I had a good feeling on the remaining two hives and wanted to verify before I did my happy dance. From the previous post the third box on both hives was a good idea....
Virginia colony was in the third(top) and second(middle) boxes with capped brood, larva and I didn't want to cool them off too much but they were in a perfect configuration on the frames. They had honey arches then pollen and bee bread with eggs underneath. A picture perfect type of set up in 8 frames in the top box. I took the top box and the bottom box(pretty empty) and switched them. The queen was in the second box and got her covered up again.
I opened up Florida too but they were very defensive and I really didn't want to break the propolis ( tree and leave substance they collect) seals before we get the cold this weekend, so I will get them on Monday or Tuesday next week after work. but both were good with bees
They were bringing in pollen (light yellow (maple) and dark orange (ain't got clue what it comes from). Any way... they are going well. I have our peach trees out front budding and starting to flower....I just need the bees to find them. I didn't help that situation out much by putting the feeders on but maybe the pollen will get their interest.
I thought of splitting Virginia to make one or two nucs, but thought better of that with the cold coming.
The picture at right top is Virginia with bees on 7 frames.
My goal within the next two weeks is to make a split or two....
They already have brood going and while the mites and beetles aren't visible I'd like to put a drip of oxalic acid in both since there were a large quantity on the screen bottom boards from winter.
Funny story if anyone is reading this that I learned......
So I am researching what is known about Oxalic acid and trying to decide whether to vaporize it or drip/dribble it. I am looking at it what is known on both http://www.scientifcbeekeeping.com (Randy Oliver) as I have decided, after looking at the slide outs for the screen bottom boards that I will not subject my bees to that type of trouble. I made an interesting discovery is that oxalic acid(OA) is in our every day foods specifically spinach, broccoli and a few other things although not in the concentrations needed. I reflected on the as there was mention of these things over time causing kidney stones. Well my lovely wife has been susceptible to kidney stones mainly when she is trying to diet, which is when she eats green leafy vegetables and cauliflower and broccoli. To this point both of us thought these stones developed over time from eating red meat. In talking with her doctor the pathology seemed to confirm the red meats with calcium deposits making up the stones. Then researching a bit more I found that some people can't process the OA in the vegetables and the creation of stones can happen quicker. We'll see where this leads but I did tell Teresa of the correlation between the two. so I have two cartons of wood bleach (OA) and will go with the dribble where you make 1:1 sugar syrup and add OA to make it in concentration of 3.5% (v:w) So now I need a small scale and syringe and explain to people I am not selling cocaine or the like.
I have two links about Varroa Destructor and Oxalic Acid. A lot of beekeepers believe that OA is the fix all and in reality like any chemical mites can build up resistance.
- Varroa link good YouTube video of Dennis vanEnglesdorp(UM) Video
- Randy Olivers PowerPoint resentation on Oxalic acid slides
If you care to see some good videos give it a look.
Also if you have stumbled across my blog and have questions... just leave comments and I'll take a look. I may not know the answer, but I'll look it up and share what I find.
This is really my log for the hive. I do use Hive tracks to create and do inspections.
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