EFB :(

[Cinnamon]

Hiyas,

my best colony has a case of EFB, and I'm wondering what to do.

Normally in my area, we check colonies in spring and do a shook swarm if they have EFB, but, it is the 'summerhole' and so, they have only a few resources available to rebuild their nest. I'm somewhat reluctant to just take it all from them, since I can't put foundation back for them.

Do I just burn the nest and feed them with syrup so they can rebuild? Or, is it better to treat at this stage with medicines to tie them over, and then to take their nest in spring?

many thanks for any advice,

Cinnamon

[Michael Bush]

I don't know what you can do legally where you are. If it was me, I'd just cage the queen for three weeks or remove her and let them raise another. Either way you get a break in the brood cycle. EHB is not a spore forming bacteria, so this usually gets rid of it.

[Joel]

I consider EFB a queen problem (genitics) and a uaually a minor one the bees can correct. 1st. though get it tested to make sure. I would requeen the hive with good stock and let nature take it's course.

[Cinnamon]

Thanks Folks,

that is interesting -- I have the local mongrel race in my hives, and the club apiary where I am has a longstanding EFB problem. Our local bees are also quite temperemental, luckily they are as good as gold in a TBH, but the difference its quite startling.

The colony in trouble started from a big swarm last year, so, they probably have made a new queen this year.

Our regional bee inspector is coming over on Tuesday to help me here, and he is quite excited about the TBH and the one-handed-hive design.

The usual method for dealing with EFB here(London, UK) is to either destroy the colony (if its too weak or too infested) or administer antibiotics. The shook swarm approach is 'experimental'.

I'll ask him about the queen removal/caging trick. Also, the genetic link is quite an interesting concept, would you maybe know any books/papers/etc about it so I can find out more?

many thanks,

Cinnamon