so, 2016 was an interesting year (interesting does not
always mean good) for me as a beekeeper. I went into the season with two
viable colonies and ended the season with four. We harvested about
seventy pounds (thirty-two kg) of honey, almost all from one colony.
Throughout the entire season I expressed my concerns and doubts
regarding the varroa destructor situation. My colonies seemed to be
plagued by them, and I wasn't ever able to really keep the numbers
manageable. In the end, that cost me dearly. Since November, three of
four colonies have perished as a result of varroa destructor. My
cash-cow colony also succumbed to those little bastards! The fourth
colony, which is actually the artificial swarm I created in July, seems
to be holding steady (fingers crossed and praying), but they had less
than desirable numbers heading into winter.
Now, it seems, that 2017 will be a rebuilding year. This
happens to everyone who is in the beekeeping game, or at least I have
heard. Honeybees die. Its a harsh fact of nature, but I can't let that
fact get me down. First thing on the plan: get more bees. Luckily, a
cousin of my wife, is also a hobby beekeeper, and his network into the
local beek community is a bit deeper than mine. This past weekend, I
paid him a visit (credit to my wife for suggesting the meeting) and
explained my situation. He was more than understanding and he told me he
knew a couple of people who may be able to unload a couple colonies
come March. In fact, he called an older beek that afternoon and
confirmed what he said. So, looks like I will have some reinforcements.
Second, I need to figure out how I want the season to go in
general. Do I want to concentrate on honey, or on expansion. The
benefit of buying, let's say four, fully functioning colonies, is that
the lil' ladies will be out and about foraging almost immediately. That
would give me possibly a harvest four times that of last year.
Cha-ching! However, having said that, even the best colonies can get
wiped out by varroa destructor (see my lament above). It would behoove
me, to try to expand at the same time. How? Answer: brood nucs right
away.
I've touched on this in the past. Brrod nucs are made, when
you take out two or three frames of open brood, along with a frame of
food, and place them in a different hive body, obviously making sure the
queen is not on any of those frames. The bees that are transferred with
the frames will quickly realize that they are without a queen, and will
raise one of their own from the freshly laid eggs. Thereby effectively
splitting the original colony into two small colonies. In theory, both
will continue to grow in numbers, but the disadvantage is that both will
not collect as much nectar and honey as the original. This isn't too
bad as I plan to try to do this with two colonies. Buying four plus the
one I already have and then splitting two of the four bought ones would
give me seven colonies.
Third, is there anything I can do to fight off the varroa
besides using formic acid? Yes and no. No, in that there are
alternatives to formic acid vapor. Yes, in that, as of
2016 , it is now allowed to use Mite Away Quick Strips, a.k.a MAQS. This
is a huge development. In previous years, formic acid vapor could only
be used AFTER the harvest. The vapor permeates all cells, so if used
when the honey chamber is still on, all the honey gets contaminated with
formic acid. So it basically was a crap shoot to figure out when to
harvest and when to treat. Also, formic acid vapor is dependent on
weather (ambient temperature and humidity) whereas MAQS is usable
regardless of weather. I am going to try this out as well as use drone
frame trapping.
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