We've had some warm temps lately, allowing our bees the opportunity for cleansing flights. Usually we have snow on the ground at this time of year and the cleansing flights are evidenced by yellow/brown spots in the snow. This year there's no snow, but two of my hives are pretty well marked by brown streaks caused by Nosema apis. That's a concern, but there's nothing I can do about it at this point. One member, also experiencing Nosema apis in some of his hives, is going to try mixing Fumagilin-B with sugar patties to see if that helps. I treated all of my colonies with Fumagilin-B in their first feeding last fall, but apparently it didn't help those two colonies. If the Nosema load becomes too great in a bee, the bee may die. But even with less of a spore load the bee is weakened and its lifespan is decreased because it cannot absorb sufficient nutrients to stay healthy. The spores are spread throughout the colony through feces (when the bees can't get out for cleansing flights), and gets into the food supply. Other bees ingest the spores, and it's fed to the larvae through royal jelly. Eventually the whole colony can become sick and die. I'm hoping the essential oils in the sugar discs will help. Fumagilin-B is the only medication available for combating Nosema apis, which is a fungal disease that is brought into the hive on pollen. Fumagilin-B does not kill the spores, but it inhibits spore reproduction, thereby limiting the growth and spread of the disease. However; the University of Minnesota Bee Lab advises not to use it because it can exacerbate the disease. The UMN Bee Lab advises no treatment, just let it run its course. While running its course some of the bees, including the queen, may die. So it's a choice whether to treat or not. Our bees also carry Nosema cerenae spores. which is becoming more widespread than Nosema apis, and it was brought to our bees by the same folks that brought them Varroa Destructor, the Eastern (Asian) honey bee. And, like with the mite, our Western (European) honey bees have no adaptive defense or immunity.....yet. It is now thought by researchers that many of the instances of Colony Collapse Disorder and 'dwindling away' are due to Nosema cerenae. But because there's no streaks or other visible signs that the bees are carrying Nosema cerenae spores, we can only know by squashing bees and looking at their guts through a 400x microscope. I hope that was a decent lead-in to reminding everyone that member Monty Belmer will be bringing a compound, binocular microscope to our February 17 meeting so that we can see what microscopy is about. If I have the opportunity, or if any other member has the opportunity, to collect 20 or 30 live bees a day or two ahead of time and freeze them, Monty will lead us through slide preparation and hopefully we can identify the Nosema spores. From what I've learned so far, the apis and the cerenae spores are pretty much identical, but just to see them is a start. I'm very much looking forward to this. After scratching my head last spring over why my (5) packages wouldn't touch the 1:1 syrup, and why one of my colonies would rather dwindle away than take syrup, I learned that these are things bees do if they have Nosema cerenae. Now I want to know if they do for real. I have my eye on a 'Beekeeper's microscope' and I have a 500ml bottle of Hive Alive on its way from Brushy Mountain. (I had mentioned my suspicions to Dermot O'Flaherty (my Irish Beekeepers magazine contact), and he said to drench them with Hive Alive. Further research on my part found that this is used in syrup in Europe like we use Honey Bee Healthy, and their research showed that bees fed Hive Alive went from dwindling to thriving. Irish seaweed, who'd have guessed?) By the way, it's my understanding that Fumagilin-B does nothing to control Nosema cerenae, and it doesn't go into remission in the summer like Nosema apis does. Another thing going on in our hives now is that the queens are laying eggs to replace the bees that have been dying off over winter. They won't be laying in great numbers, but they will be laying. I've been checking and replenishing the sugar discs and pollen (substitute) patties as needed every two weeks. There's a vast difference between the colonies in that some are on their third and fourth discs, and some haven't even come up to the top yet. The ones still in the deeps are Carniolans (my personal favorites). Carniolans typically maintain smaller winter clusters and therefore use fewer resources than some of the other breeds. Russians are like that too. But some of those consuming the discs are also Carniolans so I can't assume that any of them have enough food. I have to maintain vigilance. The January 20 meeting went pretty long and we got a lot done, more started, and Daniel Ziehli, Wisconsin Apiary Inspector, gave us a lot of information on hive pests and diseases, and what we can do about them. I am attaching Patti's Meeting Minutes, but will make some comments here:
One last thing. I contacted John at Henry's Honey Farm the other day to get my name on a list for bees. He told me that it appears the bees aren't doing well in California, and neither are the queens. One supplier told him he couldn't guarantee any quantities, and another supplier didn't answer his phone or return his calls. Just a heads up that if you're hoping to purchase bees this year, you might want to get your name on a list now. Best to all, Gerard
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
ECWBA NewsletterSince 2009 Archives
March 2019
|