How the weather differs each year. Looking at the notes for last August it was rain we had to contend with causing the cancellation of the Centenary picnic. By mid June this year it looked that feeding colonies would be necessary and the prospect of a summer crop looked remote. How matters can change so quickly. Supers have filled, been extracted and are filling again. And it seems that the honey flow is not over yet but I suspect it will be soon.
Managing nucs this summer has been challenging as they have brought in so much honey they have run out of space for the queen to lay. So it was necessary to remove frames of stores and replace with foundation to provide laying space for the queen. Nucs need checking on a weekly basis to ensure they are not starving, bringing in too much honey or becoming overcrowded. But producing nucs each year is enjoyable and an insurance for winter losses.
As the honey flow is not over yet I have changed my varroa treatment regime. Originally I decided to use Apistan this year (last year it was Apivar). Because I will not be I a position to remove supers until late this month I have decided to use Formic Pro this year. The reason for this is I want to remove as much of varroa as possible before the winter bees are produced, from September onwards. Using a six week treatment such as Apistan or Apivar does not fit this timescale. These products should be used as early as possible in August. This also applies even more so to Apigurad which requires a minimum temperature to be effective.
Do consider these points when deciding which treatment to use. But it is vital that colonies are treated for varroa otherwise the health of winter bees can be compromised which can then affect winter losses. So do treat as soon as supers are removed and do not treat with honey present. Final point on treatments – don’t use the same product each year, especially with products such as Apistan and Apivar. The mites can develop resistance over time and make a product useless which is what happened with Apistan some time ago. Ring the changes!
And then onto feeding bees in a few weeks’ time. I normally start at the beginning of September and aim to finish by the end of the month. These days I use an inverted syrup as dissolving large quantities of sugar lost its appeal a long while ago. Inverted syrup feed is easier for the bees to process and it is more concentrated that homemade sugar syrup. It will also keep until next year.
After feeding an empty super is returned to the hive in case there is a heavy ivy flow.
There will be a Zoom session next Tuesday to chat over any of these points as well as anything else you wish to raise. Unfortunately I am not able to attend but John MacDougall tells me he is ok to go ahead with the session. Look forward to seeing you at the next one.