Not here to speculate. Just here to provide. Because sooner or later Tropilaelaps (Tropi) mites will be here regardless because āthey aināt like [Varroa]!
š¤Hereās what we know.
They are tiny and move very fast. About 1/4 the size of Varroa, and shaped like a tiny tic-tac. Light brown or white in color. Need a magnifying glass or microscope to see.
Their reproduction is much faster than Varroa mites! 1 week vs. 13 days.
They out produce Varroa mites in a colony 4:1! One foundress mite into capped cell, average of 4 fertile females come out.
They are unable to feed on adult bees as their mouth parts cannot puncture the exoskeleton. Therefore, they have to feed on the hymolymph (bee blood) of larva. Varroa feed on the fat bodies (and possible hemolymph later in the adult phase).
The dispersal phase of Tropi is incredibly short at 1-2 days. As they spread the vast majority of their time in the brood cells, they are dependent on a colony having brood to survive.
They can crash a colony in as little as a month if left unchecked due to vectoring diseases such as Deformed Wing Virus (DVW).
šŖHereās how we can manage them:
Brook breaks of 9 days by caging the queen will make there be a period in the hive where the colony is without brood for 2 days. Killing the mite.
Colder climates will probably fair better due to several dearths and periods of winter broodlessness.
Varroacides also combat Tropi.
š¬ Monitoring:
Alcohol washes or powder sugar shakes much like testing for Varroa. However, needs to be dumped out over a white pan to create contrast to see.
Sticky boards with Vaseline. Must keep bottom count board clean and have magnifying glass to see.
Frame bump requires to shake all nurse bees from the frame with capped brood and 4-7 days old larva into the hive with a bee brush. Then uncapping all capped brood, you bump the frame 3 times onto a white pan, and repeat for the other side. Tropi will fall onto pan.
š§Ŗ Thresholds for
Just a little backyard hack job for the upcoming swarm season.
Donāt you dare.
Those bees are warm and snug. They have propolis sealed all the cracks and crevices to optimize airflow and heat retention and distribution. Their thermodynamics are locked in.
Do not subject your bees and your recently fired up and laying queen (at least here in Colorado) to unneeded stress. It takes roughly a 12 hours for a colony to return to homeostasis after an inspection, and about 4 hours to restore the internal temperature of that cluster.
If you knocked down the mites, ensured they have adequate food stores, and they are dryā¦their be fine.
Donāt make me take out your knee caps.
FRESH HONEY ALERT!
Weāre fully stocked up on super fresh honey!
Aaaaaaaand we are headed out of townā¦so, if you want your golden goodness place your order by July 4 so we can get it out to you before we leave! Otherwise youāll be stuck waiting until July 24!
Order at www.homesteadinthehood.com
Disclaimer: I know that some of you work angry hives and this is ānothing compared to what my bees do.ā
But. We have hives in peopleās back yards. Surrounded by neighbors and this behavior, even if only directed at me (so far) is not acceptable. We have neighbors to keep happy and kids and pets to keep safe. Not to mention a reputation in the community. Beekeepers can get a bad rep sometimes. We try to fight against that by having nice, happy hives that are well-maintained.
After working them last time with the same pissyness, this is strike two for this queen.
I am giving them the benefit of the doubt. I changed clothes, washed my suit, used different gloves and came in at a different time than last time. All the things to take out as many variables to their grumpiness as possible.
Did a mite check on them as well, wondering if that was the culprit. Zero mites. Brood diseases not present. This is just a bumping hive with lots of defensive girls.
The nectar flow is on heavy. Hoping that will chill them out and make them fat and happy.
Stay tuned and hope that they donāt hit strike three.
Quiet. Sun. Breathe. Birds. Wind.
A joyful morning with the bees.
It may look silly and rehearsed, because it is. All these little things we do have a pretty profound reason. Take a peekā¦
šTaking the outer frame out:
This is all about space. Giving yourself space to maneuver frames within the box. And you do the outer-most frame because the likelihood of the decreased risk of squishing more bees or your queen (they both tend to congregate in the middle).
šØPlace smoker near hive:
These are brand new ābaby hivesā and they are raising queens. Which naturally put them in a defensive stance. Last thing I want them to do is associate intrusion with the smell of āmeā (my stink, deodorant, cologne etc.). So we use smoke to cover ourselves.
ā¬ļøKeep frame vertical:
Until you know whatās on that frame, you donāt want to flip over and cells to look in the bottom. Especially these colonies that are raising queens. Flipping a frame upside down can make the larva thatās suspended on top of the royal jelly fall into it and ruin their development. So check first before the flip.
š§¤Donāt wear gloves:
While we donāt directly breed for gentleness, itās a handy trait to want when raising colonies who will be in urban settings. This helps us gauge their temperament. While also forcing us to slow down and be more careful and deligent when working these small colonies (every bee counts!)
š”ļøKeep hive tool in right hand:
Iām right handed and things get tricky when you are working a small hiveāwhoās lid has a hard time staying open while holding a frame with the other hand. Last thing you wanna do is drop a tool on your bees.
šØCreative paint job:
The bees and specifically the queen, need to orient to their new hiveāhowever temporaryāso having a marker to be able to find their home, and distinguish their hive from another next door will help.
āOpportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.ā
-Thomas Edison
Make some sugar bricks with us!
We made the rounds today to check on the emergency candy boards (we call them sugar bricks) in our hives and thought weād share our recipe@with you.
š§ Put one cup of water in a pot and heat to just before boiling.
š„Turn heat to low and add one cup of sugar.
š©āš³Stir until dissolved, add second cup of sugar, stir until dissolved. Continue in this manner until you have 10 cups of sugar added.
š„ At some point around cup 5 or so, the sugar will stop dissolving completely, but just make sure it is worked in and liquidy before adding the next cup.
š½ļø Once you have all 10 cups in, pour into paper plates and let harden (takes just a few minutes!)
šRecipe can be doubled, tripled, etc.
š”Normal patty-size paper plates can then be recycled and resized, and fit perfectly in a 5-gallon bucket to keep dry. Didnāt use it all before spring liquid feeding, melt back down, add water and use for your 1:1 sugar feeding. Done and done.
āļøBe sure to save this post for later when itās time!
We have nearly finished the Honey House!
Just a few finishing touches to do once it warms up a bit, but all the supplies are organized and we are so happy to move all the honey and crafting mess out of our kitchen to this lovely space!
Take it all in now, because in just a few short weeks, the place will be sticky with honey, splattered with propolis and never as clean and organized as it is now.
Spring-time just got a whole lot closer!
Itās true.
Thereās a lot to learn when it comes to beekeeping. And thereās a million different opinions and ways to go about doing it. We are 5 seasons in and 45 hives deep into this passion project and we are still learning and growing every day.
But as long as you are open to the idea that it takes work and youāre willing to learn and fail and keep going, youāll do great!
Donāt know where to start?
Consider signing up for our Beekeeping101 course. Fully online, fully helpful and fully all you need to get you started.
Beekeeper fact check: āThe Bee Movie.ā Part 1
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