A further Look at Fall/Winter Bee Year Rain shelters
Reduced entrances
BEE COLONY STEWARDSHIP Dewey M. Caron
FALL …. Insure strong, active colonies of youngaged honey bees with adequate food reserves located above the cluster Beginning of NEW BEE YEAR
Earlier – ONLY Manage Supers
NOW!!! …… Prior to Fall …. or Fall = New Year Aug 1st • Finish honey harvest • Complete requeening management • Monitor for varroa mites – (decide which control choice) • Split/bolster/equalize • Protect brood combs from wax moth
Alternatives to Aug 1 harvest • Move honey to one or few colonies • Move honey to freezer – return to colonies later • Spread honey to colonies needing more stores
Photo Sarah Red Laird
NOW!!! …… Prior to Fall …. or Fall = New Year Aug 1st • Finish honey harvest • Complete requeening management • Monitor for varroa mites – treat (decide which control) • Split/bolster/equalize • Protect brood combs from wax moth
Requeening - options • • • •
As part of brood break (mite control) Introduce New stock Develop selected stock Out of necesity Requeen if hive is queenless!! Requeen if brood pattern is spotty. Requeen if queen is old.
Photo Morris Ostrovsky
Photo Jen Larsen
NOW!!! …… Prior to Fall …. or Fall = New Year Aug 1st • Finish honey harvest • Complete requeening management • Monitor [TREAT] for varroa mites (decide which control choice) • Split/bolster/equalize • Protect brood combs from wax moth
Treatment Control Options Treatment Options Treat
IPMDon’t Treat
Hard Chemical
Cultural or Soft Chemical Mechanical or Organic
Apivar
+ Oxalic + hopguard
+ sanitation site Ventilation Drone trap Brood interupt
Percent winter loss by hive origination, Southern Oregon and Statewide 2015 70%
60%
60%
50%
50%
47%
46% 42%
39%
40%
40%
38%
34% 30%
30%
29% 25%
20%
23%
17%
10%
0% 0% overwintered
Package
STATEWIDE
Nuc KBBA
SOBA
swarm
split
Source www.pnwhoneybeesurvey.com
Percent loss comparison Southern OR with statewide backyarder losses, 2015 35%
Sampling colony adults sugar shake See Current ABJ
Alcohol wash (window washer fluid)
Keep below 2-5% -- 5mites/100 bees
Mite monitoring 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5%
37%
21%
20%
17%
5%
Mite Drop (100)
Drone brood visual (55)
Adult bees visual (54)
Sugar shake (45)
Alcohol shake (14)
0%
Mite monitoring comparisons to winter loss % loss 35%
31%
30%
27%
25%
22.50%
22%
sticky board
powder sugar
29%
31%
20% 15% 10% 5% 0% no monitoring
alcohol wash
Visual drones
visual adults
Comparison of colony losses Screen Bottom Board (SBB) zero & 100% use w/ total losses SBB use 29% 28% 27%
27%
26%
27% 25%
25% 24% 23%
22% 21% 0% use
100% use
No Difference
Total base
Non chemical controls Loss % 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% none
Alt Hive brood cycle break
drone brood rem
SBB
Col siting
col requeen config
Loss comparison used treatment chemical vs no chemical treatment used % loss 60% 50%
46%
40% 27%
30% 20%
20%
10% 0% used something
122 indiv 80/11
total loss base
250 indiv #no loss/#total loss
nothing used
80 indiv 30/28
60%
% loss
50%
43%
40% 30%
46%
33% 27.50%
27% 20%
20%
19%
21%
19%
10% 0% total loss
used something
Oxalic acid Hopguard II
MAQS
Apiguard
Amitraz
Powdered sugar
Nothing used
NOW!!! …… Prior to Fall …. or Fall = New Year Aug 1st • Finish honey harvest • Complete requeening management • Monitor for varroa mites – treat (decide which control choice) • Split/bolster/equalize • Protect brood combs from wax moth
Fall activity w/ weak colonies ‘take colony losses in fall’ • • • •
Split Bolster = bees &/or stores Equalize equalize Combine Weak Hives After medication is off, check for presence of queen and hive strength. Don’t combine weak with strong IF weak hive is diseased nor 2 weak together Combine using newspaper method
• Feeding
Fall
FEED HEAVY SYRUP OR HONEY
• Feeding to insure adequate food reserves or move queen/colony cluster position downward
Note: One of many ways to feed sugar syrup
Comparison no feeding with feeding sugar (5 variations) and –pollen (2 variations) % loss 40% 35%
33%
30%
27.40%
29%
27%
25% 20%
15% 10% 5% 0% no feeding
# responses
39
feeding pollen
120
feeding sugar
344
total state
250 individuals
Comparison feeding of carbohydrates feeding carbohydrate
40%
33%
35% 30%
29%
28.50%
35%
29% 24%
25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% sugar syrup
# responses
167
corn syrup
6
drivert sugar
44
Fondant
66
frame honey
61
no feeding
39 individuals
Sanitation measures % loss 60% 48%
50% 41% 40% 30%
22%
20%
26%
27%
27%
29%
requeen
screen BB
Apiary Ste Sel
Dr brood Rev
33%
19%
10% 0%
nothing
# responses 49
brood interuption
12
20
165
36
26
Alt Hive
62
Small Cell/Nat comb
28
Ap col Config
29
Loss comparison winter treatments USE %
Winter loss %
32%
31% 29%
22%
23%
22%
22% 19%
18% 15%
14% 8% 6%
4%
NOW!!! …… Prior to Fall …. or Fall = New Year Aug 1st • Finish honey harvest • Complete requeening management • Monitor for varroa mites – treat (decide which control choice) • Split/bolster/equalize • Protect brood combs from wax moth & other pests
Protecting from “other’ pests • Wax Moth • Ants • Mice • Yellow jackets • robbers
Other “issues” ….
F
• Defensive bees • Lack of understanding of bee seasons – especially this ONE! • TOO SMALL a colony • TOO BIG a colony • Queenlessness • Sudden nectar halt – Or NO nectar • Robbing
Fall OPTIMUM COLONY CONFIGURATION
Brood position In early Fall We Learn to read stories about patterns
Why colonies die overwinter! Run out of food reserves – starve • Too few bees to provide protection – freeze • Lack of ability to void wastes • Bee PMS or cumulative effects of mites and/or diseases • Sometimes they just die! •
