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Beginner’s Corner:
Sept. – Oct.
At the beginning of each meeting of the Madison County Beekeepers Association, approximately 5 minutes is devoted to “Beginners Corner”. This time is used to answer any novice beekeepers questions, let him / her know what is normal and should (or should not be) happening in their colonies as well as advise what actions he / she should be taking at this time in the beekeeping year.
This information is for the North Alabama area. If you are a novice beekeeper in other parts of the world, join a local beekeeping association and ask known-experienced beekeepers for similar advice.
All advice is intended for the novice beekeeper. More experienced beekeepers may have the skills to attempt practices not recommended for the novice.
SPECIAL NOTICE # 1:
The time to APPLY ALL medication is listed below as 15 September. Please note that this may be too early to apply MiteAway II (Formic Acid). MiteAway II should be applied only when the outside daytime temperature highs are between 50°F and 79ºF at the time of application. You should remove the MiteAway II pads from the hives in the event of a heat wave (if daily temperature highs exceed 82ºF) within the first 7 days of treatment.
MiteAway II can cause a small amount of honeybee kill soon after application. If using screened bottom boards, they should be "stopped up" during MiteAway II application and entrance reducers should be removed. MiteAway II may cause some yellowing of grass immediately in front of the hives.
Complete information on the application of Miteaway II can be found on the manufacturer's Webpages at: http://www.MiteAway.com/html/how_to_use_it.php. Also available from the MiteAway site is a RealPlayer video detailing the application of MiteAway II.
SPECIAL NOTICE # 2:
Small Hive Beetles (SHB) are much more active in north Alabama right now (September 2008) than I have ever seenthem. A few SHB on the inner cover is not a cause for alarm if the hive is normal strength. However, weak hives with good pollen stores are a major target for SHB larvae. If you have a queenless colony that you need to mix with a stronger colony [which is what I strongly recommend over trying to re-queen during the summer months this year (2008)]. Remove all frames with pollen stores and place them in a deep freeze for a couple of days before placing them in the stronger hive. This will kill the SHB adult, eggs and larvae. If the strong colony does not need the pollen, save it in the freezer for 2009 spring splits and or swarms season. Any dark combs removed from colonies should be stored with paradichlorobenzene (PDB - moth crystals) to prevent wax moth invasion. It has been my experience that the PDB will also kill adult SHB and their larvae.
Process all honey removed from your hives the next day if possible. If you have any pollen or brood in your frames of harvested honey, it will be a major target for SHB larvae. If you get SHB larvae in your harvested supers, you will likely see the 1/2 inch or so long SHB larvae AND a watery looking, slick film on the capped frames of honey. If this happens, place the infected supers in a deep freeze to kill the beetles (and larvae). Then place them back on a good strong colony and they will clean up the mess in a few days. Then you can remove the supers again and harvest the honey.
DO NOT place SHB infected supers or other combs on a strong hive for cleanup UNLESS IT HAS BEEN FROZEN. If you do, you stand a really good chance of loosing the strong colony. If the colony is strong enough it might recover but do not take the chance.
If you have any weak colonies, keep an eye on them by inspecting the combs with pollen. If you mix colonies, do not shake the bees from the weak colony directly into the strong hive but instead shake the bees in front of the strong hive. This is to prevent unintentionally shaking adult SHB and larvae into the strong colony. If you use the "newspaper method" remove and freeze as many combs from the donor colony as is practical before adding them to the donor colony.
Keep an eye on all weak colonies / small colonies. If the colony gets too infested with SHB the bees will abscond leaving uncapped brood and usually a lot of adult beetles. After the bees have absconded you must take action fast or the brood frames will be infested with SHB larvae.
If you are planning on re-queening any colonies, I recommend that you wait until spring to do so. Under normal circumstances fall re-queening works great but this year any abnormal hive conditions could will lead to SHB invasion.
END OF SPECIAL NOTICES
BEGINNER'S CORNER
1. Remove supers and medicate your colonies. Medication should be in the hives by 15 September if practical. Be sure that you have removed all honey to be eaten or sold before you apply medication. Click here for general medication information.
2. If your removed supers have any dark comb or pollen, they are a target for wax moths and SHB (Small Hive Beetles). Treat supers as follows (What you are effectively doing is creating a PDB gas chamber within the treated supe):
· Use Moth Crystals (paradichlorobenzene - PDB) do not use Moth Balls (Naphthalene)
· Stack supers to be treated 3 high, then place a ¼ sheet of newspaper with about 3 TBL spoons of PDB.
· Repeat every 3 supers.
· Close all lower entrances, as fumes are heavier than air.
· If a queen excluder is placed above the top PDB, you will get better air circulation and more effective results.
· Check the stack at least once a month. If the PDB has evaporated, replace it.
· Before you re-use the treated equipment let it air well (until no odor is present) before using with live bees.
If combs are not discolored and / or you desire not to use PDB, cross stack them so as to allow maximum light and ventilation exposure as wax moths hate both light and circulating air.
If the combs are infested with SHB larvae, it is best to freeze them before treating and storing treat per the above "Special Notice".
3. Start your planning and shopping list for next year. Remember that suppliers will normally not ship foundation in cold weather due to the probability of breakage in shipment.
· If you are planning on attending any state conventions this fall, find out what suppliers plan on attending and arrange to pick up your supplies at the convention and save considerable shipping cost especially on wood ware. You may also pick up special prices there on some items.
· Since we (the MCBA) do not have another official meeting until next year, don’t forget to leave clues such as beekeeping supply catalogs with items marked so your spouse or other obligated gift giver can find them.
Discuss your planned purchases with said gift giver as though you want their input. Make sure you mention that you plan to purchase just after Christmas to allow time to build and paint. This way you plant a gift idea in their mind and assure them they will not duplicate a “surprise” purchase.
4. Make sure you leave adequate stores for your bees to survive the winter. To be safe, try and leave about 100 lbs of honey. In this area(north Alabama). I recommend a deep “brood chamber” and one additional medium full of honey or two deeps.
5. If you leave a queen excluder in an active hive, make sure it is above the food chamber so the queen can reach the food.
· Reasons to leave a QE include spacing above menthol (between the menthol which is on the top bars of the top most box and the inner cover) to allow better air circulation and distribution of the menthol fumes.
6. Do not harvest any medicated honey. If you have a super of medicated honey that you would like to harvest,
· Remove the top super from any other colony that has not been medicated; replace it with the medicated super then harvest the “un-medicated” one. CAUTION: make sure you do not take the queen in either super and that the donor colony does not have any disease particularly American Fowl Brood (AFB).
7. Make sure you reduce the hive entrance during late fall and winter months to prevent the entrance of field mice. Most bottom boards are “reversible” if turned shallow opening up; no entrance reducer is needed. If you turn deep entrance up, you need to use an entrance reducer.
· Entrance reducers should be placed “slot up”. Some winter die of is normal. “Slot up” allows the live bee to climb over the dead bees to exit.
8. Remember, If you sell (or consume) comb honey, it should be stored in a deep freeze for 3 days to kill Lesser Wax Moth eggs before it is sold or consumed.
· Honey stored in a deep-freeze, should not crystallize while frozen.
9. Keep weeds trimmed from entrance as this hinders flight and ventilation.
10. If you have weak failing colonies between now and winter, mix them with a strong colony.
· HOW TO MIX
· Remove the outer and inner cover from the strong colony.
· Place a sheet of newspaper on top where Inner cover was; make sure it covers the entire super. Make sure it has no holes big enough for a bee to pass through.
· Separate the weak hive from its bottom board.
· Set the weak hive on top of the newspaper.
· Slide the inner cover on the top (weak) hive back ¼ inch or so to allow ingress – egress.
· Put a spacer (entrance reducer works well) to prop the outer cover up to allow the bees to go in and out.
· WHY TO MIX
· If they are weak and you re-queen.
· You will be out the cost of a queen
· You will be out the cost of medication
· They may not make it through the winter
· If they don’t, it will likely result in Wax Moth damage
· If they are weak and you combine them
· You greatly enhance the likelihood that they will survive the winter
· You have no additional cost
· Come spring, you can split them, if they are strong enough.
· If they are not strong enough, you may have lost both colonies had you tried to over winter separately.
11. As the honey flow shuts down, be careful about spilled honey and or feeding
Weak hives because the bees will become more aggressive toward robbing.
· For the same reason, be more cautious when entering the hives, as the bees also become more aggressive toward beekeepers. If you have been working your bees with no gloves, proceed with caution as they are much more aggressive after the honey flow has stopped.
· Bees also become more aggressive toward each other so don’t leave a hive open and try not to spread honey around when robbing.
12. If you have White Aster blooming near you don’t be surprised if you observe a slightly unpleasant odor in your apiary from curing honey, it is likely not Foul Brood.
13. Robbing as the result of taking honey off or medicating.
· To help prevent robbing you can:
· Place an entrance reducer ‘big side up’ in the entrance.
· Make sure no other holes exist in the hive.
· Place a menthol bag over the IC vent hole.
· The bees do not like the menthol odor and will not try and enter the vent hole.
14. If you create a Bee robbing problem when you are robbing your bees:
· Immediately insert “or change” an entrance reducer so that the bees have to use the smallest opening to enter the hive.
· Stop up the inner cover vent hole and all other openings (It also works to place a full menthol package over the vent hole).
· Place one of your (charged) Fume Boards over hive entrance. I do this by resting the open end of the fume board on the hive bottom board (fume side toward the hive) and lean the top against the front of the hive and temporarily place a steel “T” post against it to hold it in place.
· Smoke the outside of the hive heavily.
· Do not remove Fume Board until after dark that day or the next day.
· Re-orient entrance reducer with big slot exposed within the next few days, and this time of year (September), leave it until spring.
· Unstop inner cover vent hole a few days later.
15. How do you tell a hive is being robbed?
· The hive being robbed will have thousands of bees frantically trying to get in the entrance and any other opening in the hive. You will be able to hear a lord roar a little like a swarm except a lower pitch. In the early stages, there will be bees fighting at the entrance.
· When you approach the apiary (or your yard if the hives are in your back yard), there will be lots of bees flying in all direction, very fast, and they will sting. Any empty, spare or junk equipment you have around will have bees either going in and out trying to get in.
· WHY IS THIS?
· We are all familiar with the “figure “8” dance” that the bees do to recruit foragers for a nectar source. They only do the “Figure 8” dance if the source is more than 100 or so yards from the hive.
· If the source is less than 100 yards from the hive, they do a “round dance” instead. The “round dance” does not convey exact location therefore the bees leaving the hive start a very thorough search of the immediate area. They get rather excited and will try and enter other hives. If you have weak hives with the normal summer entrance opening, those hives will likely be “robbed out”. “Robbed out” means the bees will enter the hives and take the honey. Since the target hive will try and resist, the invaders normally kill all bees in the hive being invaded.
· The “robbers” are not only aggressive toward other bees they are very likely to sting anyone that is in the immediate area.
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