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ocba - Re: [ocba] Sampling for varroa - sugar shake vs alcohol wash

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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: Mark Waller <wallermarkw AT gmail.com>
  • To: Mark Smith <mpsmith90 AT gmail.com>, Orange Beekeepers Association County <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Sampling for varroa - sugar shake vs alcohol wash
  • Date: Fri, 28 Jul 2017 06:11:40 -0400

Thanks to all who responded with helpful advice on the bees by the pool
situation. I’ll go down there today to see if they are honey bees or yellow
jackets. My hives are right beside a pond so I don’t think they are mine
but, you are right mark, funny girl has some, I know they guy running it and
I’ll call him today, and a neighbor right beside Hollow Rock has a hive. You
can barely see it on the same side of erwin, two drives down. Lots of bees
around.
I’m trying to get my apiguard installed but every time I do they try to rob
each other. Gonna try again today and get the wet sheets ready.
Also, I need a new bee suit. The one I have had for a long time has finally
cracked. It is the old wire face mask type. Any advice on a particular
brand or style would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and have a Bee-utiful day!
mark

> On Jul 27, 2017, at 3:31 PM, Mark Smith <mpsmith90 AT gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hey Mark,
>
> I know there are several hives down the road in the open field that Funny
> Girl Farm uses. As the crow flies, the hives are less than a mile from
> the Club. I travel on Erwin Road often and have noticed them over the past
> year or so. I would think it's worth stopping by their farm stand and
> inquiring about the bee hives. They might be able to put out some type of
> water source to get the bees to stay close to the hives instead of the pool.
>
> Just an idea.
>
> Mark
>
> On Thu, Jul 27, 2017 at 9:33 AM, Mark Waller <wallermarkw AT gmail.com> wrote:
> Good morning my Bee friends, my good friend is the pool manager at hollow
> rock racquet and swim club. He called me with a concern about so many
> honeybees surrounding the pool area. Trash cans, pool water itself. He
> changes the bags in the cans twice a day. Keep the lids on, Was wondering
> if there is anything else he can do to keep honey bees from frequenting his
> area? Patrons are concerned. He does not want to use any spray on the bees.
> Any ideas? Thanks for your help, Mark Waller
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jul 25, 2017, at 9:01 AM, Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Excellent post, John!
>>
>> For folks who may not know how to do a sugar shake test or how to do it
>> correctly, see the article I Don't See Any Mites and the Honey Bee Health
>> Coalition's Handbook and video series. There are a couple of key points
>> that folks may get wrong:
>>
>> • You must use 8-per-inch wire mesh for the test. You CANNOT use
>> window screen -- it WON'T WORK. #8 mesh is hard to find; they don't carry
>> it at WalMart, Lowes or Home Depot. They do carry it at Bailey Bee Supply
>> for something like $3 per linear foot, where one foot will make enough
>> lids for you, all of your friends and most of your relatives. If it is
>> just too much trouble for you to go to BBS, I'll sell you a wide-mouth
>> mason-jar-sized screen lid for $1 and you can pick it up at the next OCBA
>> meeting or you can come to my house to get it.
>> • After dumping the sugar onto the bees in the jar, you must swirl
>> vigorously to coat the bees with sugar THEN LET THEM SIT QUIETLY FOR FIVE
>> MINUTES before shaking out the sugar & mites. People sometimes forget the
>> the "wait five minutes" step and so the test doesn't work correctly.
>> Randall Austin
>>
>>
>> On 7/25/2017 7:56 AM, John Rintoul wrote:
>>> I have been concerned that my varroa sugar shake was under-reporting the
>>> actual varna load in my colonies. So today I did a test.
>>>
>>> I collected my bee sample, shook them with powdered sugar, and counted
>>> varroa. The count was zero. This colony had been treated with MAQS
>>> (formic acid) on June 20 so a low varroa count was expected. Nonetheless,
>>> the zero count reinforced my concern that sugar shakes don't accurately
>>> reflect the true varroa load in the hive.
>>>
>>> So using the bees that had already been shaken with powdered sugar, I
>>> followed up with an alcohol wash. I swirled the alcohol and bees and let
>>> them set for a couple of minutes. Then I strained the wash off through a
>>> paper towel. A second alcohol wash yielded the same result. Varroa count
>>> = 0.
>>>
>>> So the sugar shake and the alcohol washes yielded the same result. This s
>>> a very small sample size for comparing sugar shake to alcohol wash. But
>>> my experience is consistent with the experience of bee researchers. They
>>> report that there is not enough variation between sugar shakes and
>>> alcohol washes to worry about.
>>>
>>> So from now on I will save the bees and trust my sugar shake technique.
>>> The sugar coated bees in the varroa sample are always welcome when they
>>> are returned - alive - to the hive.
>>>
>>> For new beekeepers - Now is the time to check the varroa loads in your
>>> hives. If my experience today counts for anything, you can assume that
>>> your sugar shakes accurately reflect the true mite load in hives. Treat
>>> to control mite loads accordingly. Use mite control products that are
>>> suited to the expected maximum daily temperature. MAQS (formic acid)
>>> below 95°F. Apiguard (thymol) below 105°F. Apivar (amitraz) without
>>> temperature limitations. Oxalic acid vaporizations or drizzle - if the
>>> bees are broodless.
>>>
>>> -John
>>>
>>> John Rintoul
>>> (919) 414-4071
>>> No trees or bees were killed in the distribution of this message, but
>>> countless electrons were seriously inconvenienced.
>>>
>>>
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>>
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