BEE COLONY STEWARDSHIP Dewey M. Caron

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1 Now you have bees what do we do with them? Look at Fall/Winter Bees Rain shelters Reduced entrances Hive stands BEE COLONY STEWARDSHIP Dewey M. Caron

2 FALL. Insure strong, active colonies of youngaged honey bees with adequate food reserves located above the cluster Beginning of NEW BEE YEAR

3 Earlier ONLY Manage Supers

4 Fall = New Year Aug 1st

5 NOW!!! Prior to Fall. Fall = New Year Aug 1st Finish honey harvest Complete requeening management Monitor for Varroa mites (decide which control choice) Split/bolster/equalize Protect brood combs from wax moth

6 Alternatives to Aug 1 harvest Move honey to one or few colonies Move honey to freezer return to colonies later Spread honey to colonies needing more stores Photo Sarah Red Laird

7 NOW!!! Prior to Fall. or Fall = New Year Aug 1st Finish honey harvest Complete requeening management Monitor for Varroa mites treat (decide which control) Split/bolster/equalize Protect brood combs from wax moth

8 Requeening - options As part of brood break (mite control) Introduce New stock Develop selected stock Out of necessity Requeen if hive is queenless!! Requeen if brood pattern is spotty. Requeen if queen is old. Photo Morris Ostrovsky Photo Jen Larsen

9 NOW!!! Prior to Fall. or Fall = New Year Aug 1st Finish honey harvest Complete requeening management Monitor [TREAT] for Varroa mites (decide which control choice) Split/bolster/equalize Protect brood combs from wax moth

10 Treatment Control Options Treatment Options Treat IPM Don t Treat Hard Chemical Apivar Soft Chemical or Organic Cultural or Mechanical + Oxalic + hopguard + sanitation site Ventilation Drone trap Brood interupt

11 42% 9-yr Avg 37% 23% 9-yr Avg = 29%

12 8 Years of Comparison yr avg 29% 8 yr avg 22% 7-yr avg 34% National PNW Comm-Semi-comm Backyarder % % 16%

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14 Sampling colony adults See Current ABJ sugar shake Alcohol wash (window washer fluid) Keep below 2-5% -- 5mites/100 bees

15 Mite monitoring 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 37% 21% 20% 17% 5% Mite Drop (100) Drone brood visual (55) Adult bees visual (54) Sugar shake (45) Alcohol shake (14)

16 Mite monitoring comparisons to winter loss % loss 35% 30% 31% 27% 29% 31% 25% 22.50% 22% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% no monitoring sticky board powder sugar alcohol wash Visual drones visual adults

17 Comparison of colony losses - Screen Bottom Board (SBB) zero & 100% use w/ total losses 29% 28% 27% 26% 25% 24% 23% 22% 21% SBB use 27% 27% 25% 0% use 100% use Total base No Difference

18 Loss comparison with Nonchemical mite treatment USE % Winter loss % 31% 29% 32% 22% 23% 15% 14% 22% 18% 19% 22% 8% 6% 4%

19 60% Loss comparison used treatment chemical vs no chemical treatment used % loss 50% 46% 40% 30% 20% 10% 20% 27% 0% used something total loss base nothing used 122 indiv 250 indiv 80 indiv 80/11 #no loss/#total loss 30/28

20 60% 50% % loss 43% 46% 40% 30% 20% 27% 20% 27.50% 33% 19% 21% 19% 10% 0% total loss used something Oxalic acid Hopguard II MAQS Apiguard Amitraz Powdered sugar Nothing used

21 NOW!!! Prior to Fall. or Fall = New Year Aug 1st Finish honey harvest Complete requeening management Monitor for Varroa mites treat (decide which control choice) Split/bolster/equalize Protect brood combs from wax moth

22 Fall activity w/ weak colonies take colony losses in fall Split Bolster = bees &/or stores Equalize equalize Combine Weak Hives Feeding After medication is off, check for presence of queen and hive strength. Don t combine weak with strong IF weak hive is diseased nor 2 weak together Combine using newspaper method

23 Fall FEED HEAVY SYRUP OR HONEY Feeding to insure adequate food reserves or move queen/colony cluster position downward Note: One of many ways to feed sugar syrup

24 Comparison no feeding with feeding sugar (5 variations) and pollen (2 variations) % loss 40% 35% 30% 33% 27.40% 29% 27% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% no feeding feeding pollen feeding sugar total state # responses individuals

25 Comparison feeding of carbohydrates 40% 35% feeding carbohydrate 33% 35% 30% 29% 28.50% 29% 25% 24% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% sugar syrup corn syrup drivert sugar Fondant frame honey no feeding # responses individuals

26 Sanitation measures % loss 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 22% 19% 26% 27% 27% 29% 33% 41% 48% 10% 0% nothing brood interuption requeen screen BB Apiary Ste Sel Dr brood Rev Alt Hive Small Cell/Nat comb # responses Ap col Config

27 Loss comparison winter treatments USE % Winter loss % 31% 29% 32% 22% 23% 15% 14% 22% 18% 19% 22% 8% 6% 4%

28 NOW!!! Prior to Fall. or Fall = New Year Aug 1st Finish honey harvest Complete requeening management Monitor for Varroa mites treat (decide which control choice) Split/bolster/equalize Protect brood combs from wax moth & other pests

29 Protecting from other pests Wax Moth Ants Mice Yellow jackets robbers

30 Other issues. Defensive bees Lack of understanding of bee seasons especially this ONE! TOO SMALL a colony TOO BIG a colony Queenlessness Sudden nectar halt Or NO nectar Robbing F

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32 Fall OPTIMUM COLONY CONFIGURATION Brood position In early Fall We Learn to read stories about patterns

33 Why colonies die overwinter! Run out of food reserves starve Too few bees to provide protection freeze Lack of ability to void wastes Bee PMS or cumulative effects of mites and/or diseases Sometimes they just die! Or Just disappear!

34 USE % Winter loss % 31% 29% 32% 22% 23% 15% 14% 22% 18% 19% 22% 8% 6% 4%

35 Spring will they survive?