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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Lori Kroothoep <zoeteke AT me.com>
  • To: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • Cc: Mike Johnson <mm AT reddrum.com>, Orange County Beekeepers <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Yikes!
  • Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2016 21:18:30 -0500

Along these lines… Yesterday’s sugar shake produced 7-8 mites in my one hive. I treated them today after the move. However I mistakenly cut both packs open thinking I had bought a single treatment. I placed the two strips and returned the opened two strips to the protective box. I don’t really want to keep it hanging around so if anyone wants to buy a cheap single treatment of MAQS for $5 (paid $13 for 2 treatments yesterday), let me know. I’m near Mapleview farm but will be in CH tomorrow. I’d be happy to meet you.

Thanks,
Lori



On Mar 12, 2016, at 5:07 PM, Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com> wrote:

Mike,

I don't want to have honey on the hive during any of the treatments if that honey is intended for market. That isn't because the commonly-preferred treatments (thymol-based [ApiGuard or ApiLife Var], formic acid [MiteAway Quick Strips] or oxalic acid) would be harmful to people -- they are in honey naturally anyway, just at much lower concentrations. It is because it is possible for them to give the honey an "off" taste.

Some of the treatment routines take several weeks (the thymol ones), some a week (MAQS) and some one day (oxalic acid). Read the label directions carefully with respect to time before/after putting on supers, and add a dose of common sense on top of that. For example, MAQS says that you can legally treat while supers are on, but I wouldn't do that because I don't want to take the chance of getting honey with an added zing, even though that chance is probably very small due to the dissipation rate of the formic acid. But treating before supers go on is perfectly fine.

With respect to your specific situation, a very good option if you have loads of extra honey left over from the fall is to remove it, freeze the frames for a few days, then store them in an air-tight, moth-tight bin until the summer dearth. Then give them back to the bees. Usually fall honey is aster and goldenrod, which most folks don't like, or is "sugar water honey", which isn't honey at all and shouldn't be called that. All of that "honey" is great for the bees but not for the market.

A couple of short articles that talk about treatments are "How Might We Smite Mites?" and "What's the Deal with Oxalic Acid?". Also, the Honey Bee Health Coalition <here> has published an EXCELLENT free pdf book, "Tools for Varroa Management", which provides a comprehensive survey of assessment techniques and treatments. Each treatment is described in terms of how to apply, efficacy and advantages/disadvantages.

Randall



On 3/12/2016 4:23 PM, Mike Johnson wrote:
56E488C4.6040805 AT reddrum.com" type="cite" class=""> Despite reading and hearing about varroa since I started bee keeping four years ago I did not fully grasp how serious they are until this past winter when I read The Beekeeper's Lament.  http://www.amazon.com/Beekeepers-Lament-Billion-Honey-America/dp/006187325X/

Now, I get it.  I guess better late than never...

One reason I have not treated is due to ignorance of the treatments and the affect (safety) of the honey.  While my primary goal for bee keeping is to watch and enjoy the bees I do take some honey out.  With an average of three hives I have taken a total of 3 quarts over 4 years.

Last year I left all of the honey in all of my hives - they were stuffed last fall.  I have not been in them yet this spring, but I assume there is honey left.  I planned to take some honey out before the flow started this year if there was plenty stored.

If I treat now do I need to take any honey out that I intend to remove prior to treatment?

Thank you for your help!

mike

ps:  If there are others out there, like me, that do not understand how serious varroa mites are read the book above.  It definitely raises awareness to the point of near panic!

56E42F9F.4060607 AT gmail.com" type="cite" class="">
March 12, 2016 at 10:02 AM
I mentioned a while ago that our mild, short winter should create problems with varroa mites this spring since queens have been laying straight through, raising both brood and varroa. I'm sorry to say that's what I'm seeing! I did a sugar shake on a friend's hive last week and found 9 mites in the 300 bee sample; I finally got around to testing my own hives yesterday and the very first one had 5 mites in the sample. That's WAY too many for this time of year in our area. Normally I find no or perhaps one mite in a March sample, two at the most. Left unchecked, the number will multiply many times by the time the main honey flow is over.

The scary thing is that I successfully treated last fall (late August) with ApiGuard and my hives were SQUEAKY CLEAN after treatment (mite levels too low to detect). But a quick check of the calendar shows that was more than 6 months ago... 6 months of uninterrupted brood/varroa rearing.

The good news is that we still have PLENTY of time to treat with MiteAway Quick Strips (formic acid) before the main nectar flow starts and honey supers go on. The treatment cycle only lasts 7 days, so even if the tulip poplar is very early and starts April 1st, that still gives us time.

MAQS is on the USDA Organic Approved list and also the CNG Approved list. This is a great time to treat with MAQS because of the relatively cool temperatures. We are in a rare "sweet spot" for MAQS timing. And MAQS has improved -- the strips (more like pads) are now in a paper envelope rather than just being wrapped in a strip of paper. And they are thinner than they used to be, fitting easily on the top bars without needing a spacer. As always, FOLLOW THE LABEL DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY. Also look at miteaway.com for their FAQS. The treatment costs around $5 per colony, much cheaper than a replacement package. The local bee supply store has it in stock.

Left untreated, colonies with mite numbers I'm seeing will likely collapse in July or August. If they survive the summer, they'll die early in the winter.

For those that don't take care of their colonies, this year we have the chance to use new excuses for our neglect. Mix things up a bit by explaining colony deaths by saying, "My bees went to the Summer Olympics" or "My bees were scared away by Trump/Bernie (pick one)."

Special message for Molly: your mom says you need to check your hives TODAY! See "I Don't See Any Mites" <here> for an easy-peasy way to do it.

Randall Austin
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