jamesc 4,285 Posted May 29 Yesterday we were doing the rounds wintering bees. Many people say that this is one of the most important times of the year ..... checking the hives have enough tucker, low mite numbers and are out of harms way to make it through the next few months to ensure they open up in mid August as a workable unit. Most of the hives are on the Honey Dew and wintering is relatively simple. They are all run as singles with mostly two honey boxes, so Main Man cracks the hives and plonks the boxes down on the upturned lid. The BeeBoss then follows up behind pulling the strips and flicking out three frames to check for sunken brood, scale, oddities and groceries. If the queen is seen, we put her to one side and then shake bees onto a lid and do a methylated spirit wash for mites. We then put the heaviest honey box back on as a second brood and stick the other one above the feeder , to be picked up at a later date. Some of the really light hives get a slurp of syrup ..... but I always bear in mind that the season is getting a bit late for syrup feeding here .... if it's too cold the bees won't come up. Done deal. It's steady work that needs a good veil and plenty of smoke on the cooler days. The interesting part is to note the difference in hive strength between sites. The warm and sheltered sites snuggled down in the pines are boxes of bees and honey. The sites with the nice views are generally behind the eight ball and will need a shift before the spring. The other thing in the back of my mind is that although the mite levels are low to non existent, the hives are strong , and with a mild winter .... what will our strategy and treatment of choice be in the spring ? 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yesbut 6,085 Posted May 29 59 minutes ago, jamesc said: what will our strategy and treatment of choice be in the spring ? A lie in followed by several coffees. At some point you're going to run out of shed space. 1 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
john berry 5,131 Posted May 29 All my wintering down was finished a month ago. Other than stock or weather related damage I won't go near them till mid August. A friend of mine had a call from an AP2 wanting to inspect his hives the other day and his answer was the same as mine would have been. Forget it and come back in spring. Messing round with hives at this time of year is harmful. What to treat with in spring is my biggest worry at the moment with synthetic pyrethroids having failed in this area several years ago and Maverick showing strong signs of doing the same. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 4,285 Posted May 29 Uh huh. Generally we ate done wintering by early May. This year we downed tools an took an early winter holiday Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tommy dave 1,130 Posted May 30 4 hours ago, john berry said: A friend of mine had a call from an AP2 wanting to inspect his hives the other day wonder why this is happening in the middle of winter? any idea of the reason for the proposed inspection? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gino de Graaf 901 Posted May 30 1 hour ago, tommy dave said: wonder why this is happening in the middle of winter? any idea of the reason for the proposed inspection? Same, an inspection wanted of a site no longer registered. In Tauranga. So warm enough I plan to do a June round. An oxalic dribble, quick look. No probs for hives on a good day. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yesbut 6,085 Posted May 30 9 hours ago, john berry said: What to treat with in spring is my biggest worry at the moment with synthetic pyrethroids having failed in this area several years ago and Maverick showing strong signs of doing the same. One presumes you're not talking about Mavrick as a varroacide 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 4,285 Posted May 30 Hmm .... I wonder , did the treatments fail, or was it operator error ..... ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CraBee 1,739 Posted May 30 1 hour ago, yesbut said: One presumes you're not talking about Mavrick as a varroacide I'm guessing he meant Apivar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
john berry 5,131 Posted May 30 Maverick is the Common name for the chemical used in apivar . I probably shouldn't have used it but I'm a bit dyslexic and my voice recognition software can spell Maverick but not (AP the). I really need to get over being embarrassed by my poor spelling ability. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frazzledfozzle 7,301 Posted May 30 18 minutes ago, john berry said: I really need to get over being embarrassed by my poor spelling ability. yes you do ! I for one don’t give a fig about someone’s spelling and I find it rather hurtful and rude when people are pulled up on it. Some people can spell some can’t ....does it even matter ? I don’t think It matters at all. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yesbut 6,085 Posted May 30 53 minutes ago, frazzledfozzle said: yes you do ! I for one don’t give a fig about someone’s spelling and I find it rather hurtful and rude when people are pulled up on it. Some people can spell some can’t ....does it even matter ? I don’t think It matters at all. How about missing capitals ? 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frazzledfozzle 7,301 Posted May 30 12 minutes ago, yesbut said: How about missing capitals ? haha yes ! i miss the capitals because I’m lazy and my iPad doesn’t automatically go to a capital on a new line. My comment regarding being rude or hurtful wasn’t actually aimed at anyone in particular even though I know how much grammar and spelling mistakes get under your fur ! My dad lost his hair younger than all his friends and I know how hurtful it was for him to have his hair loss made fun of and commented on all his life. Even in this day and age men get a hard time, usually from other men, about being bald. I have no idea why as it’s a normal natural process that happens to most men. when I see a comment from someone who is a good man and fantastic beekeeper but is embarrassed about his spelling it makes me feel sad I love @Kiwifruiter and his “woundering” whenever i see it spelt like this he pops into my mind instantly.... it’s a @Kiwifruiter trademark spelling mistake and I love it 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kiwifruiter 605 Posted May 30 5 minutes ago, frazzledfozzle said: I love @Kiwifruiter and his “woundering” whenever i see it spelt like this he pops into my mind instantly.... it’s a @Kiwifruiter trademark spelling mistake and I love it What you should be woundering iis if its deliberate.... Now in this world of Google swipe and auto spell check 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frazzledfozzle 7,301 Posted May 30 (edited) 1 hour ago, Kiwifruiter said: What you should be woundering iis if its deliberate.... Now in this world of Google swipe and auto spell check TBH I never gave it a thought that it might be deliberate ! kinda takes the fun out of it never heard of google swipe and don’t know how to do spell check either so I will just keep wondering about you and your wounderings ! Edited May 30 by frazzledfozzle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisM 1,103 Posted May 30 10 hours ago, Gino de Graaf said: Same, an inspection wanted of a site no longer registered. In Tauranga. So warm enough I plan to do a June round. An oxalic dribble, quick look. No probs for hives on a good day. Same here, request for exotic disease inspection so called random and I guess loosely related to port proximity. I’m still in the aussie sentinel hive camp. By the time it gets to me that’s too late. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kiwifruiter 605 Posted May 31 13 hours ago, frazzledfozzle said: TBH I never gave it a thought that it might be deliberate ! kinda takes the fun out of it never heard of google swipe and don’t know how to do spell check either so I will just keep wondering about you and your wounderings ! LOL these days it is Back in the day it wasn't! Some android phones (non Samsung) have a function that you can draw the word on the keyboard as opposed to pressing each letter, Much much faster (the phone can normally figure out what the word is and fill in a missed letter etc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maru Hoani 479 Posted May 31 On 30/05/2020 at 12:50 PM, tommy dave said: wonder why this is happening in the middle of winter? any idea of the reason for the proposed inspection? Should see one of my sites they wanted to inspect in mid winter a few years back, had to take the quad way out the back of a farm with no metal???, lucky I had a 500cc quad with executioners on I told him first, can we do a close site but no, that's the one he wanted to inspect. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yesbut 6,085 Posted May 31 31 minutes ago, Maru Hoani said: 500cc quad with executioners on ?????????????????????? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trevor Gillbanks 6,667 Posted May 31 2 hours ago, Kiwifruiter said: LOL these days it is Back in the day it wasn't! Some android phones (non Samsung) have a function that you can draw the word on the keyboard as opposed to pressing each letter, Much much faster (the phone can normally figure out what the word is and fill in a missed letter etc Samsung phones have this feature now and have had it for a long time. Fantastic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maru Hoani 479 Posted May 31 4 hours ago, yesbut said: ?????????????????????? Cc is the size e.g. Forman 500 and kinda executioners are like tractor tires on a quad bike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 4,285 Posted May 31 7 minutes ago, Maru Hoani said: Cc is the size e.g. Forman 500 and kinda executioners are like tractor tires on a quad bike Oahh ... yep .... we gotcha now .... I got some of those executioners for my 4x4 truck .... awesome in a ten tonne sllde ! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maggie James 690 Posted May 31 Bagged up all the poly frames yesterday into airtight plastic bags, then stuck them in the freezer for 48 hrs 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 4,285 Posted May 31 So that's how you do it , is that for wax moth ? ..... Found another dead rat in the yard this morning . Poison must be working ..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maggie James 690 Posted May 31 11 hours ago, jamesc said: So that's how you do it , is that for wax moth ? ..... Found another dead rat in the yard this morning . Poison must be working ..... Yes, for wax moth eggs. If you don't use the frames until later on in the season, still good to use. I have had a monster water rat in a compost heap. I think it might be a sick unit now - each a.m. last 5 days - a talon tablet Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
