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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • To: "Fadem, Bronwyn Elizabeth" <bfadem AT live.unc.edu>
  • Cc: "ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org" <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] HELP signs of a problem?
  • Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2016 22:07:45 -0400

Re: "My questions are: how urgent is it that I treat for mites? Can it wait a week? Til the end of summer? Or is it too late?"

It all depends on what the mite levels are. If they are so extreme that waiting one week makes a difference, then they are goners anyway. But if they are such that you should treat now to save them, waiting until end of summer would be a big mistake -- they would be critical by then. Take a look at the article <here> for a few insights into the mite population growth curve and how it relates to honey bees. Bee populations grow arithmetically up to a peak in late spring when the main nectar flow ends, whereas uncontrolled mite populations grow exponentially and peak at the point when the bees all die.

Randall


On 4/24/2016 9:31 PM, Fadem, Bronwyn Elizabeth wrote:
D94173FA-DB85-409F-8B52-E4C5FB0A5744 AT live.unc.edu" type="cite">
Hi all,

Thanks for all the amazing input! 

I have reached out to the state inspection service and will wait to hear back for him to come inspect our hives. 

In the meantime, I am concluding that we at least have a varroa mite infestation. I have now seen mites and Catherine also suggested that the uncapped larvae may be due to workers pulling out the mite-affected larvae.  

I won't be able to take the time to do a sugar shake until Friday, but 
My questions are: how urgent is it that I treat for mites? Can it wait a week? Til the end of summer? Or is it too late? 

Thanks so much, I'll keep you updated on the sugar shake results! 

Bronwyn 

On Apr 24, 2016, at 8:50 PM, Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com> wrote:

Hey Bronwyn,

Based on my assessment of your photos (which are great, by the way), I'm not sure I'm seeing what the problem is. I wouldn't call what I see in the photos an excessively spotty brood pattern. There are some minor issues, such as a few random drone cells among the workers, but I know many people who would gladly swap frames with you.

If the bees are attempting to supersede their queen, let them do it. Supersedure (as opposed to swarming) isn't inherently disruptive to the colony.

I couldn't tell from the photo whether the flaky cell caps were due to abrasion, simply emerging adult bees or something else. It doesn't look like AFB-type perforations to me, but I'm not an authority on AFB.

If you haven't treated the colonies for varroa mites in a while, then a likely outcome will be relatively sudden collapse rather than a lot of symptoms such as spotty brood. See the article "I Don't See Any Mites" <here> for a discussion of why a legitimate assessment such as the sugar shake test is necessary, instead of guessing what may be going on. The article describes a dead simple way to do the sugar shake test. Once you do that, let me know what the results are and I can refine my advice.

Far better than anything I can tell you based on photos would be a consultation with one of our State Apiary Inspectors. Their contact info is <here>. It is their job to do inspections for people just like you and me and provide expert guidance. Their expertise is already paid for by our taxes so there is no downside to getting them to help.

Randall Austin



On 4/24/2016 10:37 AM, Fadem, Bronwyn Elizabeth wrote:
30B022CF-9647-495F-920D-AAF8B4B8EC56 AT live.unc.edu" type="cite">
Hi all,

Just starting out beekeeping with 2 hives that were established in summer 2013 and 2014. They have never been treated for mites or fumigated. They have been thriving, there are signs the Queen is still laying, and our supers are already full of capped honey!

But...

After seeing spotty brood pattern and multiple supercedure cells, I thought maybe just an old queen. But I want to be sure it's not varroa or AFB. The spottyness, darker cappings in some areas, some flakey uncapped brood and capped brood with small holes are also making me nervous. Can anyone diagnose the issue from these photos? 

If there is an issue, is the second hive that looks ok right now at risk for developing whatever it is? 

Thanks SO much in advance!

Bronwyn Fadem 



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