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Author Topic: A ? for Mr. Bray  (Read 2509 times)

Offline Myron Rotruck

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A ? for Mr. Bray
« on: September 14, 2006, 01:18:13 pm »
Since I have such a bad mite problem. How soon can I do another sugar shake? I feel so bad for my bees, there is so many deformed bees that are marching out of the hive and just falling off, or being carried off by worker bees. I want to hit these mites as aften as I can. I know that some of the mites or in the capped brood and I can't get them until the brood hatches. But I want to make these SUCKERS pay.


one other thing we have golden rod here in full swing now, but it does'nt look like to me the bees  are using it at all. I don't know how many plants of the stuff I have looked at and no bees working it at all.  thanks for the get back

Offline Brian D. Bray

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A ? for Mr. Bray
« Reply #1 on: September 14, 2006, 07:22:21 pm »
3 or 4 applications of a sugar shake spaced 10 days apart should knock the mite population down durastically.  You have just enough time to do this before winter sets in.  
the hive will operate on about 10-20% of the brood production during the winter as it will in summer so knocking the mites down now will determine whether or not you have any hope of successfully over winter your bees.  A large population of mites in the fall means a higher than usual death rate of you adult bee population due to being weakened from the blood sucking little creatures.  
As you've already noted the bees that are emerging have deformed wings and other problems.  This reduces the hives capacity to forage yet all those bees use up the honey being harvested even though they can't contribute to the foraging.  Deformed workers are little more than drones draining your hives ability to survive.
In a real bad infestion, which it sounds like you have, you can get rid of those deformed bees is to catch the queen and put her in a cage and then shake out the frames from the hive some distance from hive.  The deformed workers, not being able to fly will not know where to go and will crawl around on the ground until they die.

I hope this was the information you were looking for.
Life is a school.  What have you learned?   :brian:      The greatest danger to our society is apathy, vote in every election!

Offline Zoot

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A ? for Mr. Bray
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2006, 01:47:34 am »
Observation on the remark about goldenrod: it's coming in strong here, in the fields, along fence rows, roads, etc. But my bees are having none of it, apparently being unaware of my high hopes in this matter. Fortunately, they seem to be foraging vigorously on other plants.

Offline TwT

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A ? for Mr. Bray
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2006, 07:01:10 am »
Quote from: Zoot
Observation on the remark about goldenrod: it's coming in strong here, in the fields, along fence rows, roads, etc. But my bees are having none of it, apparently being unaware of my high hopes in this matter. Fortunately, they seem to be foraging vigorously on other plants.


 I have heard others say this and seem their bee's were working asters instead, down here were I'm at we don't have much aster if any at all and the goldenrod get full attention..
THAT's ME TO THE LEFT JUST 5 MONTHS FROM NOW!!!!!!!!

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Offline Zoot

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A ? for Mr. Bray
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2006, 11:18:16 am »
Well, we have asters coming in too here and they don't seem much into that either. But they are busy. So today I am abstaining from work so that I can go exploring and see just what they are foraging on. There is an abundant new plant here;  I suspect it came as a hitchiker in the hay so many of us bought last year and the year before in a brief drought that subdued local hay production. Oddly, I believe it came mostly from Utah (odd in that it was profitable for someone to do that). It's leaves are darke green, pointed with serrated edges with tall, magenta colored flower spikes. It has a minty aroma though it resembles none of the many mints I'm familiar with here. The bees are working it as are the bumblebees, wasps, etc.

Offline buzzbee

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A ? for Mr. Bray
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2006, 09:14:43 pm »
That plant may be purple loosestrife! Not sure on the spelling.It is a common invasive plant in the U.S.   I'm not sure about the serrated leaves though.
Just a thought!! I could be way off base but if you google it ,it should give you some pictures.

Offline Zoot

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A ? for Mr. Bray
« Reply #6 on: September 19, 2006, 10:22:55 pm »
Purple Loosestrife it is! And it's everywhere this year for some reason. And my bees are foraging on it almost to the exclusion of anything else.

 

anything