Overwintered Nuc doing well

[Finsky]

I have used apistan strip in 3-frame mating nucs. I have found that it spoils the new queens. Queen get too much poison.Same happens when I put in queen cage a piece of strip.

[Kathyp]

i used the Apiguard.  didn't seem to bother the bees at all.  i have nothing to compare it to, but i am hearing good things from others who used it late summer and were happy.  in fact, i have not heard anything bad about it yet.......

[TwT]

What Finsky is trying to tell you is that without doing SOMETHING the bees always succumb to the Varroa eventually.

Isn't a screen bottom board,drone comb removal and powdered sugar, doing something?

I dont believe that "without doing SOMETHING the bees always succumb to the Varroa eventually" , I know of about 8 hives that are 7-14 years old on regular comb that is still going, shoot I have a couple of them!!!! I am a firm believer that there is a mite resistance in certain bee's without any kind of help from us. UGA is now studying with SC, but have been working on raising resistant bee's (that are on regular cell) and are getting real good results, and these bee's were Italian bee's donated to them, I am going to try some SC this year (full sheets), I used 1 inch SC starter strips last year and got some pretty small cells about 1 inch ;) were the strip was, the rest were all different sizes (5.0-5.25) but none bigger that 5.25 but all my bee's were on 5.2-5.25 pierco before I installed the strips.... we will see, I want to see how they do drawing it out, did good on the 1 inch pieces.......

[Cindi]

Apistan.  That has the active ingredient fluvalinate.  Is fluvalinate similar to coumaphos? (check-mite)?  Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought that somewhere I heard that these chemicals create some kind of wax contamination? 

I also got the impression that the mites build up resistance to these chemicals.  Cindi

[Finsky]

I dont believe that "without doing SOMETHING the bees always succumb to the Varroa eventually" ,

I know of about 8 hives that are 7-14 years old on regular comb that is still going, shoot I have a couple of them!!!!

I am a firm believer that there is a mite resistance in certain bee's without any kind of help from us.

Frofessor TWT!

I you give that advice in your book, what is the value of it?

 " I have seen 8 hives alive" ........You don't care much about facts, do you?

[TwT]

I dont believe that "without doing SOMETHING the bees always succumb to the Varroa eventually" ,

I know of about 8 hives that are 7-14 years old on regular comb that is still going, shoot I have a couple of them!!!!

I am a firm believer that there is a mite resistance in certain bee's without any kind of help from us.

Frofessor TWT!

I you give that advice in your book, what is the value of it?

 " I have seen 8 hives alive" ........You don't care much about facts, do you?

:) oh yeh ole Buddie finsky, I like facts, just stirring the pot a little ;)  :)

I do believe there are survivors, and I do believe I have some, now whether they survive next year or not we will see but I have 6 hives going on there 4th birthday and they were old hives removed from home's,.     

[Kathyp]

i'm sure there are hives that survive without any meds.  i just took one out of a wall.....however.....when we keep them in a box, we take away the natural ways that they might survive.....perhaps small cell is part of that, but considering the decimation of wild hives because of mites, i'd say it's not the main thing.

i made a few observations while digging around in the walls.  i'd like to explore them in depth, but have found no research yet.

1.  there was absolutely no brood in the hive.  that would break the mite cycle.
2.  there was very old comb that i do not believe had been used by bees in quite some time.  i don't know if that means anything
3.  there was evidence in the barn of multiple smaller hives having been removed, and i took out a fairly new hive.  probably just from last year.  does swarming contribute to survival of hive by removing bees from mite infested hive and giving them a clean start?  there are no SBB's in a wall.....if swarming is an important factor, then bees in hives are at much greater risk not only from the mites, but from the disease that come with the mites.

i think we have more questions than answers, and so far research has not provided any answers.  

[Finsky]

I do believe there are survivors, and I do believe I have some,

Sorry, I did not know that this forum's new name is BELIEVEMASTER

There is a big difference with "hive is alive" or "survivor"  compared to "economical beekeeping".  If in your hive 20% brood die, what ever reason, hive is not able to gather honey stores at all. If you just keep hives on backyard, it is same what you do there.

All we know that survivors are everywhere, it is not "believe" question. But none of those survivors have solved mite problem in beekeeping industry.   

In Finland there are old cow race which stands what ever, but it's milk production is only 30% that of modern cattle. Every year we ask, who keeps genes alive?  http://www.pilvilampaat.com/suomenkarja.htm


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[Finsky]

i think we have more questions than answers, and so far research has not provided any answers.  

Internet is full of answers if you want to read them. If you want answer that there are bees which don't mind mites, you do not find that answer. Why, because there is not such bees.

If you cannot use facts, which world offers, you are not able to learn. So simple.  Question is not good questions but it is "not learning", "not understanding"

I tell a story

It was a big flow and houses were more and more under water.  Hey come on people said. Lets go away, water is rising.

A man said:" I have been a good man and I prey for Good that he saves me.

A man was in second floor and a boat arrived:" Come on, jump to the boat. Water is rising!"
- No I prey that Good saves me. A man rised to his roof.
Then arived an escimo with canoe: Come on, water is rising! Come to canoe.
- No I prey that Good saves me. A man rised onto his chimney.

Then arrived helicopter: "Come on, step to helicopter, soon you will sink!"
- No I prey that Good saves me. And a man sank.

On the gate of sky he asked from Sant Peter, why don't you saved me even if I prayed.

Peter: "We tried three times but you did not accepted our aid."

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[Michael Bush]

>Isn't a screen bottom board,drone comb removal and powdered sugar, doing something?

I'm not saying it's not.  I'm glad that's working for you.

[Kathyp]

Internet is full of answers if you want to read them.

perhaps i should have used the word "solutions".  there is great advice and much info on managing mites.  there is no solution at the moment to the mite problem.

better?

[Finsky]

there is no solution at the moment to the mite problem.

better?

There are many solutions to mite problem if you use them. The fact is that honey bee cannot kill mites from it's hive.

[TwT]

mites are like She's here in the USA, they will always bee here, the thing is to get a hive that survives with mites, all my hives have mites they way I know this when I check hives for debree the BB or tray under the SBB has then dead, SMR queens have been raised and sold here for quit a few years now and maybe some of these removals being done could be then SMR's or Russian, who knows but I haven't treated my hives going on 4 years now and they all do good so like before we will see this year probably.   . lets go deep in the subject, mites dont want to kill bee's, bee's are their food source if all bee's die then mites would die also, nature doesn't work like that,,,,,, the thing is the bee's not from the mites home area need time to evolve or maybe even the mites might evolve, nature will help correct this like the bee's in Asia can survive with them and Russia......   now lets open that can of worms about nature ;) , my ole Buddie Finsky will like this post  :)

[Finsky]

I haven't treated my hives going on 4 years now and they all do good so like before we will see this year probably.

lets go deep in the subject, mites dont want to kill bee's,

bee's are their food source if all bee's die then mites would die also,

There are mitekeepers and beekeepers.  :?  And those who do not want honey, they just want to play with bugs.

lets go deep in the subject, mites dont want to kill bee's,

 
 Yes very. That sentence revieles that you have not studied genetics at all or you have not understand evolution.  - Mite wants nothing. It has no plan what to do. It just exist and develope itself with genetic variation. They are like cars. Cars do not want collisions, they just happen.

Same time I gathered to you reseachers what really happens on mite frontier in USA. You even not read them. Understanding is much more difficult thatn reading.

I am not in this forum to argue with rookies. I just want to help to those who are under mercy of false prophets.

Senate Document No. 20
PUBLICATION YEAR 2006 View PDF Version* :  Virginia State......feral, or wild, honey bee nests nearly disappeared in 1996 and have only recently begun to reappear in some limited areas. ................... This parasitic mite transmits diseases, reduces honey bee productivity, and is the major contributing factor to the annual 31% mortality rate of honey bee hives in Virginia, up from less than 8% before the introduction of honey bee mites into the state.


TWT

How much you get honey per hive?

How many boxes you hives have during main flow?

Really stuborn gang. I cannot say more. But 99% of beepers are stubborns what I have met. - It means that 99% waste of time, but nice time.

*************

I have had tuberculosis as child. It healed itself. My mother did not know that but the scars are in my lungs.  Do I say to all that " tuberculosis is nothing, I hade it and here I am. "   :-P

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[newbee101]

My yard today. The added boxes were from my 2 deadouts. One nuc has 25 lbs of capped stores on top now.

[Finsky]

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 I se from picture that you will be OK with your small nucs Newbee. You may take frames of emerging bees from big hives and soon they have good build up. - When big hives are good enough to give aid to small hives.

[thegolfpsycho]

  The most difficult time of year is coming up here.  I don't worry too much about the bees during the coldest part of the winter, but late winter and early spring are extremely variable around here.  Many days in the last 2 weeks with bees flying.  Daytime temps mid 40's to mid 50's.  No doubt they are brooding up.  Then Thursday the wind howls, and 10 inches of new snow, more snow predicted through next week.  Daytime highs will be back in the low to mid 30's.  This pattern continues well into April and the expanding, then getting slapped back really knocks down the stores.  Getting them thru winter is easy.  It's getting them thru spring that is troublesome here.

[Finsky]

  The most difficult time of year is coming up here.  I don't worry too much about the bees during the coldest part of the winter,

That is true. Even if colony is 95% alive after winter,  Often hives have lost 50%  bees during one week when they have tried to forage pollen in too cold weather.. When sun goes behind clouds, bees drop down and never return home. But that is "normal" system.

[TwT]

I am not in this forum to argue with rookies. I just want to help to those who are under mercy of false prophets.

now what the hell you mean by that? you saying because I dont treat my hives and they live that that this is stupid? There are more and more people keeping bee's here that dont treat with anything and having good results.. nobody whats to argue or be insulted, if you have to put stuff in your hives for them to survive then do it. I just posted what i am doing, not for people to do what I do!!!! that's a choice..

TWT

How much you get honey per hive?

that depends Finsky, on years when I plant clover and other things I can get about 150-180 pounds a hive, on years I dont plant the get about 60-100 pounds

How many boxes you hives have during main flow?

between 3-7 supers

Really stubborn gang. I cannot say more. But 99% of beepers are stubborns what I have met. - It means that 99% waste of time, but nice time.

my wife tells me that all the time!!!!

*************

[Cindi]

newbie101.  I remember seeing your picture of your hives quite a long time ago.  I think that you have a beautiful set up.  The picture some time ago stuck in my mind and when I saw this picture, I remembered my admiration of this set up.  Good for you.  Best of the best day.  Cindi