I’ve been listening with my ear against the hives in this extremely cold weather, and hive #2 has gone quiet. Rapping the side sharply with my knuckles was met with dead silence. So far that’s the only one that has gone quiet, and the remaining 10 have that comforting low winter hum. I always hate to lose a colony, especially so early in the winter. We, and they, have a long way to go. I won’t do an autopsy until the temperature is warmer, but this colony was one of two that had a very heavy Varroa drop when I treated them with oxalic acid vapor at Thanksgiving. I had been planning to do a follow-up treatment on those two hives about now (4-6 weeks after the last treatment), but the extremely cold temperature means clusters are too tight for a treatment to be effective. The second colony will have to wait. Speaking of Varroa……again…….those of you that subscribe to Bee Culture magazine probably read the interview with Samuel Ramsey (soon to have his PhD). Turns out he discovered that a long-held belief among researchers and beekeepers is false. The belief was that Varroa feasted on hemolymph (bee blood), but it turns out they feed on the fat bodies (stored proteins) which are equivalent in function to a human’s liver. If something was perforating your liver would you do something about it? We will discuss Varroa control methods as we get closer to spring when we can actually do something about it. Nosema cerenae is my current obsession. Partly because several of the issues I experienced in 2017 are signs of the disease; and partly because of its mysteriousness. We can’t tell if our bees have it by looking at them. Nosema apis has its telltale brown streaks, but Nosema cerenae does not. Bees that are carrying a heavy load of Nosema cerenae spores won’t take syrup (check), the colony will build up slowly (check), the colony may dwindle and die out (check), or the colony may abscond (check). All things I experienced in 2017. But since there are other pests and diseases that can cause those responses we can’t be sure it’s Nosema cerenae unless we analyze bee guts with a 400x power compound microscope. Last year I subscribed to An Beachaire, the Irish Beekeepers magazine. I saw a lot about microscopy classes, and beekeeping suppliers were offering microscopes, pipettes, etc., for sale. I thought that was over-the-top, citizen scientist beekeeping, but maybe not. I contacted the president of the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association to ask if he was aware of any classes being offered in microscopy for honey bees and he suggested that I contact the University of Minnesota. (He did feel it would be a good topic for a county beekeeping meeting.) The UMN Bee Lab has a Free-Bee page and I found a poster there with instructions on how to go about looking for Nosema spores. The cost for the equipment is beyond my means at the moment, but I have a friend that worked as a lab technician. Turns out he has “a very nice” microscope and is willing to work with me on this project. Sample size should be at least 50 bee abdomens with 100 being better. Turns out hive #2 gave me that. The silver lining. On another note, it is once again time to register your hives on Driftwatch for 2018, if you would like pesticide applicators to know where your hives are located. This is a free service sponsored by Purdue University and covers 14 states and one Canadian Province. Wisconsin is in that group. Registration can be done at anytime during the year. Here’s the link: Driftwatch https://wi.driftwatch.org/ I reupped today. I know from a local aerial applicator, Damon Raebe, that he uses Driftwatch to determine where hives are located in relation to his drift pattern, and takes precautions to not harm honey bees. Damon has promised us a talk on aerial application, but I have not gotten a response for a firm date yet. Besides getting Driftwatch registrations updated, it is also time for New Year Resolutions. I heard on the radio that 67% of adult Americans make resolutions, and of those that 19% fulfill them. Personally, I think that number’s high (the 19%). But looking back at my beekeeping weak spots in 2017, I can readily make a short list. Resolution #1: Do a monthly sugar shake Varroa check on all colonies. Yes, I made that resolution last year. No, I’m not part of the 19%. Needs to be done. Resolution #2: Change out all brood comb that’s more than 3 years old. Ditto for Resolution #1. Resolution #3: Take better notes. My 2017 notes have a lot of holes in them, and I got lazy entering my field notes into my main notebook. I do need to buckle down on this. The field note scraps keep falling out. I see three good meeting topics listed above and we will address them in the near future. Resolution #1 is pretty straight forward; Resolution #2 has several possible techniques to go about it; Resolution #3 is subjective. What makes for “good notes”? What should we be recording? What’s the value? Very good topic for discussion. The extractor is ready to be relocated to the Rushford Meadery and Winery and I’m waiting for potential dates to make the move. Hopefully it will be accomplished in January and perhaps we can arrange a field trip for the membership to check it out at its new home. I’m pretty sure Shane would welcome a visit from us. We talked about using a leaf blower to remove bees from frames before taking them into the Meadery/Winery for extracting, and Jeff Keller has a leaf blower that he’s willing to donate to the ECWBA. Thanks Jeff! It’s time for me to get on into my day. I’m rendering cappings and getting ready to pour beeswax candles. I really love the scent of beeswax candles, and I read recently that burning them actually cleans the air. Something about positive and negative electrons that other candles don’t have. And they’re smokeless and dripless. Not only do the bees amaze me, their products do as well. Next meeting is Saturday, January 20, 9:30 a.m. at the Caestecker Library. Bring your knowledge, questions, and anything else bee and beekeeping related. Stay warm, and have a safe New Year’s holiday. Gerard
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ECWBA NewsletterSince 2009 Archives
March 2019
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