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Author Topic: Varroa ( Fall Treatments)  (Read 3697 times)

Offline TwT

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Varroa ( Fall Treatments)
« on: July 17, 2005, 11:56:11 am »
what time do you guys in the south usually treat for varroa, I have done a mite count on my hives and they are about 1-2 in 24 hours, im going to use sucrocide this fall and just wonder if and when do yall normally treat for fall?
THAT's ME TO THE LEFT JUST 5 MONTHS FROM NOW!!!!!!!!

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Offline Michael Bush

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Varroa ( Fall Treatments)
« Reply #1 on: July 17, 2005, 06:11:05 pm »
If I had a natural drop of 1-2  mjites in 24 hours I would not treat.  Treating under those circumstances will only contribute to resitance to the chemicals and needlessly expose your bees and your honey and yourself to chemicals for no reason.
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
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Offline Joseph Clemens

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Are mites really as bad as I've heard?
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2005, 01:30:39 am »
Varroa destructor? Tracheal mites? Scourge of the honeybee, domestic and feral? This is a mystery to me. Why are my bees not being squashed by this plague?

When I most recently relocated here from Santa Fe, New Mexico and began keeping bees in the Marana/Tucson, Arizona area (March 1997), I had been keeping bees in a kind of blissful ignorance, I enjoyed the bees while neglecting to communicate with anyone else in the beekeeping world. I had been in my ignorance for more than a decade. Then while still ignorant I purchased some equipment and moved a feral colony from beneath a neighbors mobile home into 10-frame Langstroth equipment (all medium supers). They quickly established and grew strong enough to split, which I did. Soon after acquiring these bees I subscribed to "American Bee Journal" and my ignorance of the dreaded mites ended. I promptly watched my bees to see Varroa, and opened drone brood too. Sure enough, there they were.

The mystery deepens: I’ve never used any treatment for mites or any other pest or disease of honeybees yet all my colonies have continuously remained healthy and strong. Of course, at the time, I predominantly used Pierco foundation in wood frames and one-piece frames. It has been suggested that this was perhaps the equivalent of using a cell size that was a little smaller than the usual which may have increased the bees tolerance of mites. Anyhow, one of the possibilities I became aware of was that some believe that smaller cell size used to raise worker brood will assist the bees in keeping themselves free of these pests and diseases, or, at least make it easier for them to tolerate their co-existence.

I was intrigued by this concept and decided to give it a try. I continued to split my colonies and let the queenless portions of the splits raise their own replacement queens.  Now I’ve given some of my colonies (now twelve) some smaller cell brood comb by use of all beeswax and some plastic base small-cell foundation. Since around here the bees almost never stop raising brood, you would think that they’d have an even more difficult time with mites.

Can anyone think of a reason why I might be having such an easy time with mites?

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Joseph Clemens
Beekeeping since 1964
10+ years in Tucson, Arizona
12+ hives and 15+ nucs
No chemicals -- no treatments of any kind, EVER.

Offline drobbins

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Varroa ( Fall Treatments)
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2005, 07:12:57 pm »
Joseph,

I'm just curious
Robo, has on his website, some pdf's of patents people have on beekeeping stuff
the fourth one down claims that you can kill the mites by blowing 120 degree air thu the hive for a few minutes and the bee's can tolerate this.
Is this a crackpot idea or is it possible the heat you folks have in Arizona injures/kills the miites? Where are you, up in the mountains or down low where it get's hot?
What experience do other beekeepers around you have?
I've read somewhere recently that hot/dry conditions desicate the mites rather rapidly and kills them.

Dave

Offline Joseph Clemens

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Heat and Varroa
« Reply #4 on: July 21, 2005, 10:18:16 pm »
I should get connected and get to know my fellow Tucson beekeepers, but I haven't done that yet.

I know that the Lusby's (staunch advocates of small-cell) live on the opposite side of the valley. I live in an area of Tucson called Picture Rocks - it is on the West side of the valley adjacent to the Western portion of the Saguaro National Park.

The only beekeeper I often associate with is Jim Hawk, he runs the local beekeeping supply store. He has mentioned that he considers our temperatures may be a factor in our favor, against the mites. However, the Lusby's reported large losses due to mites soon after the mite's appearance in this area.

This Summer has been a record breaker for heat here in Tucson (It's been over 100F every day for more than a month now and counting). I appreciate this only if it does help the bees overcome parasite problems.

The humidity is also predominantly very low (around 18-30%).

All I know is that earlier this Spring I could usually find several mites whenever I opened any drone brood, but lately I have not been able to find any mites, on drone brood, or anywhere in the hives.

<img src="http://banners.wunderground.com/weathersticker/miniWeather06_both/language/www/US/AZ/Marana.gif" border=0
alt="Click for Marana, Arizona Forecast" height=50 width=150>

Joseph Clemens
Beekeeping since 1964
10+ years in Tucson, Arizona
12+ hives and 15+ nucs
No chemicals -- no treatments of any kind, EVER.

Offline Martha

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Varroa ( Fall Treatments)
« Reply #5 on: July 26, 2005, 08:50:06 pm »
Hi,
I've heard some people say that Dee's bees are crossed w/AHB which are more resistant to the v mites. Dee says they aren't. Just small cell and keeping the survivors/more resistant for breeding.

I've also heard the high temps killing the mites. But how did Dee and Ed lose all those hives? She's about at 1000 now.

She also makes her own foundation. So clean wax.

What do you all think?

Martha in KC

Offline Michael Bush

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Varroa ( Fall Treatments)
« Reply #6 on: July 27, 2005, 08:32:47 am »
>I've heard some people say that Dee's bees are crossed w/AHB which are more resistant to the v mites. Dee says they aren't. Just small cell and keeping the survivors/more resistant for breeding.

I think people are just trying to make excuses.  When she started down this path they weren't saying that.  They just said she needed to do it for five years to prove it worked.  Now she's been doing it for ten and it is so they need to find a reason.

>I've also heard the high temps killing the mites. But how did Dee and Ed lose all those hives?

It wasn't killing the mites BEFORE she got on small cell.

>She also makes her own foundation. So clean wax.

Clean wax makes a lot of difference by itself.

>What do you all think?

I've had far meaner bees than hers HERE in Nebraska.  I hope I never see any like them again.

I let the bees build their own (clean wax AND natural cell size), raise local feral survivors from here (where they say AHB CAN'T live) and we don't have near the heat they have there and mine are doing fine.
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin