If you haven’t yet treated your colonies to reduce Varroa levels before the winter arrives it may well be too late†. High Varroa levels are known to result in the transmission of virulent strains of deformed wing virus (DWV). These replicate to very high levels and reduce the lifespan of bees. If this happens to the ‘winter bees’ raised […]
The post Those pesky mites appeared first on The Apiarist.
I’m very pleased to be speaking on the 24th of November (this Thursday) to members of the Helensburgh and District BKA. The talk will be at the rather splendid looking Rhu Parish Church at 7.15pm. The title of the talk is “Bees, viruses and Varroa: the biology and control of deformed wing virus (DWV)”. I’ll discuss aspects […]
The post Helensburgh & District BKA talk appeared first on The Apiarist.
There has been a prolonged spell of cold weather in Eastern Scotland. Temperatures have rarely risen above 5°C, with hard frosts overnight. However, a warm front moved in on Tuesday night and the last few days have been significantly warmer†. The lack of activity at the hive entrances and a quick peek under the insulation through the perspex crownboards (where […]
The post Get dribbling appeared first on The Apiarist.
The end of another year and another season’s beekeeping. Now is a good time to review what went well and what went badly. In terms of my beekeeping year in Scotland, the end of December isn’t even half way through the winter. Although I didn’t open many hives after mid-September (three and a half months ago), unless […]
The post 2016 in retrospect appeared first on The Apiarist.
This is a long post. If you can’t be bothered to read it in its entirety the conclusion is … It’s the viruses wot done it … probably. But the take home message is that you can learn from colonies lost in midwinter. Introduction I always have mixed feelings about midwinter hive losses, or deadouts as […]
The post CSI: Forensics in Fife appeared first on The Apiarist.
In an earlier article I discussed what Apistan is – a pyrethroid miticide – and the consequences of using it. These include decimation of the mite population if it is susceptible, coupled with the accumulation of long lasting residues in wax. These residues may adversely effect queen and drone development. I also discussed ways to avoid build-up of […]
The post Apistan resistance appeared first on The Apiarist.
The 6-8 week period between late June and harvesting the summer honey is a quiet period in the beekeeping calendar. At least, it is in mine. My colonies aren’t going to the heather, so there’s nothing to prepare for that. Swarm control is complete and many colonies are now headed by new queens, so the […]
The post Peaceful easy feeling appeared first on The Apiarist.
Why bother treating colonies in midwinter to reduce Varroa infestation? After all, you probably treated them with Apiguard or Apivar (or possibly even Apistan) in late summer or early autumn. Is there any need to treat again in midwinter? Yes. To cut a long story short, there are basically two reasons why a midwinter mite […]
The post Kick ’em when they’re down appeared first on The Apiarist.
It’s no secret that I have both amateur and professional interests in bees, bee health and beekeeping. During the weekend I sweat profusely in my beesuit, rushing between my apiaries in Central and Eastern Fife, checking my colonies – about 15 at the autumn census this year – averting swarms, setting up bait hives, queen […]
The post The day job appeared first on The Apiarist.
There’s a high level of ‘churn’ amongst new beekeepers. Beekeeping is relatively easy and inexpensive to start. The principles of beekeeping appear straightforward. But large numbers of beginners give up after a season or two. Here I argue that the colonies and hives some of these beginners abandon pose a threat to other beekeepers, sometimes […]
The post Principles and practice appeared first on The Apiarist.
