I inspected all the "older" langstroth hives on Tuesday between another "bout" of rainy weather. Everything seems to be fine with both Bee Glad... and Worker Bees... which are both jam packed with bees, brood and honey. My chief concern is with Lib-BEE-taria which is still rather sluggish. The queen seems to be laying fine but the bee population is relatively small and the bees are not comb building nor honey producing.
I dusted each hive with powdered sugar after each inspection.
Showing posts with label powdered sugar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label powdered sugar. Show all posts
Friday, July 23, 2010
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Bees In An Iron Cage? Part IV- Rationalized and Bee Health
On November 4th at 7:30 pm, I will be giving a presentation entitled "Bees in an Iron Cage?: The Formal Rationalization of 20th Century American Apiculture" at the Stark Auditorium at Winona State University. The presentation is part of Winona State's CLASP lecture series which has as its theme this year, Food. I will be collecting my thoughts for this lecture and writing my notes right here on my blog: Canaries In A Coal Mine.
How might the beekeeper's need for efficiency, predictability, and control conflict with the
biophysical needs of the honey bee? Let's consider a few example!
Varroa Mite Control
Recently, Randy Oliver, commercial beekeeper and “amateur” scientist, tested the efficacy of using two sustainable “folk” methods for controlling the varroa mite, a deadly honeybee pest that came very close to wiping out managed and feral honeybees in the early 90s. He discovered that by periodically pulling out and destroying frames of capped drone brood, and dusting bees with powdered sugar, the level of mite infestation can be lowered to a threshold that the bees own hygienic behavior and immune system can deal with. This management approach does not seem to produce any resistant mites as well. Overall, this management approach is quite sustainable for the bees. (Oliver n.d. B)
While such an approach might be regarded as an excellent option for sideline and backyard beekeepers and their handful of hives, commercial beekeepers see this technique as just too labor intensive and inefficient for their large scale operations. These sustainable techniques demand the opening and management of each individual hive on at least a monthly basis. From a short-term economic standpoint, it is much more cost effective to simply use one of the various miticides available to commercial establishments, and wipe out the mites in that way. Of course, in the long-term, even commercial beekeepers recognize, that this approach is not sustainable, and breeds “super mites” who are resistant to the miticide. (c.f. Hayes 2008: 786)
Swarm Prevention and Varroa Infestation
The second illustration also concerns the varroa mite problem as well. The only way unmanaged hives, as a “superorganism”, can reproduce is by means of “swarming”. To put it simply, if, in late spring/early summer, a hive becomes honey-bound, and reaches a critical density, the bees may begin preparations to swarm. The hive begins to produce dozens of queen cells, and both the old queen and close to half the workers prepare to leave in search of a new suitable home in which to start a new colony. Hopefully, one of the virgin queens in the old hive successfully mates and begins work re-establishing a thriving hive within the old colony. From the economic viewpoint of the beekeeper, swarming is something that should be prevented. (Horn 2005:139) A hive that swarms is set back at least a month in honey production. In some beekeepers’ eyes, not preventing swarming can be interpreted as poor, lazy, and neglectful management of a hive. So, beekeepers have developed various techniques and technology for preventing hives from swarming.
While economically unproductive, it does appear as if swarming has some real positive benefits for the future sustainability of the honeybee, however. For one thing, a hive that swarms breaks up the lifecycle of the varroa mite, keeping the level of infestation down.
The eggs of varroa mites are laid in brood cells, and their larvae feast on bee larvae. Until a swarm finds and/or builds new comb, the old queen cannot lay eggs, and without eggs there are no larvae on which the mites can live off. In the old hive, it will take around a month before a new queen is laying eggs, so again, the life-cycle of the mite is disrupted. The reason, then, that African hybrid bees seem resistant to mites has much to do with their tendency to swarm incessantly.
Honey Comb Re-Use
The final example conerns the re-use of drawn comb frames by beekeepers.
The comb that bees create is one of the most fascinating 'organs' of the honey bee colony. Comb is a collaborative construction of worker bees produced from the wax secreted from the wax gland in the worker's abdomen. The comb serves many functions in the hive including: nursery, food storage facility, 'dance' floor, insulation, and 'cell telephone'. (Tautz 2008)
The production of comb by honey bees takes both time and material resources away from other activities that the beekeeper often deems more important. Beeswax contains a good deal of nectar which might be used instead for honey. Until comb is produced, the queen cannot lay eggs, and workers making comb cannot be involved in other activities like nursing larvae, fanning nectar and the like. From the viewpoint of the beekeeper, then, comb production is a wasteful distraction that keeps bees doing productive things.
For this reason, the "rational" beekeeper may save and reuse the same old comb built in the brood nest for decades, "saving" the bees the effort and materials for rebuilding comb. If you examine the managed hives of many older beekeepers you might find blackened, rigid comb 30 years in age. While old comb may be worth it's weight in gold to the beekeeper, it presents a health hazard to the bees. Comb, in some respects, is equivalent to the liver in mammals; it accumulates the environmental toxins used inside and outside the hive and disease spores brought into the hive by the worker foragers and the drones. A thirty year old comb has accumulated thirty years worth of toxins and spores. Only recently have beekeepers begun to recognize the health risks old comb poses to the bees and it is now suggested that beekeepers dispose of comb every 3 years and have the workers rebuild.
__________
Works Cited
Hayes, Jerry. (2008) “The Classroom.” Bee Culture September:783-7.
Oliver, Randy.( n.d.) B. “Tactics: Biotechnical Methods I.” Scientificbeekeeping.com . http://www.scientificbeekeeping.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=40 . Accessed September 12, 2008.
Tautz, Jurgen. 2008. The Buzz About Bees: Biology of a Superorganism. Translated by David C. Sandeman. Berlin: Springer.
How might the beekeeper's need for efficiency, predictability, and control conflict with the
biophysical needs of the honey bee? Let's consider a few example!
Varroa Mite Control
Recently, Randy Oliver, commercial beekeeper and “amateur” scientist, tested the efficacy of using two sustainable “folk” methods for controlling the varroa mite, a deadly honeybee pest that came very close to wiping out managed and feral honeybees in the early 90s. He discovered that by periodically pulling out and destroying frames of capped drone brood, and dusting bees with powdered sugar, the level of mite infestation can be lowered to a threshold that the bees own hygienic behavior and immune system can deal with. This management approach does not seem to produce any resistant mites as well. Overall, this management approach is quite sustainable for the bees. (Oliver n.d. B)
While such an approach might be regarded as an excellent option for sideline and backyard beekeepers and their handful of hives, commercial beekeepers see this technique as just too labor intensive and inefficient for their large scale operations. These sustainable techniques demand the opening and management of each individual hive on at least a monthly basis. From a short-term economic standpoint, it is much more cost effective to simply use one of the various miticides available to commercial establishments, and wipe out the mites in that way. Of course, in the long-term, even commercial beekeepers recognize, that this approach is not sustainable, and breeds “super mites” who are resistant to the miticide. (c.f. Hayes 2008: 786)
Swarm Prevention and Varroa Infestation
The second illustration also concerns the varroa mite problem as well. The only way unmanaged hives, as a “superorganism”, can reproduce is by means of “swarming”. To put it simply, if, in late spring/early summer, a hive becomes honey-bound, and reaches a critical density, the bees may begin preparations to swarm. The hive begins to produce dozens of queen cells, and both the old queen and close to half the workers prepare to leave in search of a new suitable home in which to start a new colony. Hopefully, one of the virgin queens in the old hive successfully mates and begins work re-establishing a thriving hive within the old colony. From the economic viewpoint of the beekeeper, swarming is something that should be prevented. (Horn 2005:139) A hive that swarms is set back at least a month in honey production. In some beekeepers’ eyes, not preventing swarming can be interpreted as poor, lazy, and neglectful management of a hive. So, beekeepers have developed various techniques and technology for preventing hives from swarming.
While economically unproductive, it does appear as if swarming has some real positive benefits for the future sustainability of the honeybee, however. For one thing, a hive that swarms breaks up the lifecycle of the varroa mite, keeping the level of infestation down.
The eggs of varroa mites are laid in brood cells, and their larvae feast on bee larvae. Until a swarm finds and/or builds new comb, the old queen cannot lay eggs, and without eggs there are no larvae on which the mites can live off. In the old hive, it will take around a month before a new queen is laying eggs, so again, the life-cycle of the mite is disrupted. The reason, then, that African hybrid bees seem resistant to mites has much to do with their tendency to swarm incessantly.
Honey Comb Re-Use
The final example conerns the re-use of drawn comb frames by beekeepers.
The comb that bees create is one of the most fascinating 'organs' of the honey bee colony. Comb is a collaborative construction of worker bees produced from the wax secreted from the wax gland in the worker's abdomen. The comb serves many functions in the hive including: nursery, food storage facility, 'dance' floor, insulation, and 'cell telephone'. (Tautz 2008)
The production of comb by honey bees takes both time and material resources away from other activities that the beekeeper often deems more important. Beeswax contains a good deal of nectar which might be used instead for honey. Until comb is produced, the queen cannot lay eggs, and workers making comb cannot be involved in other activities like nursing larvae, fanning nectar and the like. From the viewpoint of the beekeeper, then, comb production is a wasteful distraction that keeps bees doing productive things.
For this reason, the "rational" beekeeper may save and reuse the same old comb built in the brood nest for decades, "saving" the bees the effort and materials for rebuilding comb. If you examine the managed hives of many older beekeepers you might find blackened, rigid comb 30 years in age. While old comb may be worth it's weight in gold to the beekeeper, it presents a health hazard to the bees. Comb, in some respects, is equivalent to the liver in mammals; it accumulates the environmental toxins used inside and outside the hive and disease spores brought into the hive by the worker foragers and the drones. A thirty year old comb has accumulated thirty years worth of toxins and spores. Only recently have beekeepers begun to recognize the health risks old comb poses to the bees and it is now suggested that beekeepers dispose of comb every 3 years and have the workers rebuild.
__________
Works Cited
Hayes, Jerry. (2008) “The Classroom.” Bee Culture September:783-7.
Horn, Tammy. (2005) Bees in America – How the Honeybee Shaped a Nation.
Lexington, Kentucky: University of Kentucky.Oliver, Randy.( n.d.) B. “Tactics: Biotechnical Methods I.” Scientificbeekeeping.com . http://www.scientificbeekeeping.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=40 . Accessed September 12, 2008.
Tautz, Jurgen. 2008. The Buzz About Bees: Biology of a Superorganism. Translated by David C. Sandeman. Berlin: Springer.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Playing Blog Catch-Up
With the semester beginning and me having for "preps", it's been difficult to keep up with the blog like I's like. I have a few minutes this morning, so here are a few highlights of Beelandia the last week or so.
- Last week, I found the queen in Metpropolis. Either the hive swarmed or there was a supercedure because there seems to be a gap in the "brood cycle". This is fine as long as the colony can produce enough bees to survive the winter. In fact, it may be positive, if it has disrupted the mites' lifecycle as well.
- Yesterday, I worked on Plan Bee... and Bee Glad... I moved frames (or bars) around so that the eventual winter cluster will be able to move up more easy. I am a bit concerned with the relative lack of stored honey, so I started to feed both hives with medicated (Fumigillin-B) 2:1 sugar syrup. I would rather not medicate at all but wintering bees in my area is hard without it.
- I took a mite count last week and, even with the large population of bees in the hives, few mites dropped onto the sticky sheet. I dusted the hives with powdered sugar yesterday.
- I had a number of visitors drop by to see Beelandia this week. Beelandia is turning into a short stop on the "eco-tourism" bus tour.
- Today I will manipulate the rest of the hive. I need to return to the supermarket and get some more sugar however.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Bee Glad's First August Inspection
There are two things I am better at this year than I was last year (my first). First, I am much slower and deliberate in my movements which keeps the bees calmer. Second, I am getting very good at spotting the queen even in the large colonies you will find at this time of the year. Both these skills were demonstrated to me during this afternoon's inspection of Bee Glad... .
The weather was perfect for an inspection. The sun was out, there was a slight breeze and the temperature, I estimate, was in the mid 70s. The bees were actively foraging, storing a great deal of their nectar in the top box. I would guess that they are a behind a bit compared with last year's bees.
I found the queen in the second box, seemingly searching for a place to lay. (She was walking around on a non-drawn out part of a plastic frame.) She looks healthy, and active, and her brood pattern, in all three boxes indicates that as well.
I also pulled a green drone frame full of capped brood in the second box, and replaced it with a drawn drone frame. I ended my inspection by dusting the bees with powered sugar.
And again, no stings!
The weather was perfect for an inspection. The sun was out, there was a slight breeze and the temperature, I estimate, was in the mid 70s. The bees were actively foraging, storing a great deal of their nectar in the top box. I would guess that they are a behind a bit compared with last year's bees.
I found the queen in the second box, seemingly searching for a place to lay. (She was walking around on a non-drawn out part of a plastic frame.) She looks healthy, and active, and her brood pattern, in all three boxes indicates that as well.
I also pulled a green drone frame full of capped brood in the second box, and replaced it with a drawn drone frame. I ended my inspection by dusting the bees with powered sugar.
And again, no stings!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Added a Third Box To Bee Glad...
Yesterday I inspected those two hives (Bee Glad... and Metpropolis) containing the Minnesota Hygienic bees. As I mentioned in my last blog entry, the bees in Beelandia are so much more productive, and seemingly healthier than those I had last year.
I added a third box to Bee Glad... as the honey bees were working each frame of the second box. I moved a broodless frame up from the second when I did this. I took off the hive entrance, did some powdered sugar dusting before closing up. I did move the green drone brood frame around in the second box, trying to encourage a little more activity on that frame.
Metpropolis, the top bar hive, has also been productive. They are starting to pack away honey on the edges of the colony. I do love pulling out bars that are primarily filled with capped honey. The feel of their comparative heaviness to the other bars is a rush... Yes, I am peculiar! I added two more bars to this hive.
And lastly, no stings...
I added a third box to Bee Glad... as the honey bees were working each frame of the second box. I moved a broodless frame up from the second when I did this. I took off the hive entrance, did some powdered sugar dusting before closing up. I did move the green drone brood frame around in the second box, trying to encourage a little more activity on that frame.
Metpropolis, the top bar hive, has also been productive. They are starting to pack away honey on the edges of the colony. I do love pulling out bars that are primarily filled with capped honey. The feel of their comparative heaviness to the other bars is a rush... Yes, I am peculiar! I added two more bars to this hive.
And lastly, no stings...
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Almost a Disaster...But Everything's Alright Now
Structural linguists state that "meaning is in difference." You don't know what a stream is until you know how it differs from a river. To know a cat is gentle, you must also experience a mean one. I think I am finally understanding what healthy bees look like by comparing them to the bees I had last year... you know the ones that died!
I inspected the carniolans today and found them expanding at a much greater rate than last year's bees. In the langstroth hive, 9 out of the 10 frames in the second box, which I put on just last week, are being worked on. In the top bar hive, I had to add two more top bars to an ever expanding brood nest. Yes, there could be other reasons besides having healthier packages this year, but my intuition tells me probably not. There are much, much less bees scampering on the ground around the hives this year and, as of yet, nothing significant to report on the mite front unlike last year.
All was not perfect in today's inspection, however. Besides the sting I took on the finger, I dropped a top bar while working in Plan Bee... I was culling some capped drone brood and the bar just slipped out of my hand, bees and all. I am happy to report it was not much of a mess, and the bees were not too badly riled up.
I gave each hive a sugar dusting!
I inspected the carniolans today and found them expanding at a much greater rate than last year's bees. In the langstroth hive, 9 out of the 10 frames in the second box, which I put on just last week, are being worked on. In the top bar hive, I had to add two more top bars to an ever expanding brood nest. Yes, there could be other reasons besides having healthier packages this year, but my intuition tells me probably not. There are much, much less bees scampering on the ground around the hives this year and, as of yet, nothing significant to report on the mite front unlike last year.
All was not perfect in today's inspection, however. Besides the sting I took on the finger, I dropped a top bar while working in Plan Bee... I was culling some capped drone brood and the bar just slipped out of my hand, bees and all. I am happy to report it was not much of a mess, and the bees were not too badly riled up.
I gave each hive a sugar dusting!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Finally...An Inspection
The last two days have been cool and rainy but this morning the sun shone brightly. When I went out to inspect the hives at noon today, I could see that the bees had cabin fever, with all the activity in front of all four hives. I fired up the smoker, put on my veil, and opened up the two Minnesota Hygienic hives: Bee Glad..., and Metpropolis.
I only checked the top box of Bee Glad... and saw that the honey bees have been pretty busy this past week. They have begun to draw comb on half the plastic frames in the box, and the queen is laying on some of the frames. (I did see the queen on one of these frames.) Everything else looked fairly normal with plenty of stores to report. I closed up after a powdered sugar dusting.
The top bar hive, Metpropolis, is booming. I didn't see the queen in the hive but I did see plenty of evidence that she is there and laying well. I did notice the start of a supercedure cell but this is probably just a part of the normal insurance policy the bees are taking out. There is no evidence that the queen is deficient in anyway. Before I closed up this hive, I filled up a pesticide duster with powdered sugar and dusted the bees with sugar.
I am glad to report: no stings!
I only checked the top box of Bee Glad... and saw that the honey bees have been pretty busy this past week. They have begun to draw comb on half the plastic frames in the box, and the queen is laying on some of the frames. (I did see the queen on one of these frames.) Everything else looked fairly normal with plenty of stores to report. I closed up after a powdered sugar dusting.
The top bar hive, Metpropolis, is booming. I didn't see the queen in the hive but I did see plenty of evidence that she is there and laying well. I did notice the start of a supercedure cell but this is probably just a part of the normal insurance policy the bees are taking out. There is no evidence that the queen is deficient in anyway. Before I closed up this hive, I filled up a pesticide duster with powdered sugar and dusted the bees with sugar.
I am glad to report: no stings!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Hive Autopsy Finished on Bee Glad...
On Saturday, I finished examining Bee Glad... and found a disturbing surprise. The bottom board was covered with thousands of varroa mites. What part this played in the death of Bee Glad... is still debatable but my surprise lies in how did this occurred. I checked the hive for mites all spring and summer, did periodic drone brood frame extraction, along with sugar dusting. When the mite count became too large in August, I treated it with Thymol and the count went down significantly. I was confident going into winter that the mite load was reasonably low, but, having seen the state of the bottom board, I imagine my confidence was unfounded.
I will be publishing some photos of the bottom board later this week.
I will be publishing some photos of the bottom board later this week.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Week 11: Bringing in Honey
Yesterday, I did the 11 week inspection. I only inspected Bee Glad..., the Langstroth hive, as Metpropolis was inspected two days before. The inspection occurred during some excellent weather at around 11 a.m. The temperature was in the mid-eighties, there was a light breeze, and it was sunny. The bees have continued foraging; some return to the hive covered in a greenish-yellow pollen which I haven't yet identified.
The bees have stored away much honey in the middle and top box. Every frame but one in the top box is at least three quarters drawn with honey on the sides and honey and brood (in all stages) in the middle. . The middle box is, of course, practically fully drawn with much capped honey on the sides and brood and capped honey on the middle frames. Again, the green plastic drone frame has not been worked on with the same enthusiasm as the foundationless frames. I sprayed some sugar water on the drone frame to see if I might induce them to draw it out a little better. The bottom box was almost empty of any activity. There was some capped brood, some bees, but most of the honey has been moved up above. It looks like a "reverse" might be in order for next inspection. I will also be doing the monthly sugar powdering of both Bee Glad... and Metpropolis in that inspection as well.
The bees have stored away much honey in the middle and top box. Every frame but one in the top box is at least three quarters drawn with honey on the sides and honey and brood (in all stages) in the middle. . The middle box is, of course, practically fully drawn with much capped honey on the sides and brood and capped honey on the middle frames. Again, the green plastic drone frame has not been worked on with the same enthusiasm as the foundationless frames. I sprayed some sugar water on the drone frame to see if I might induce them to draw it out a little better. The bottom box was almost empty of any activity. There was some capped brood, some bees, but most of the honey has been moved up above. It looks like a "reverse" might be in order for next inspection. I will also be doing the monthly sugar powdering of both Bee Glad... and Metpropolis in that inspection as well.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Clarifying Issues: Part II
After reading my last post, I could see that it might easily be misinterpreted. I need to make something very clear: I have not given up on using organic and natural apicultural methods. If I can, I use the most "natural"/"organic" management methods available. So for example, I use foundationless frames in the Langstroth and, of course, simple top bars in Metpropolis, leaving cell size up to the bees. My varroa testing and management includes a screened bottom board, two drone brood frames, and periodic powdered sugar dusting. The bees water in a little planted pond kept balanced and mosquisto-less with white clouds and koi. Pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers are not used in the Forest of Beelandia, nor on the rest of our property. The grass (and weeds) are even mowed with an old-fashion push mower.
That being said, the foraging environment of Beelandia's bees is not over healthy I suppose. Within a two mile flying radius, the bees experience (a) the Mississippi River and all its pollutants, (b) two or three factories, (c) the West Side Public pool, (d) a golf course, (e) 4 bars :-), (f) a Brach's Candy factory, (g) the busy traffic of three main streets, and (h) the countless small gardens of neighbors who use both chemical and organic techniques in soil mixed with generations of lead paint and who knows what else. Add to this, the fact that the bees I've installed were produced in California and are not adapted to Minnesota winters, and I have a collection of interacting variables that can't help but stress the bees, making them more susceptable to an array of pests and diseases. In an environment like this, must I be infrequently prepared to set aside my "natural" apicultural management ideals when the bees are sick or plague by parasites? Or, must I just admit that sustainable beekeeping is impossible where I live? Only time can answer this.
That being said, the foraging environment of Beelandia's bees is not over healthy I suppose. Within a two mile flying radius, the bees experience (a) the Mississippi River and all its pollutants, (b) two or three factories, (c) the West Side Public pool, (d) a golf course, (e) 4 bars :-), (f) a Brach's Candy factory, (g) the busy traffic of three main streets, and (h) the countless small gardens of neighbors who use both chemical and organic techniques in soil mixed with generations of lead paint and who knows what else. Add to this, the fact that the bees I've installed were produced in California and are not adapted to Minnesota winters, and I have a collection of interacting variables that can't help but stress the bees, making them more susceptable to an array of pests and diseases. In an environment like this, must I be infrequently prepared to set aside my "natural" apicultural management ideals when the bees are sick or plague by parasites? Or, must I just admit that sustainable beekeeping is impossible where I live? Only time can answer this.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Two Month Report
It's been two months since I first installed my bees in Beelandia, and all seems well in the two hives. It was a fine day to inspect the bees, after a rather stormy Sunday caused a postponement. The weather was sunny, a temperature around 70 degrees.
Bee Glad... was booming with activity. Following the suggestion in Furgala, Spivak, and Reuter's book, Beekeeping in Northern Climates, I had added a third deep box since the bees were at work on all frames in the second. As the photo above shows, they aren't too keen on the plastic drone I've installed for IPM purposes, building comb only here and there. However, they "love" building in the foundationless frames. I did have to trim some cross-comb. Before I closed up the hive, I dusted and brushed the frames with powdered sugar.
Metpropolis was even stronger with the bees building nice straight comb on 18 of the 21 frames now in that hive. My patient approach to its cross-comb problems seems to be paying off. The bees are working with me, slowly but surely "changing their ways". I dusted every comb containing bees with powdered sugar as well (using an old smoker as a "puffer") and did only a bit of trimming on comb.
The bees seem to be bringing in alot of pollen and there was much stored away in both hives. My guess is that most of this is coming from white clover, a few basswood trees, and my neighbor's coreopsis bed. My own narrow leafed milkweed and borage are very close to blooming and should provide the bees with a small amount of pollen and nectar in the future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
