Newcomers: You need to read back TWO or THREE MONTHS to catch up with everything. At least read June Log before you start below. This is an on-going adventure and you need to be familiar where we are before you know where we are going. Thanks. 

Greetings everyone!!! I'm late with September's Logbook as many of you ( a few hundred readers I might add ) made me aware of, but I've been sick again. Without boring you, I had additional bouts with infection to my nervous system. I've been weak, running high fevers, disoriented and confused and I now am being tested for other possible disorders that could be complicating the Lyme Disease I'm still battling.

Weird how Lyme ( a deer tick transmitted aliment that infects thousands of people a year ) could have slammed me so hard against the wall. This is month 3 folks of battling all the symptoms with massive doses of daily antibiotics, etc.. Well enough about me, I'll keep you updated on my health and I apologize for the delay on this months logbook.

September 6, 2001

I was busy all day trying to get Howland a few of the photos I know I'm capable of creating for the Beekeeping for Dummies book. It was murder lugging supers around squatting to take photos. But it's something I committed myself to do and I haven't done a very good job to date.

Howland is a very understand and kind man who some how is still hanging in there with me, through all the sicknesses of the Summer. New readers should go back as I suggest above and read what it's been like - not a pretty picture in it's own right. But Howland is great, he's a wonderful writer who will get all the promotion he requests here on my site, because his book is going to be the standard for all backyard beekeepers.

I've read many of his chapters and I've learned a lot of things that I just never thought about before. Howland has divided his book into logical chapters that walk you through all aspects of beekeeping. I can only hope that my site has brought you as much entertainment as Dummies will.

Now.... On to beekeeping. I found varroa ( the dreaded Varroa Mite ) in the sealed pupa of C2 today while taking some cover shots for Dummies. Click on the photo or this link to see the full shot of Varroa on several larva and pupa. I was shocked to see the Varroa in the cells - so far this year I had not seen any sighs, so I thought that I might make it through year one without the killer pests.

So we need to talk medication and treatment NOW since we are quickly going into Winter. First though I think you need to find out if you are infested with Varroa. There are many methods, some seem a bit odd but they are true and tested of determining if you have varroa. I think that it is a good bet that you either have Varroa now or will in seasons to follow, so don't waste time assuming that since you are the only beekeeper that your bees are save from getting mites. Feral colonies are prolific passer of the mite from their foragers to your foragers, so being the only beeyard in 50 miles doesn't mean you are safe - no one is safe.

There are a few methods of treating Varroa, but please note that NONE of these methods are a cure all and there is no one method that is totally safe to the bees EXCEPT for a screened bottom board. Here are a few methods and their uses.

Apistan Strips

Available in the United States and most of the world is considered a relatively safe method when the instructions are properly followed. These strip reminds me of a flea collar for a dog or cat and even have a chemical smell closely resembling a flea collar. The strips are placed in the hive's brood chamber between the 2nd and 3rd frames and also placed between the 7th and 8th frames. A total of 4 strips are used in the brood chamber and they are left in for 45 days. Evenly space the two strips approximately 5 inches in from the edges of the frames. Basically, when viewed from the top, the strips will make a rectangle that mimic the shape of the super.

Note that these are chemically embedded strips containing Miticides, pesticides used to treat mites. They have an effect period and always follow the directions for use. Do not leave these in beyond the 45 day treatment and never leave them in over Winter. And please... always wash your hands really well after handling these strips.

CheckMite

This newly marketed product is NOT approved in the United States, yet. But it is said to work well in cases where Apistan has become a resistant treatment of Varroa. CheckMite also comes in strips and is use similarly to Apistan. Can you get this here in the States??? I don't know how, but I'm sure that a beekeeper could find it by surfing the net if he or she really was desperate for an alternative treatment to this deadly pest.

Screened Bottom Board

I really like this method and the simplicity of it's use. By replacing the existing bottom board with a screened bottom board, you can easily remove the mites from the colony. Mites don't hold on to bees very well and constantly fall off the bees and down to the bottom board, where they normally just crawl back up and back on to the bees or into cells where they keep doing their damage.

Screened bottom boards allow the falling mites to pass through the screen where they can be trapped and counted and removed from the bee population. The spaces in the screen are far too small to allow the bees themselves to exit the hive and believe it or not, through out the Spring throughout the Fall the bees DO NOT mind an open and vented bottom board.

Using the screened method alone, nearly 40% of all mites can be removed from the hive. That is an impressive number for a NON-CHEMICAL treatment. But keep in mind that Screened Bottom Board leaves nearly 60% of the mites in the hive and chemical treatment is still needed. 

The addition of venting the hive this way also reduces the need for the bees to fan and form a beard on the outside of the hive on Warmer nights. Many beekeepers will tell you that you greatly increase honey production when you reduce the need to cool the hive through worker's fanning.

For the hobbyist beekeeper there are few chemicals needed to treat for Varroa. At the professional beekeeping level these chemical can be too expensive to show a return, but these pros need to treat or they will be out of business within 2 years. Everything is relative though and for the amount of honey and other hive products the hobbyist nets often make treatment a costly endeavor.

No matter which you are, treatment is essential to the survival. Varroa will kill you colonies if untreated - of that there is no argument. Spotting them early helps in reducing the number of infested hives in your beeyard - just as proper treatment methods.

Of the above methods the screened in board offers a full season of protection to your colonies and without chemically exposing your bees until the Fall if necessary. It's true that the bees don't mind the screened bottom board at all, so next season I will be introducing these bottom boards to my colonies.

I must say, as prominent that Varroa is, I never spotted them within the colony until I uncapped pupa cells. It was a shocker to see them casually walking around and clinging to the pupa and larva. I never spotted them on the workers or laying around the hive and because of that I had actually thought that I might survive YEAR ONE with C1 and C2 without this pesky critter.

You need to keep good records, it does make the difference between success and failure of your bee yard. Even when treated properly and even when varroa is NOT present, there is still a high degree of lost hives each season - at all levels of Beekeeping.

I think spotting the probable source of infestation is mostly guess work. But in my case I have migrating bees about 1.5 miles from me, brought up from Florida every year to pollinate cranberry crops. These traveling bees often slip passed inspections, even though regulation on bees are strictly enforced by state to state agencies. But no matter where they come from, the Varroa is here and it's now MY problem. Hang in there while I try to make C1 and C2 Winter ready.

September 8, 2001

I have been researching the net some for Varroa articles and I have compiled some great reading that I think you will gain great insight from. I hope these articles are helpful, let me know :)

Here is really good article from Bee Culture Magazine called Detecting Varroa. This well written article will detail detection methods better than I can. Please read it before you go on - especially if you are currently battling Varroa. I will also post other links on this page that I find worthy and helpful. Another treatment article from Bee Culture called  Stupid Inner Covers also is helpful with Varroa. Also read this detailed article called Integrated Pest Management for Varroa Mites.

Note: I offer these articles to help educate both you and me on the dangers of this terribly ravenous destroyer of the hive.  Disease Management is a very good article covering many of the parasites and diseases in the hive. Lastly, here is a selection of articles found through Beehoo.com which is a wonderful site filled with International information on all bees. These articles are all on Varroa Mites, but check out the Beehoo.com main page for hundreds of topics.

I'm sitting on my bed typing this update on the laptop if for no other reason but to help you address diseases and parasites before it's too late for this Season. I had promised information last month, but it just didn't pan out as planned. But there should be enough info above to help you get a good start on recognizing and treating your colonies. Coming soon, I will compile listings of articles on WINTERING your colonies. Shown here is a worker packing pollen into a cell.

I'm not doing well this week and I had a real rough week last week - a real relapse of my meningitis infection - but I know better days are coming once this nasty viral infection leaves for good. I expect some results from the latest battery of tests Monday and I will let you know what's up when I learn something new. If you missed my 3 month ordeal with Lyme Disease and Meningitis, just read the July Logbook for all the details.

September 10, 2001

I finally got some images off to Howland and he said they looked great :) Now I need to send the HUGE versions of each which are rough 5"x7" at 300dpi or for you digiphiles 2048x1536 in size. Tomorrow I hope to get some Chilled Brood photos and give another try at getting some sharper images of single castes of bees. 

I have a few workers ( no longer among the living ) with pollen sacs of different colors ready to shoot, as well as a plumb drone and a few marked queens. The queens though are sloppily painted with the pale blue indicator color and I may use a queen from C2 to get a well matured queen which is unmarked - much nice for the Dummies book.

About C1 and C2... Both hive do have varroa, the Apistan Strips are on the way and SHOULD be here by Thursday. C1 has a full super of honey, I didn't weight it but I'm sure it goes at least 120 pounds and also another super 2/3rds full. C2 has NOT gathered nearly enough honey to support itself through a New Jersey Winter, so I tend to think I will merge C2 into C1 at the end of this month or early October - stay tuned for that one.

In BOTH colonies there are tremendous amounts of capped pupa and young larva, but very little large larva and not too many eggs. It's a good sign that the seasons are changing and the queens are starting to slow egg production as the night get cooler and the days are shorter.

September 11, 2001

NOTE: don't read today's entry if you are easily upset. I need to blow off some steam about today's bombings. 

There will be no beekeeping discussion today.

You could read this entry a hundred years from now and still know of the tragedy that blackened the skies of New York today. Cowardly terrorist attacked the core of Capitalism with the destruction of the World Trade Center buildings and the attack on the Pentagon.

There are no official numbers yet of the lives lost in these attacks and official numbers may not be known for a very long time, but it's time the United States and all the free countries of the world realize that freedom can not be protected without loss of some of our basic rights.

I don't care if it takes me 10 hours in an Air Port to go through batteries of xrays, metal scans or any technology that will prevent my plane from being used as a bomb to kill thousands and thousands of others. We take our liberties for granted, a relaxed commonality that is second nature to our way of life. Something that we have earned through the valor and heroism of millions who have fought the battles of our nation since it's infancy.

But time and time again we are faced with the fact that with freedom comes restrictions and responsibilities that will now be tightened and implemented, not for hamper our liberties, but to sustain them.

But open borders, relaxed rules in International Travel and 
liberty's open arms to anyone who wants to come here is killing our country and ruining the dream that our brave fought and died for. Anyone living along the Eastern Coast of the United States will tell you that we need to stop the insanity of letting everyone from anywhere haphazardly enter our country and claim residence. 

We cannot financially afford to support a massive influx of immigrants from anywhere. I don't point my fingers at any single group or country, all immigrants are choking us from everywhere. We are in a recession and frankly many Americans are losing their shirts with the decline our our economy. We need to start thinking again of ourselves and how the United States will survive in a market place that is crumbling globally.

Political asylum is a different issue though. Escaping a suppressed society to seek freedom is a guarantee our government has offered to everyone within a set of rules that have been argued and ratified. But now we hear that Mexican Borders may be opened for mass migration to prevent Illegal Immigration. That is like writing a bank robber a check for a million dollars in order to prevent him from robbing a bank - it makes no sense.

Forgive me for spouting off like this, but our country and democracy was attacked today and it is a visible and shocking moment in world history that I only pray is the worse case of terrorism that any of us see in our life times. It's 6:30pm EST and bombs are being dropped in Kabal, Afghanistan as retaliation to that country's blatant harboring of Bin ladin. If that dirt bag did this, I hope we hunt him down and slowly drag his evil body 3000 miles across this country so that we can all spit on his face and hang him until his rotting body falls free from his lifeless head.

I work for the US Navy and I serve this country in a manor of peace and pride in our goal to spread freedom and democracy. The work I do supports the Air Craft Carrier Fleet that protects the waters of the World and I'm proud to do my job supporting the Fleet and Its Mission. This was an attack on Freedom, the locations of the bombing were calculated and blatant. 

This was also an attack on the cornerstones of our beliefs of Military might for the protection of Liberty and the self guided dream of personal wealth through capitalism. Just because this happened on our shores does not mean it was a U.S. Issue only - it was an attack against your rights and your freedom everywhere. I pray for those lost and those suffering and I hope you are all avenged.

September 13, 2001

This is the first chance I have had to sit at the computer since Tuesday evening, shortly after writing the commentary above. I'm back to work and doing critical work assisting the mission of the US Naval Fleet. I can not for obvious reasons share the details of my mission sensitive work, but I am proud to be a part of the effort to recover from the senseless tragedy of Tuesday.

For the first time in nearly three nights I will be sleeping in my own bed and I can say that thanks to the efforts of the incredibly talented mission support staff at Naval Air Engineering Center, Lakehurst - our shores and skies are safer tonight and have no fear that when it comes time to bring these criminals to justice, our Fleet of Carriers around the world will be ready to do their part. 

The medication for C1 and C2 are in. Tomorrow afternoon I will be treating them and working frantically against Howland's deadlines to supply him with the remaining photographs I need to complete. I will say though that Howland shared with me two different possible cover shots and if I get his permission, I would love to get your input on these photos. Both are very very nice, but the latest image has a unique look that I think would make a wonderfully colorful cover. I'll keep you informed :) 

For now... I'm off to bed and I will talk to you all soon. Oh... If you have emailed me lately, and over 750 of you have since Tuesday - I will get back to those who had questions as soon as I can, but please understand the many tasks I am juggling and the Beekeeping for Dummies Photos and beekeeping log are time sensitive and need greater attention - thanks for your understanding.

September 18, 2001

I just got an email from Howland who would love your input on the two cover choices for the Beekeeping for Dummies book. The first shows a queen surround by a court of worker bees as they tend to her while she searches for a place to lay her next egg. The second image is of a lone worker packing pollen into one of many colorful cells. Please email me which you think makes a better cover image for the book and I will forward your responses or at least a number count to Howland - thanks.

Well... It's been a week since the terrible terrorist attack on American Soil. Our military is ready and more importantly, our citizens are ready to bring an end to terrorism with the support of NATO and many other countries. I know that our President, Secretary of Defense and Joint Chiefs are all preparing us for a long war that may go on for years.

A coworker and friend has an 18 year old son away in Boot Camp who is training to be a Military Police Officer. Just a month ago this seemed like a wonderful choice for someone his age to choose, but now he is likely to be called up if needed to assist in this conflict. I'm sure there are thousands like him who are entering into a position that calls for their training and expertise to help end this "New War" swiftly with the least casualties. I wish all our military the safest tour and a fast return to our shores.

Two days ago I placed the Apistan strips in Both C1 and C2 as described in the packaging. The treatment will continue until early November which is about the latest I will enter my colonies. 

September 21, 2001

These weekly updates are not the norm as any of you who have followed along would attest - I can only say that it's the best I can do right now and hope you understand the amount of time that work has taken up in my days. I'm still pulling long shifts that has consumed my time and It wearing me and my coworkers down. Again, I can't get into details, but after watching President Bush give his Address to the Nation last night, I can say that I'm proud to be part of a team supporting the efforts to thwart terrorism.

C1 and C2 are flying like mad, bees in great numbers are returning with loads of pollen and a huge number are air born at the entrances at any one time. 

It rained like mad here last night, actually very early this morning. Over 4 inches of rain in 2 hours with tremendous lightning that lighted the sky for hours. I think it's always wise to tilt your hives enough to assure that water cannot build up inside the bottom board. 

Stupid as it sounds, I have seen many hives where the bees walked out of the hive from the bottom of the supper and not from the entrance board because the hive had sunk and tilts backward, leaving as much as an inch of foul water that the bees need to muddle through.

Where's Fred??? He's fine, I talked to him a few days ago after making vacation plans for our trip to Washington, DC next month. He's excited as I am to visit our nations capitol. I've been to DC a number of times, but this will be Fred's first trip, so it should be a special time :)

We will be staying in Chevy Chase, Maryland at the upscale Embassy Suite Hotel atop the Chevy Chase Pavilion. This very nice hotel has it's own entrance to the Metro Subway System which leads us to all the Washington tourism sites and other great places I want to show Fred.

We are suppose to meet up with Jay, my retired Supervisor of 7 years who lives in North Carolina - 8 hours from here. Washington is 4 hours away from each of us. When this trip is over you will find it on my  Traveling Around Section where you will find MANY places that my Wife Tracey and I have been. 

For now... I need to upload images that I promised Howland and add the two covers to this page as promised. Please write me and let me know WHICH Cover you think is the Better for the Beekeeping For Dummies book. I'll pass on the tally to Howland one week from today. Meanwhile, I hope to have the long awaited Newsletter out over the weekend and I will also point everyone through the Newsletter to the Cover images - that's where I expect to get the greatest return of emails.