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Category: winter feed

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All the supers have been brought home and all the honey extracted. The harvest appears to be just enough for the next 12 months.

Samples were sent to the CEH (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) for analysis with a very rapid turn-around this year. The hives at Mill Hill were there to take advantage of the fields of borage but it did not go to plan this year. The weather had been so dry for so long that the borage hardly yielded. The nectar which the bees did manage to forage, on analysis, was found to be 49% blackberry and 49% borage. Still enough, but nowhere as much had it been purely borage.

Now all the hives are back home again I can resume regular Wednesday-morning varroa-drop counts. All of them have been less than 5 a day so on Professor Steve Martin’s advice I’ll not spend time treating them. Let’s see if they can deal with them themselves.

Several hives show signs of brood cappings being nibbled so I wonder if I’ve got some varroa-tolerant colonies. Watch this space.

Only one hive, number 1, had a higher drop at over 20 a day so these were ‘vaped’ with oxalic acid and I got a drop of 600. It obviously works!

Hive 8’s decision was eventually made and having been without brood for several months it was ‘shake-out time’. I had one last inspection before the death knell and lo and behold, eggs and larvae on two frames. Not a lot of bees left but worth trying to save.

The best news came a few weeks later and involved hive 7. Having recently watched a Cambridge Beekeepers zoom lecture by Gary Brook I was disappointed when he repeated Steve Riley’s advice that nibbled brood cappings alone are insufficient evidence of varroa resistance. However, closer inspection revealed cells with just half a pupa remaining. Surely that’s sufficient proof? I took out the varroa tray and there was the definitive proof. Little bits of infected, and now dead, immature pupae.

DrAll the supers have been brought home and all the honey extracted. The harvest appears to be just enough for the next 12 months. Samples were sent to the CEH (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) for analysis with a very rapid turn-around this year. The hives at Mill Hill were there to take advantage of the fields of borage but it did not go to plan this year. The weather had been so dry for so long that the borage hardly yielded. The nectar which the bees did manage to forage, on analysis, was found to be 49% blackberry and 49% borage. Still enough, but nowhere as much had it been purely borage. Now all the hives are back home again I can resume regular Wednesday-morning varroa-drop counts. All of them have been less than 5 a day so on Professor Steve Martin’s advice I’ll not spend time treating them. Let’s see if they can deal with them themselves. Several hives show signs of brood cappings being nibbled so I wonder if I’ve got some varroa-tolerant colonies. Watch this space. Only one hive, number 1, had a higher drop at over 20 a day so these were ‘vaped’ with oxalic acid and I got a drop of 600. It obviously works! Hive 8’s decision was eventually made and having been without brood for several months it was ‘shake-out time’. I had one last inspection before the death knell and lo and behold, eggs and larvae on two frames. Not a lot of bees left but worth trying to save. The best news came a few weeks later and involved hive 7. Having recently watched a Cambridge Beekeepers zoom lecture by Gary Brook I was disappointed when he repeated Steve Riley’s insistence that nibbled brood cappings alone are insufficient evidence of varroa resistance. However, closer inspection revealed cells with just half a pupa remaining. Surely that’s sufficient proof? I took out the varroa tray and their was the definitive proof. Little bits of infected, and now dead, immature pupae. Picture of drop tray Yes!!! Hive 7 is definitely varroa resistant. Tray
Bits of white infected pupae removed from brood on the varroa drop tray

Yes!!! Hive 7 is definitely varroa resistant.

Winter feeding has all been completed with only one hive taking down a whole container of Apikel. The others have taken very little but a brood inspection showed frame after frame well stocked

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Apple weekend at Audley End House was once again a terrific two days. Unfortunately the Sunday weather was appalling and by lunchtime the footfall had reached the staggering total of 150; Saturday’s total was 1500. We had an excellent team of helpers on both days and as usual the observation hive proved a great attraction.

Sally explains foundation and drawing of comb to an enthralled audience

Back in the apiary the number of hives has been united down to the usual over-wintering eight. The last three were each 5-frame nucs, one of which was the observation hived used at Audley End.

Amongst the 15 frames were several with yellow spacers, indicating old frames to be rendered, so these were removed. All the others with bees were given a spray unite. This was probably not necessary as I was uniting three colonies but I thought it best to be cautious. Colony smell must be smothered to unite two colonies but with three colonies they can’t sort out who the intruders are and peacefully accept their new foster sisters.  The spray was a very dilute sugar solution and a drop of oil of lavendre.

One barren queen was removed and the other two left to fight it out as I couldn’t choose which was the better. They are all now in hive 6 and the feeder is fitted.

  1. All hives now have an Ashforth feeder and all the feed is ready. Most of it this winter is recycled honey with just a small amount of sugar solution to help prevent crystallising.Inspections have been reduced in the last part of the season as little could be done. All I needed to do was monitor the varroa drops. This has stayed sufficiently low for treatment to wait until the mid-winter oxalic acid.
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