Things have gotten quiet in the beeyard, at least from my point of view. All my queens are doing well, and the workers are happily visiting flowers in the garden. I didn't harvest any honey this year, but between the four hives there's enough to stock them all with the requisite amount to overwinter without needing to feed them sugar syrup. If the Italians hadn't been so eager to expand, I probably would have gotten a good little harvest. The Russians really did well in their quiet, unassuming way. Preparing for a Siberian winter, I suppose.
Honeyless, I still went to the local beekeeper's honey extracting party a couple of weeks ago. I pitched in, and got to sample bits of honey for my troubles. It was good to see the process in action, and learn what sorts of extra things I might want to have for next year's harvest. There was lots of socializing, which was another bonus. There are a lot of good folks I've been getting to know.
This last week I gave all the hives a powdered sugar dusting. This is an organic method to monitor and treat for a mite called Varroa. The sugar gets all over the bees, so they start grooming each other. During the process, they knock off mites that are riding on them. The sugar itself probably also dislodges the mites. The mites fall through the bottom screen, onto a sliding board underneath. After about an hour, I check the boards for mites. Two hives were clean, and the other two only had 10 & 25 mites on the boards. This suggests that there are about 100 and 250 mites developing in capped brood cells. That's not too bad, but I'd prefer to have none. When I get back from New Zealand, I can monitor again, and perhaps start an 8-week treatment.
Autumn weather has come to coastal Humboldt. We're finally getting some sunshiny days that start out crisp and become warm. It's really boosted my spirits after having a relatively overcast summer.
Honeyless, I still went to the local beekeeper's honey extracting party a couple of weeks ago. I pitched in, and got to sample bits of honey for my troubles. It was good to see the process in action, and learn what sorts of extra things I might want to have for next year's harvest. There was lots of socializing, which was another bonus. There are a lot of good folks I've been getting to know.
This last week I gave all the hives a powdered sugar dusting. This is an organic method to monitor and treat for a mite called Varroa. The sugar gets all over the bees, so they start grooming each other. During the process, they knock off mites that are riding on them. The sugar itself probably also dislodges the mites. The mites fall through the bottom screen, onto a sliding board underneath. After about an hour, I check the boards for mites. Two hives were clean, and the other two only had 10 & 25 mites on the boards. This suggests that there are about 100 and 250 mites developing in capped brood cells. That's not too bad, but I'd prefer to have none. When I get back from New Zealand, I can monitor again, and perhaps start an 8-week treatment.
Autumn weather has come to coastal Humboldt. We're finally getting some sunshiny days that start out crisp and become warm. It's really boosted my spirits after having a relatively overcast summer.
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