 1kg) and splush entrance, with bees which were there, and walls inside of hive with 10% vinegar. Andrzej, Katowice, Poland ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 14:43:04 -0400 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Lloyd Spear Subject: Handles of hives Emily asks about handles on hives to make lifting easier. Emily, many commercial beekeepers screw and glue a 1.75" X 1.75" piece of wood on the long side of the hives for just this purpose. The size is dictated by the dimensions of a "2 X 4" cut in half. (For those of you outside the US, our standard four inch wood actually measures only three and one-half inches.) There are very few disadvantages to this. Perhaps the biggest are that when the hives or supers are put in a truck or in storage they take up more room because of the handles and empty hives or supers cannot be "nested". Lloyd ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 15:34:58 EDT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Alan Sharratt Subject: Re: To Treat or Not to Treat... Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit I have recently fitted a Varroa screen into the bottom of my hive and have discovered, as I expected that I have Varroa. I counted 15 of the mites on the paper insert, within a twenty four hour period. How does one know what % of infestation is in the hive? When should I treat and for how long? I plan on using Bayvarol strips. As you can probably quess I am a novice who would appreciate any help. I am situated in the NW of England. Regards Alan ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 14:11:54 -0500 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: "Keeler, Lisa" Subject: Re: Handles of hives Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lloyd Wrote >Emily, many commercial beekeepers screw and glue a 1.75" X 1.75" piece of >wood on the long side of the hives for just this purpose. Lloyd can you give any adivice as to how many screws of what size to hold the handle on? Thanks Lisa K. Zionsville IN ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1998 07:19:04 PDT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: T & M Weatherhead Subject: Re: Wood to wood In-Reply-To: <199808311534.BAA24916@iccu5.ipswich.gil.com.au> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Tim wrote > I have always been reluctant to do this because I was sure that > putting two pieces of wood together would cause rot in the wood-wood > joint. > Do people who add hand-holds to hive bodies treat the wood? How > long does the hive body last? In Australia it is common to add the lifting cleats (as we call them) to = our boxes. This is done on the narrow side of the box. We do this as = the hive loaders, mounted on our trucks, lift the hive by these cleats. = We also use our loader to under super hives and also lift the honey off = the clearer board. Saves the back. To stop rot between the two peices of wood, I treat my boxes and the lift= ing cleat with copper naphthenate. If I don't treat the boxes, then rot = would start in the area where the two pieces of wood meet within 2 or 3 = years. In our climate it is imperative to treat with coper naphthenate = if you want your boxes to last more than a couple of years. Trevor Weatherhead AUSTRALIA ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 19:34:42 EDT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Christopher Slade Subject: The cost of varroa treatment Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In my recent query on the cost of using the approved varroa treatment per hive per year I typed in figures that in UK the cost is about five pounds sterling. This came out of my screen the following day as thirty five pounds. Five is correct. How much is it for you? Chris Slade ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 19:34:47 EDT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Christopher Slade Subject: Reading a Varroa floor Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Tom Barrett highlights a gap in out knowledge that has been annoying me for some time. There are so many creatures besides bees that inhabit or visit a beehive that a hive has to be regarded as a small eco-system, and yet very little is written about them unless, like mites, they are of economic importance. As an example I often find the attractive green shield bug in or around hives. Is this because they are attracted to hives especially or because I am attracted to hives especially and the shield bugs are everywhere? Chris Slade ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 19:34:46 EDT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Christopher Slade Subject: Re: wet combs Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit I extracted my bees' honey today. I did one super at a time as my 10 frame radial conveniently coincides with my (generally) 10 frame supers. Each super is marked with the apiary from which it came and will be returned to that apiary. Not all hives in each apiary yielded honey as some are fresh swarms, nucs, etc but each will be given at least one super to clean. They will be placed on top of the crown board with an open feed hole in the evening when flying has ceased or earlier in the day if the forecast rain materialises. This procedure minimises the risk of disease transfer between apiaries and also reduces the risk of robbing. If I suspected that a hive in an apiary had AFB or EFB I would not be extracting from that apiary in any case. After a week or two I shall remove the supers and inspect each hive to assess its winter food needs. Most years I don't need to feed at all and get very few winter losses, but this year has been poor in forage and rich in swarms so I will probably have to feed some of them with syrup. I keep no more than four hives to an apiary. This reduces competition for available forage in times of dearth; reduces beekeeper's back as I get plenty of breaks from leaning over hives and gives me more pleasant places in which to spend my time. In passing, somebody recently mentioned working with a smoker between the knees and referred to it as a shackle or hobble or a similar word indicating constraint to movement. It is a thing I do myself sometimes for convenience but I think it probably contributes to back problems if one cannot spread the legs when bending over or lifting. My smoker has a hook on the back of the bellows which enables it to be hung on the side of the hive or on my clothing. Always in reach, never in the way. Chris Slade ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 19:34:45 EDT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Christopher Slade Subject: 10 queen cells etc Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit John Valentine reports finding a colony with no brood and about 10 of what he describes as supersedure queen cells, some of which had emerged. I think it more likely that they were either swarm or emergency cells. I don't know what the beekeeping season is like in his part of the world. Are drones still being reared. If so he has probably just lost a swarm. If not they are probably emergency cells caused by the loss of the queen. Supersedure cells are usually few in number, say 4 or less, and are of a similar age. They tend to be near the centre of the brood frame rather than around the periphery as swarm cells tend to be. This is not an infallible guide and the only true test for supersedure is supersedure. As John refers to the lateness of the season my guess is that they are emergency cells. Chris Slade ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 19:46:29 EDT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: "(Thomas) (Cornick)" Subject: Re: Adding Hand Holds to Hive Bodies Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit I rip boards to make my supers and rabbet the joint and frame rests. Waste wood from the rip gets cut into handles nailed on the long side of the bodies and glued.. Nail from inside the box into the handles and through the handles into the box. 8-10, 4d box nails in each handle. Also make some shims for your supers to turn a medium into a deep with a shim made from scrap. You could use longer nails and nail from the outside through the box and then fold them across the grain-these wont ever come off. Tom in CT ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 19:56:30 -0700 Reply-To: beeman@NOSPAMkingston.net Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Kent Stienburg Subject: Apistan storage MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi everbody, I just finished my initial fall medication. I noticed that the package of Apistan from last year wasn't as fresh looking (so to speak) as the new package that I just opened. My question to all is how long is Apistan effective after you open the package? I stored it in its original package, resealing it as best as one can and in a cool dark place. Thanks, Kent Stienburg -- Remove NOSPAM to reply. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 20:08:44 -0400 Reply-To: mpalmer@together.net Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: Michael Palmer Organization: French Hill Apiaries Subject: Chalkbrood question MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I think if nothing gets rid of chalkbrood, then all colonies would show symptoms. The bees themselves get rid of the disease. It must be the hygienic behavior working. I've requeened lots of chalky colonies. Sometimes it works, but not very often. Marla Spivack came to the Vermont beekeepers meeting last weekend. She talked about hygienic bees. They clean up a disease before it becomes infectious. Only about 10% of colonies are hygienic. Maybe that explains why requeening only works sometimes. Breeding is the way to go to get rid of chalkbrood. Why put who knows what into your colonies as a Band-aid method. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 19:18:54 -0700 Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: beeman Organization: Honey Ridge Apiaries Subject: bees sweeping MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi all, i noticed today that bees on the bottoms boards was doing something wierd....it looked as if they where sweeping with there front legs(arms) just back and forth, what are they doing? haven't really noticed it before? any ideas?????? ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 20:36:37 EDT Reply-To: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: George W Imirie Subject: Re: To Treat or Not to Treat... Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Allan: I have been told that I am blunt or even rude. It is NOT my intent to hurt, but rather to excite people to pay attention and THINK. In 1998, the Varroa mite is as widely spread as flies or mosquitoes. There is NO SUCH choice as "to treat or not treat"! If you want to save your bays, you MUST treat, perhaps only once a year in northern temperate zones and maybe even three times per year in southern temperate zones. I test for varroa mites in March and July and treat if necessary, but I surely don't bother to test in the fall. I TREAT always from October 1st to November 20th. My location is in Maryland near Washington, DC. After 65 years of beekeeping, treating for Varroa is another treatment, BUT NOT OPTIONAL NOW. It is kind of like tying your shoes. Good Luck! George Imirie ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 18:08:45 -0700 Reply-To: JamesCBach Sender: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology From: JamesCBach Subject: Use of fluvalinate on Varroa MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Alan Sharratt asks about the percentage of Varroa in a colony that will be found on a Varroa screen at the bottom of the hive. This depends on the colony size, how much brood is in the hive, the temperature during your survey, the overall Varroa population, and how many Varroa are in the sealed cells at the time that you survey the colony. I haven't seen any documentation of the percentage of Varroa in a colony versus brood. That information would not be very useful because there are so many differences between individual colonies, bee behaviors, and environmental conditions at various latitudes. Here in Washington State, USA, I have been recommending a survey be done in late February. If 50 or less mites are found, treat in mid August. If more than 50 or 100 mites are found in any one colony treat in late February (daytime temperatures 50F. or above) for the length of time prescribed on the label or until you put the first super on, whichever occurs first. Even if you can only leave the strips in the hive for two or three weeks in February/March you will lower the Varroa population significantly, and probably not experience any colony collapse in the fall. Use a complete treatment in mid August (>50F.) after removal of honey supers. Once you treat colonies, you probably can rely on only one treatment per year if you are in the northern US. In the UK, follow the Bayvarol label and any recommendations provided by research, or government agencies. Don't rely on beekeeper recommendations because you will here all kinds of them. That is one reason why many beekeepers in the US are continuing to lose significant numbers of colonies to Varroa; they don't follow the label, for economic reasons. James C. Bach jbach@agr.wa.gov jcbach@yvn.com