Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 171 will honey bees save other other honey bees?
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
- Welcome to another episode of backyard beekeeping topics.
This series is also available as a podcast via pod-bean:
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If you'd like to submit your own question for consideration in the future, please visit this page and fill out the form:
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Today's topics are in the order listed below:
1) Will honey bees save other honey bees if they are in trouble?
2) I would like to know how to treat a Long-Langstroth Hive with OAV, how do you treat your hives?
3) Do you recommend solid bottom boards? What about ventilation? Will I be able to tell when I've got my winter bees? Will their activity be different?
4) If a double-stacked nucleus hive will winter in PA, why is it such a struggle to make a top bar hive make it through winter?
5) Is there a way to remove bee-bread from comb that won't destroy the comb itself?
6) If we wash your house with bleach and water, is there a risk to the honey bees?
7) Do you happen to know how long a varroa mite can live without a host?
TODAY'S SHOUT-OUT:
Listen to a story about following bees from water to bee trees the way it was done many years ago, by a master storyteller. Don't forget to tell him that Frederick Dunn sent you :)
Donnie Laws, Appalachia Wild Mountain Honey Bees and How They Found Them.
• Appalachia Wild Mounta...
Hive Alive is an additive to your sugar syrup that is proven to reduce nosema in honey bees, they are currently having a giveaway. It's one of the few additives that is proven. Here you go: upvir.al/13313...
Thank you for Bee-ing here today :)
1) Will honey bees save other honey bees if they are in trouble? 2:40
2) I would like to know how to treat a Long-Langstroth Hive with OAV, how do you treat your hives? 13:11
3) Do you recommend solid bottom boards? What about ventilation? Will I be able to tell when I've got my winter bees? 21:30
4) If a double-stacked nucleus hive will winter in PA, why is it such a struggle to make a top bar hive make it through winter? 29:55
5) Is there a way to remove bee-bread from comb that won't destroy the comb itself? 44:38
6) If we wash your house with bleach and water, is there a risk to the honey bees? 48:41
7) Do you happen to know how long a varroa mite can live without a host? 52:31
8) What do you think about providing the bees water inside the hive? 55:55
Thank you Adam
Thank you Sir
Dale Haverty, SE Nebraska.
I'm 84 year old new bee keeper. Have 2 long hives and 2 Lang hives. Never miss your weekly info. I too was born and raised in MO. Listened to Donny Law's program and loved it. Enjoy all yours. Thank you for all your work.
Thanks Adam, so appreciated!
What a fascinating shout-out! Thank you!
Any time! And I hope you checked it out and were as impressed as I was.
Hi Fred. I agree with your statement about honey bees only getting honey off the fellow bee covered in it for honey purpose only.
Last fall I had several bees fell into cold water in a fall evening. I took 5 of them out (all appeared to be dead) and placed them on the landing board of one of my hives. I watched them for about 20 min. Guard bees immediately attended all but two of them. Then dragged them inside the entrance where more bees came to the rescue. After about 15 min of them warming each other up they came to life. The other 2 that were ignored were dead and one was flown away from the hive.
It was something amazing to watch.
Another excellent video. I don’t believe there is another honey bee related show that has nearly the content that yours has. Thank you so much for all your hard work!
Thank you very much! There are many great channels related to beekeeping, I think we are each filling in some of the knowledge gaps :)
Fascinating video.
Thanks for the info fred. Hope you have a great weekend.
You're very welcome, and the same to you!
Hahaha!!! Fred, you do realize you all talked funny to me. Hope you have a Great weekend.
Hello my Brother! I wondered what you'd think when I included you in my story during this video. It was very funny to see the girls come to our table and just glow as they waited for Bill to say something... anything! Those were great times, and your entire family was a second family to me :) Stay awesome!
Thanks Professor Dunn. Always good stuff
Glad you enjoyed it :)
Do you have any thoughts on artificial insemination of queens vs mating flights to achieve wanted genetic traits?
Thank you for another informative video. A frame that is pollen bound can be soaked in water for 2 days, then take a hose on shower feature and rinse the frames. Sun dry. Somewhere out there is a Utube video showing this process.
Please share the video link if you can locate it. Thanks.
Thank you again MrDunn for taking your time to educate and inform us. One small respit to a busy week is waiting for your videos.
My pleasure!
Watching you show from The Netherlands. 😃👍🏻
Keep up the great work. 😃
Awesome! Thank you!
Thank you for the shout out and link to Donnie Laws' YT channel! You're right--he is a fantastic story teller! I just watched several of his vids (they're kind of addicting) and look forward to watching more. I wrote a comment under one of them about your shout out. I really enjoyed your vid today too (as always)! Thank you and God bless you and your family.
Hi Fred. Thanks for the video. Getting ready for the Goldenrod and Aster flow in SE PA after I harvest this weekend.
You're welcome, I think we're going to have a great fall nectar flow!
Thank you Fred!
You're welcome, Robin!
As always very insightful… thanks for doing these videos….
Glad you like them!
Love the Q&A's but really love the hands on in the field videos. Looking forward to new inspection videos. Thanks for all you do.
You and me both! Can't wait to get out and into the hives soon!
Those native bees really pack on the pollen. Thank you Fred.
Finally all caught up on the FAQ videos! Work has been busy. Keep the midwest in mind. Oklahoma has been 100 to 115 degrees farenheit for the past couple months and no rain, so nothing is blooming. Glad yall are having better luck than us!
Don't forget to take plenty of free time for yourself Daniel! Thanks for your comments and loyalty to me and my channel :)
@@FrederickDunn free time is for the weak! Hahaha. I am kidding of course. Once i finish my bachelor's and get through warrant school i will have much more time. Dropping my submission packet soon! You are the best mr. Fred, wouldnt have started beekeeping without you. The FAQs are, as always, an invaluable resource
Hello Fred, thanks for a good video. Congrats on all the subs. And the info about starting a you tube video. I didnt know about that stuff.
Glad to help :)
On Topic.. I've noticed, when I refill my hive top feeders with syrup, if it's empty and a few bees are in the "bowl". I fill it and pull the bees out that get stuck in the syrup. If I place the bees at a different hive, those bees will usually clean up the foreign bee and it flys off, or they will drag it away from the entrance. They usually aren't real defensive unless it is during a dearth.
That's a great way to have them cleaned right up. It's the same reason that drift can occur with a forager loaded with resources, they are often welcomed right in because of the sweet rewards. :)
This is going to be my first winter with top bar hives. In my top bar hive groups they say tilt the one side with honey stores a little higher to give the illusion to the bees they are moving up but in my top bar hives I have 6 bars of pollen right by entrance then brood, then honey on other end. No one can answer if I should move pollen between the brood or not. They said just to leave it. I'm thinking of putting it in between the brood as pollen, 3 frames of brood then pollen ect. Well. I will let you know if they come through winter. I'm in Wisconsin
You mentioned the nucleus hives being 3 deeps. Do you leave the third box on over winter? What do you use for a insulated inner cover on the nucs?
Hi Kris, depends on the population of the hive going into winter as to if it will be two or three boxes tall. For the insulation on top, I just have 2" thick foam board caps - four sides that extend down about half the height of the box, and bonded to a 2" thick capper, it just rests over the top of the hive and has proven to be very effective. I'll try to do a topic specific video to better explain that well before winter arrives. Thanks.
If I were testing your theory about the migration of bees during the winter in your climate, I would certainly use Broodminders to track the temps. Even with a Langstroth I keep 2 sensors in the my hives one to the east and one to the west so I can track the movement of the brood area in the summer and the "size of the cluster" in the winter. I also use heavily insulated top and bottom entrance only.
I just use thermal cameras, and can locate the cluster very clearly, particularly on very cold nights.
At minute 48 , you take the old pollen and feed it to the Liberal customers at moms market , they will eat the pollen in their oatmeal no matter how bad it tastes lol , and as far as the chlorinated water , the 400 hives in the field out front of my farm have found my daughters new swimming pool and been deemed bee water , my daughter is livid , but the bees are happy 😝anything under 500 ppms is safe for humans and bees I suppose .. I had to edit this to add that it was my daughter’s new pool that turned into the new bee waterer for the neighboring farm using the pollination company, I’ve kind of adopted the bees because my motives are not profit or produce oriented but just care about the bees that I’ve accumulated, I think it’s called love of the bee 😋
Fred, how did your mead experiment turn out? You showed it before it matured, but not later, that I saw. Would you do it again?
Funny you should mention that, we just had a taste test last Saturday and it's like a very dry wine :) and apparently, according to those with more experience than I have, it's "pretty good". We're making more this winter.
Anthropomorphism
Attribution of human traits to a non-human entity
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to abstract concepts such as nations, emotions, and ... Wikipedia
Thank you, Fred, for clarifying the the honeybee behavior 👍
🛫📖🛬
Very excellent comment. 👍🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
Wait, you mean my Pet-Rock didn't really care about me? Thanks E & J ! :)
Mug up at the Dunn's, good morning. 49 f here this morning with dawn just breaking. Might dip a couple more degrees. Got to love those pollen bloomers! Great sequence. How about figuring frame surface area and equating that to Langs to calculate Layens hive treatment amounts? Some plants like hydrangeas can be sensitive to bleach, protect plants. Thanks for sharing. Take care
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Mr Dunn,
What an eye you have for beauty.
Your god-given creativity expressed through the lens is incredible.
I hope you know how much we thirst for such beauty in this world that we live in.?
My landing board here in 7A has turned into a slaughterhouse for the drones.
Is this common that these drones would be expelled this early only the 12th day of August.
And today ironically we felt a cold wind blow from our friends in the North country and it's really a chilly night,
Really shouldn't be complaining after all the oppressive heat and humidity?
Really enjoyed seeing your video on oxalic vaporization in the observation Hive.
GOD bless
📖🛐✈️🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆
Each colony has its own inspiration for removing the drones and yes it's fairly common this time of year if the environment isn't providing heavy nectar and pollen. Bees have their own seasonal clock. And thank you for such a wonderful compliment about my work! I really do appreciate it.
@@FrederickDunn
🛫📖🛬
You deserve it Mr Dunn, no thanks needed.
The talent that you and Bob Ross had sets you apart in this world.
That's why I try to share each of your videos and never want to miss a new one.
The Bible says; "that a fool hates knowledge"
And I would be a fool if I did not receive what you are giving so freely.
I personally believe in, "freely have you been given, freely give again"
I'm also one of those that's trying to move past and upward since the military days and those hard days after our return home in '75.
You're one of GOD'S best my brother. That is, (THE WAY TO BE)🐝
📖🛐✈️🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆
I know most mite treatments should not be done with honey supers in place. I've always thought this was only to prevent contamination of the honey. How much contamination of the comb itself takes place? If comb that was once in a treated brood box is later used in a honey super is significant contamination a danger? Thanks. Darrell Hamner, Ballinger, TX
That's a great question, and the answer is wide and varied based on the treatments used. I use OAV which is not known to contaminate honey or comb. This is a serious consideration with many other treatment options. I suggest that everyone perform plenty of research when considering treatment options. Some of the most common in-hive contaminants originate from beekeepers... coumaphos residues are at the top of my list. This isn't one of those questions that have an easy single answer.
@@FrederickDunn Thanks for your reply! If I may trouble you a bit more--how about Apivar/amitraz?
Ty for credit that meant a-lot ty
You know it! You've brought a lot of useful information my way, and I do appreciate it!
Fred, I was very disappointed I did not catch a single swarm this season. It may be a bit of a blessing,tho, as neighborhood gardeners pretty much gave up this season. Weather was as hot as last year and squashes didn't do well over all. My tom crop is a shadow of last year. And, I feel I was not prepared to have to deal with mite populations this month. So my Layens hive will sit empty this winter and into next spring, when I may try again for swarms in my area. Cheers, Bob
I'm sorry you've had such a challenging year, Robert. I am very glad to know that you are taking stock and will try again in 2023! That's the spirit.
I l❤️Ve your videoes Dear Frederick 🥰🥰🥰🥰
Thanks!
@@FrederickDunn Have a nice day
Hi Fred thanks for all the information you have provided. Have 6 long hives 6 vertical hives and this year started 4 nukes. Two purchased and two with purchased queens. My problem. One of my long hives has turned into a worker hive with lots of drones. Wish to remove frames and shake. If I use the nuke to correct, do I use all frames including the queen as they have done well and have 5 over 5. Or 5 frames with brood and leave the queen in the nuke thanks.
Question: CAN it be said that the grooming instinct between the bees is part of their survival instinct?
I am thinking here of bees getting soaked in honey within the hive due to an incident that causes the honey frames to drip off honey and cover some of the bees…🤔🤔🤔
Consider this, if the trait persists through generations then it could be considered a survival behavior or it would likely no longer be present. Behaviors that don't result in improving survival of the colony would become less common over time. Regarding honey running down into the hive, even if some bees get soaked, they are likely quickly cleaned up. It's why I like hives tipped back away from the landing board if comb will be cut or disturbed so the honey doesn't run out through the front and cause robbing.
Question... Say a hive has 2 deeps and one medium and you want to treat for mites using OAV. It's now approved for use with supers on, so we're not pulling anything. Would we now do 3g... one per box, or 2g, one per brood box... Not sure if it's about the space inside or not. This has confused me for a while since I gave my girls the 2nd deep just to have it drawn out for a future split or swarm. The medium will actually be their 2nd box in the end, so I was never concerned about the whole "honey supers off" thing, as this was not a honey super... but since it had no brood, mostly barely drawn foundation, I've never been sure if I should be doing 2g or 3g...
Your best answer is on the label, though many entomologists are recommending the 3g dose. Your pre-treatment mite counts and post-series counts will tell the story as to if the dose was strong enough for adequate control. The dose isn't intended to be based on all of the boxes, but rather just the brood boxes. The OA will be spread throughout the hive interior by the bees. The results are widely variable depending on your local climate as humidity has had an impact on effectiveness among other localized challenges.
@@FrederickDunn The problem is that I only have 2 hives, so it will be a while before having to get more OA, Thus I don't have an updated package to read... That's why I was hoping you knew if it was about the internal space or about the brood boxes alone, regardless of hoe many supers...
Sir, Do honey bees utilize the cavity for negative pressure capabilities? Dehydrating nectar would be more efficient if they used fanning while creating whole hive pressure differentials. This would make a single entrance advantageous and explain their propulus tendencies being toward airtightness. Maybe I am off the deep end, but seems plausible. Thank you.
I don't know that anything like that has been considered or studied. Just off the top of my head, I can't imagine what kind of air movement would have to be sustained to alter exterior and interior pressure. Hmmm... huge challenge there.
Do you check hives in winter? If so how often?
I never open hives in winter, I do thermal scans to see where the cluster is. I also clear entrances, that's it.
Last year my Layens June splits had wall to wall brood in early August. I was concerned. By winter closing in October all those bees they were creating filled the top of the brood frames with honey.
Thank you so much, we looked into them yesterday and that is exactly what they have begun to do! :) I think we're going to be in great shape around here. Thanks for sharing!
Can’t believe we’re officially in a drought 36c today , hopefully we get rain showers this week and low 20s return 😀, have a fantastic weekend
I hope things go your way very soon!
Another informative Q&A Fred, thank you. I've been trying to keep bees in New Zealand for 3 seasons now and every season they die before winter even sets in. My hunch is its a varroa problem.
In my first year, I definitely treated too late in the fall. But combined with the Apiguard treatment I think that also led to poor results because the temperature got hot and I think 2 of the 3 hives absconded. They had a heavy thymol odour that you could smell before you even opened the hives and the bees were in a frenzy ;-(
In my second year I tried some frequent OAV combined with Bayvarol in the spring. All the hives finished up that year weak. 2 of them died from nearby commercial beekeepers over wintering bees robbing and combined with wasps. I also treated with OAV in the fall. The last hive survived but was so small, barely even 1 full frame ;-(
In my third year I bought 2 packages and 2 new queens. Combined the tiny surviving colony with 1 of the packages and replaced the queen. Treated with OAV within a couple days of both packages being installed. Waited until honey could be pulled off in mid to late Feb and then did the standard 3 OAV treatments treating at subsequent 6 days each time. Again the commercial beekeeper robbed me out in the fall and the wasps were a huge problem too - I noted many many bee heads and other body parts on the bottom board ;-(
So finally my question. I want to treat using organic compounds if possible but where I live in New Zealand we do not get a brood break. I wonder if you would have basic suggestions for a annual varroa management plan if you could not get a brood break? I have bought a queen confinement cage (queen excluder enclosure over 1 frame) and will try that this year but I'm sort of unsure what time of year to do this and how frequently. I'm really lost on this subject and it is getting pricey replacing my bees every year!
With many thanks in advance,
MK
Wow, it sounds like you really are going to be continuously challenged by your proximity to the commercial operation you're referring to. When It comes to getting the mites under control and trying to target the low-brood period in your hives, I think I'd try to do that when your environment is providing the least amount of resources of the year. Knowing your mite loads will be informative also. Once you identify a time when a strong nectar flow isn't on, here is how I'd use the queen isolation cage: www.fredsfinefowl.com/queencagemethod.html
Fred, this spring I took advice from one of your many helpful backyard beekeeping videos and setup 2 swarm traps that were BetterBee Nuc 5 frame boxes double stacked. I captured a swarm in each, relocated them to my bee yard, and as of today they are going strong. Had to change out a couple full honey frames from each just to give them room. Looks like I will not be needing them as resources for my other hives, fingers crossed year not over. I made a top for each that is well insulated and can take a rapid round so if needed I can feed them. If they are going to last the winter (Nashville area) do you close off the two 1” diameter vents in the back of the BetterBee bottom box or leave them open for moisture?
I will talk about this on Friday, yes, I seal up those holes in the back. I'm glad they worked out so well for you!
A honey bee or colony is only interested in a source if sweets or honey. They don't care who or what is coated in honey, be it a wasp or 10 as long as they can clean up the sticky liquid with as many other bees as it takes to get the job cleaned up. As an aside, beekeeper friends, don't let a stack of "wet" combs stay outdoors anywhere near a bee yard. If a single bee can get into a hole or crack in a pile of combs, you will see robbing take place like a nuclear power plant melt down. There is no mistaking the situation as a disaster. It will take several days for the robbing to subside and it will become critical to guard bees to defend their own colonies. It will be a massive disaster anyway you look at it. Robber bees become genuinely crazy. Where you once had gentle bees bearding on the outside of their respective hives, the air will become filled as if every colony is swarming. It is a total mess. Let robbing get started in this manner, and one will never forget it.
Absolutely, and feeding stations should be located well away from the actual apiary/hives.
some beekeepers that use big Dadant Blatt hives with bigger brood frames poke two holes into the comb under the top bar for winter.. it makes it easier for bees to move from frame to frame over winter.
I've noticed the bees make those vent/travel pathways themselves, but the instinct to remain over the brood is a powerful one. We'll see.
@@FrederickDunn yes, if they have that little patch of brood they will never move off of it. They say that their bees move honey closer on warmer days.. l don't have those problems. My bees cluster 5 days in a year.. but it's a desert all summer
Hi Fred! Hey will Queens on mating flights stay out overnight if she can't make it back like the foragers? Thankyou in advance
I would have to say that that "could" happen, particularly if she was caught in a sudden weather event for example. I have nothing to support that activity with, but am open to the possibility that it may happen once in a while. Most mating flights will occur between 11:00 am and 2:30 pm... so plenty of time to beat the setting sun there.
Hey Fred, thanks for the videos. And interesting topics.
I'm curious if you think goldenrod will have trouble in the fall again this year? The reason I ask this is that many beekeepers depend on goldenrod to refill the boxes after pulling the honey crop at end of summer before fall.
However, last year the goldenrod failed miserably for many states last year.
So this is something some beekeepers are going to have to be worried about very soon. It would also be an interesting topic to be asking about.
Hi Noah, what you're describing is exactly why I have the bees lay up at lease one full medium super as winter security prior to me taking anything later in the year. I'd never leave then light, for the reason you've mentioned here. I have no idea what the golden rod nectar flow will be this year as we have a rain deficit and it is very necessary during the plant's growth in order for it to have high yields. We may not see that heavy September flow. I don't like to feed, so leaving honey on is my best bet against a potential poor end to the growing season.
@@FrederickDunn your words rain deficit are what I needed to hear. Its true we don't know 100%... but yes. Rain deficit.
And I think your right on not pulling too much honey too.
Thanks.
Gus Mitchell was raised by his grandfather who taught him the old ways of Mountain beekeeping and told some great stories about beelineing, bee gums and using stinkbait to find wild bee colonies in Appalachia, when he did a live stream guest appearance on Hillbilly Beekeeping and Tennessee Mountain Bees combined and did a live stream, both have that Mountain dialect you speak of, they all know and had few stories about lesser economics coal mining in smaller cracks that the company mines left behind.
Fantastic people! I'm glad we have a way to see and listen to them and their stories.
I agree, they all seem to know about and stories of hard times mining in small cracks having to crawl sideways, pecking out small bits of coal and putting it in crocus poke (mountain word for bag or sack, where "pig in a poke" originates". I still love hear someone who can play in mountain style the mountain dulcimer. I often challenge my youngest grandson, who plays clarinet to play along with bluegrass music and try to give his instrument some blues, he just looks at me funny when I bring it up, then I tell listen to what Jethro Tull was able to do on the flute.
I have about 50 pounds of July Prince peaches that are tree ripe, I spit them and removed pits, later when I have time, I plan to make a batch of peach honey mead, any thoughts Frederick?
My peaches are still frozen in a plastic bag in my bees freezer waiting for fall weather to come to GA so I can let the mead work off slow, my experiences with wine making tells me around 75f is best temp for fermentation processes.
Question as part of learning what we are going to do if we can't beat our Varroa infestation.
How do you treat VM out in apiaries when need electricity supply? Any battery models?
There are propane models, also battery powered that take DeWalt tool batteries.
Morning Fred the question regarding how long do Varroa live without a host is relevant in Australia at the moment with the euthanised bee hives in NSW - once the bees have been euthanised bee equipment is being destroyed. If the hive was sealed technically you could wait 4 to 5 days then clean the equipment (hives only)?
I have to support the authorities in Australia when it comes to their control plans. But this is also the case here when a winter colony dies out and is later robbed. It's no longer a potential "varroa bomb" since the varroa die very shortly after the bees themselves expire.
my bees are bringin yellow pollen too
Do colonies create fat bodied bees in the tropics where there is virtually no winter cold or dimunition of sunlight or dimunition of environmental resources?
They do, when there is a dearth that is cyclical. I say that because they do it here in the U.S. where summer dearths are often extended.
every time a super is put on. do house bees or the flying bees carry the nectar up into the supers? whoever carries the nectar up into the supers. that is some movement| an entrance on every super would enhance the transporting from flower to cell. the other plus is the question of. optimization is ventilation. if there is no airflow/ventilation, how does dehydration take place in a quick time without the bees wearing themselves out by fanning, the bees are now fanning in front of an entrance. some air from their wings ( i wonder how much) gets into the entrance. then where does the air go? top ventilation would definitely help with an updraft. I am amazed at how many beekeepers do not provide suitable ventilation. supposing you closed all of your windows in your house. do you not respire, do bees breath?
I think you are assigning human comfort to honey bee venting, heating, cooling, and climate control within the hive. If you consider what the bees do on their own, the upper venting isn't in the realm of what they would select at all. My bees are productive and dehydrate their honey just fine. If you provide upper venting, then you'll also be needing queen excluders to keep brood out of those upper frames. I'll trade my single entrance venting for the impedement that queen excluders cause to interior travel. Many will then say that foragers could do with an upper entrance. I've done that in the past, when nights grow cold as they do now, much of the valuable heat is lost during the night through an upper vent or entrance. If we take our guidence from the bees themselves, then upper venting or upper entrances are not part of their selected features.
Fred, What is your take on this as a solution to the varroa's destruction, please?
A Hive design against varroa.
If you change the hive environment by changing its design features you can be varroa treatment free. You just need to make an environment that reduces the varroa replacement value over each generation. This is not so hard. Forget chemicals. Honey bees in Cuba and South America have apparently learned to deal with it. The reason is likely to be that the climate is hot and humid, both factors of which can benefit the bees against varroa in their own way.
The propensity for varroa to die away in a humid hive was found out by accident when a laboratory hive was accidentally left at a higher humidity than others and that one lost its varroa. The precise mechanism of varroa destruction by humidity remains a mystery, but with a very small creature it probably drowns it.
The standard vertical bee hive entrance at the floor level of a thin walled vertical hive with ventilation at the top causes a cooling stack (or flue) effect internally. This cools the hive in winter and takes away its humidity all year. If, in a standard vertical hive the bee entrance/ventilation was placed at the top of the brood nest (under the queen excluder in summer) a VIBEZ (Ventilated Integrated Bee Entrance Zone) is formed giving a “bucket” of humid air in the brood nest below.
Wrapping the brood boxes of a thin walled vertical hive with aerated concrete blocks is also a major benefit for the bee’s thermo-regulation duties, particularly in winter.
The temperature of the brood nest is important in the fight against varroa as it affects the pupa hatch period and therefore the time available for the varroa to mature in the cells. The temperature over the time of day and position in the brood nest affects the pupa temperature.
Below 29C. and above 37C. the pupa die. At 35C. it takes 10-11 days to hatch. At 31C. it takes 14-15 days to hatch.
If you are already committed to the thin walled vertical hives as most are, consider making those modifications to test their efficacy.
If you are not committed, the ZEST DIY hive is functionally free of varroa in so far as it does not need treating for it. It has many other advantages in cost, effectiveness and benefit to the bees and bee keeper. It is made from aerated concrete blocks which have 39 times more Resistance (R) to the passage of heat than a thin walled wood hive.
It also has top entry. If you want to know more about varroa destruction hive design go to the ZEST web page, and read the free E-Book going to pages 21 to 24 and 50 where the mechanism for being varroa free is explained. There is a U-tube that you may also want to view titled “Build your own bee hive-healthy bees-zest hive”.
Thank you, William, I wish it truly were just a matter of hive design where varroa destructor mites are concerned. I look forward to reading any published papers, or supporting scientific data. My mind, as always, is open on the topic.
@@FrederickDunn There are no published papers, nor scientific data. Evidence lies in the ZEST hive use. There is the latest ZEST hive book "More beekeeping with ZEST" from "Northern Bee Books" here in the UK. It also has a free E-Book on the ZEST web page. I refer in particular to pages 21-24 for comparative data logged humidity and page 50 for temperature. This has become a mission for bee health and bee keeper wealth.
I am a retired architect that a decade ago set about designing a habitation for the biological system of the honeybee, from scratch, after seeing many flaws in the current hive designs. It was not the intention to design a varroa free hive, but the process resulted in that by accident, because the ZEST is, I suggest, a warm, humid hive. I have been singing the ZEST hive song now for more than half a decade and all that has been proven is that bee keepers en mass are spiritually locked into a failed system represented by thin walled hives. A pity. They are more conservative than undertakers. I recognise that your mind may be open to doubt, but all I can say is build one and prove it for yourself.
Hi Fred, question from Rochester, NY
I have a hive that I spilt a few weeks ago.
Moved the original queen and frames, dropped a mated queen in the original hive. She was accepted.
It’s now been 3 weeks and the new purchased queen still has not produced any eggs or brood. None at all! She is still there, I even have videos of her “laying” however nothing seems to come from it. The hive looks “queenless”except for the fact I see the queen. (she is marked) Her behavior is odd. She moves very lethargically and always seems to be on the same frame.
My question is can I just remove her and a few frames and drop in the split I made from this hive 3 weeks ago?
Do I need to separate the rest of the hive with newspaper ? Or cage the queen ?
My plan was to remove the queen and a few frames, shake out the remainder into the nuc. Then Drop in the 5 frame split with drawn comb and resource frames. Then drench all with 1:1 with Honey b healthy at drench level.
I was trying to get back up and running for the fall flow which is on now.
Hi Matthew, I'm sorry I didn't see this comment sooner. What did you end up doing? Sometimes the nurse bees can go around ingesting the eggs from the queen if she lays during a period when resources won't support the brood. I hope you are all set with that colony. The rain we've had here has pushed much of the brood production down early. I hope they responded for you.
@@FrederickDunn Hi Fred, when I went it the hive I now couldn’t find the failing queen. They appeared queenless so I put the entire 5 frame nuc from the split with the original queen into that hive and left the bees and resources from the other colony. Gave everybody a good drenching and closed it up. They merged just fine. Colony looks great now. Population looks good. Never made any honey to take in the flow super but they have a deep and medium packed full. On week 2 of Apivar. Not even sure if I need to feed them but just got the new APIS 1 gal. rapid feeder from Rocket hardware so gonna give it a try with them and some 2:1. Thank you so much for getting back to me
I think Dr. David Peck of BetterBee said in perfect lab conditions he'd gotten live mites to live 7 days out the hive, but as you stated 4 days is the normal limit, he said it's actually hard to raise mites for his research.
Dr. David is a fantastic resource and has definitely put in his time with mites. Thanks for sharing that. There are always exceptional specimens. We have a lot to learn, and that's part of the appeal. Thanks for sharing!
Somewhere here on RUclips there is a video of beekeepers soaking their frames in water, then rinsing the bee bread out of the combs with a garden sprayer. If I can find it again, I'll post the link.
Please do
you can do that with laying worker brood too.. wash the drone brood out and save the combs
Hi Adam, I'd be very interested in seeing that, please do share the link. I think it would be very helpful to lots of viewers. Thanks!
@@FrederickDunn not actually the one I was referring to, but: ruclips.net/video/hlriTnF1Se4/видео.html
@@FrederickDunn here's a different one; ruclips.net/video/JmoJvwHX88w/видео.html
where is the bee's sense of smell? black mountain honey utuber said on one clip, that bees do not smell sugar, but wasps do. interestingly if wasps are found in wasp traps, that has said. sugared water. how come then you do not see bees in wasp traps, maybe bees do not smell.
can you say, please? the size of a varroa mite, as to what size of the mesh, does it take for this mite to fall through it. once through it can they climb back into the hive?
Mites will fall through #8 screen just fine. Regaring bees smelling or not smelling sugar syrup, they scout and taste it even without scent. They may approach the sugar syrup as a water source and then discover that it has high sugar content and go from there. It's not necessary to provided any scent to sugar syrup.
@@FrederickDunn I did not mean it like that. Regarding wasp traps. That virtually only wasps are found and not bees in these traps. The question here is: why not? Possibly bees do not smell : the contents of whatever is in the trap.
Do our native bees get Veroa?
Great question, and the answer is no. Thank goodness...
You tell em Fred.
Bees go after the honey as per some of your previous videos. Bees rescue no going after the honey.
I've had bees clean both dead bees and live bees when covered in honey, even drones and dead SHB s rolling them around to get every lick of honey, then leaving them after there's no honey to clean up.
I'm Second!
wow pollen pants
You said it!
That reminds me of the summer in September I had entered a perfectly filled and capped medium frame of honey in my county fair. When I went to see if it had earned a ribbon of some sort, the building where it was on display was filled with bees. Someone had poked a finger right in the middle of the comb to steal a taste from my entry. The lady in charge told me I hadn't needed to bring " my" bees as well. I was freaked out and to make a long story short, I told her bees will "rob" any source of sweets of honey at that time of year after nectar sources are all done before winter. I was a genuinely P.O.ed beekeeper, and vowed to this person I would never participate in this fair ever again and that I would inform the fair board of this occurance. I received a short letter of apology from someone on the fair board, but still never entered anything in the future nor did I ever attend this fair again. This was many decades ago, but I still will always remember this incident.
Wow, that's such a memorable incident and made clear how important it is to prevent honey from becoming available to honey bees that time of year!