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2017, time to rebuild

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.

2017 needs to be a better year. If I am aggressive enough in battling varroa while expanding my apiary, I don't think I will need to write another blog entry like this one, for hopefully a long time.

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