As a new beekeeper on the 56th latitude in B.C. Canada I found this very informative. We may not have all the pests but you explained a lot that was new to me, even after researching bees for 3 years. So much to know and apply that it boggles my mind. But I look forward to learniing as you work towards your Master Beekeeper degree. All the best.
Thanks! We used to live very close to Vancouver before we started beekeeping! We've always been curious what the major differences are. We have such a long dearth compared to you guys but also a longer spring and fall as we rarely get snow here. More like muddy winters.
Funny how context changes your outlook on things, I always admired Dragonflies, mantis, spiders and other insects, but being a beekeeper suddenly they're your mortal enemies lol
Research shows that varroa drop to a bottom board does not give an accurate count of mites in the hive. The most accurate measure is an alcohol wash or, if you are skilled at it, a sugar roll. Randy Oliver has a good article on the accuracy of various sampling methods in a recent American Bee Journal. Historically I have used screened bottom boards to provide ventilation (we have very hot summers here). This has been a terrible year for robbing, perhaps because it was a poor year for honey production. Two of our key flows were taken out by bad weather. This has led me to decide to switch to solid bottom boards. You’ll find lots of robbers on a screened bottom, which says to me that the smell of the honey is spread through the screen.
That's one of the reasons we had switched to solid bottoms. That hive we kept the screen bottom board purely for comparison. The heat kills the varroa which is a plus but also kills the sperm in the queens spermatheca. That's why you'll see some of our hives in shade and some with no shade. We also want to see which hives do better with brood production vs varroa count. We conduct sugar rolls every other inspection. We'll make a video soon on sugar rolls. I don't do the alcohol wash just because an accurate count is nice but doesn't matter when varroa is a migratory mite. You could have 1% one week and 20% mite count the next.
I keep seeing old black wax in some hives. Is this from leaving the same comb in after collecting the honey and darkening over time? Do some beekeepers collect the wax every time or is that something reserved for when it gets too nasty for the bees? Here in the Northwest we hear a lot about veroa mites and small hive beetles but we don’t have much of an insect population in the open fields. The greater pest load occurs in the hives near the trees.
Wax starts out transparent. It only starts turning brown and black over the years by the honey being added and whatever the bees are tracking in. We change frames out every 3-5 years so the contamination the bees track in doesn't change the honeys taste and keeps a healthier colony
made a big impression you get to the point very quickly i love it
Thank you so much! That is nice to hear.
As a new beekeeper on the 56th latitude in B.C. Canada I found this very informative. We may not have all the pests but you explained a lot that was new to me, even after researching bees for 3 years. So much to know and apply that it boggles my mind. But I look forward to learniing as you work towards your Master Beekeeper degree. All the best.
Thanks! We used to live very close to Vancouver before we started beekeeping! We've always been curious what the major differences are. We have such a long dearth compared to you guys but also a longer spring and fall as we rarely get snow here. More like muddy winters.
Funny how context changes your outlook on things, I always admired Dragonflies, mantis, spiders and other insects, but being a beekeeper suddenly they're your mortal enemies lol
So true!
Research shows that varroa drop to a bottom board does not give an accurate count of mites in the hive. The most accurate measure is an alcohol wash or, if you are skilled at it, a sugar roll. Randy Oliver has a good article on the accuracy of various sampling methods in a recent American Bee Journal. Historically I have used screened bottom boards to provide ventilation (we have very hot summers here). This has been a terrible year for robbing, perhaps because it was a poor year for honey production. Two of our key flows were taken out by bad weather. This has led me to decide to switch to solid bottom boards. You’ll find lots of robbers on a screened bottom, which says to me that the smell of the honey is spread through the screen.
That's one of the reasons we had switched to solid bottoms. That hive we kept the screen bottom board purely for comparison. The heat kills the varroa which is a plus but also kills the sperm in the queens spermatheca. That's why you'll see some of our hives in shade and some with no shade. We also want to see which hives do better with brood production vs varroa count. We conduct sugar rolls every other inspection. We'll make a video soon on sugar rolls. I don't do the alcohol wash just because an accurate count is nice but doesn't matter when varroa is a migratory mite. You could have 1% one week and 20% mite count the next.
Where do you get the hive stands from. Great video.
Thank you! We made them.
I so enjoy your videos, I learned a lot today, thank you.
Thank you! This means a lot to both of us!
I keep seeing old black wax in some hives. Is this from leaving the same comb in after collecting the honey and darkening over time? Do some beekeepers collect the wax every time or is that something reserved for when it gets too nasty for the bees? Here in the Northwest we hear a lot about veroa mites and small hive beetles but we don’t have much of an insect population in the open fields. The greater pest load occurs in the hives near the trees.
Wax starts out transparent. It only starts turning brown and black over the years by the honey being added and whatever the bees are tracking in. We change frames out every 3-5 years so the contamination the bees track in doesn't change the honeys taste and keeps a healthier colony
Earwigs like to eat the bee between the larva and adult stage
Interesting. We haven’t had any issues with earwigs getting into the frame areas. We generally find them on the outsides of the boxes or inner cover.
We don't have hive beetles where we are at.
That is awesome! We have years where they plague our local beekeepers
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Will do! Our goal is to learn learn learn! Thanks for the info!
thats a murder hornet