Beesource Beekeeping Forums - Treatment-Free Beekeeping http://www.beesource.com/forums/ Discussing and formulating honeybee management methods that cooperate as much as possible with natural bee biology without resorting to the use of chemicals and drugs. en Wed, 22 May 2013 02:56:45 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.beesource.com/forums/images/misc/rss.png Beesource Beekeeping Forums - Treatment-Free Beekeeping http://www.beesource.com/forums/ VHS questions http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?283193-VHS-questions&goto=newpost Mon, 20 May 2013 17:26:20 GMT I'm sure this has been discussed but I couldn't find it in search!

I have a hive that has gone a year with no chemicals...the only possible treatment would have been pulling the queen and disrupting the cycle.

Big hive survived this ugly winter.

Got in it this weekend massive queen cells maybe the biggest I've ever seen. At least ten and one already open!
Tore open a lot of drone cells and no mites.

Does this hive qualify as VHS?

What are the qualifications?

thanks! ]]> Treatment-Free Beekeeping oklabizznessman http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?283193-VHS-questions buying chemical free foundation http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?283101-buying-chemical-free-foundation&goto=newpost Sun, 19 May 2013 04:54:12 GMT In using purchased foundation we are introducing chemicals into our hives that other beekeepers have been using. I have been told that if we send... In using purchased foundation we are introducing chemicals into our hives that other beekeepers have been using. I have been told that if we send wax to be worked into foundation that we will not be sent only our wax foundation in return.

Short of not using foundation, is there a solution? What do you guys do? ]]> Treatment-Free Beekeeping heaflaw http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?283101-buying-chemical-free-foundation How long does it take Varroa Mite to exit a dead-out http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282857-How-long-does-it-take-Varroa-Mite-to-exit-a-dead-out&goto=newpost Wed, 15 May 2013 16:47:59 GMT Not having Varroa in this country, I have been wondering how long it takes for Varroa to exit a colony that eventually dies out. Do you have to... Not having Varroa in this country, I have been wondering how long it takes for Varroa to exit a colony that eventually dies out. Do you have to fumigate the hive in someway or do anything with it before you restock it?
Do you have hives in America that never get treated with chemicals for mite control that continue to survive year after year?

Gary ]]> Treatment-Free Beekeeping Kidbeeyoz http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282857-How-long-does-it-take-Varroa-Mite-to-exit-a-dead-out How much disease is too much? http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282679-How-much-disease-is-too-much&goto=newpost Sun, 12 May 2013 20:40:21 GMT Or, what is the point where you need to start trying to do something? (treatment free options of course) I ask this because today I saw two bees... Or, what is the point where you need to start trying to do something? (treatment free options of course)

I ask this because today I saw two bees with DWV outside my strongest hive. Is a certain level of DWV acceptable in a treatment free hive or do I need to try and "do something"

Hive is currently four mediums, foundationless, never been treated, this will be its second year. ]]> Treatment-Free Beekeeping Aerindel http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282679-How-much-disease-is-too-much Essential oil spray? http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282410-Essential-oil-spray&goto=newpost Wed, 08 May 2013 03:07:55 GMT If this has been discussed and I just missed it while scanning the forums forgive me.... I recieved a tip from a large commercial beek about using... If this has been discussed and I just missed it while scanning the forums forgive me....

I recieved a tip from a large commercial beek about using liquid smoke dilluted in water in sprayers rather then smokers. So Im planning to try it. What Im wondering is whether or not it could be beneficial to add some of these various essential oils to the brew. I have absolutely nothing to go on here, so I would probably just being trying a couple drops.

Does anyone have any exp. or advice here??? ]]> Treatment-Free Beekeeping Nin http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282410-Essential-oil-spray Survey of Mite Infestation in Drone and Worker Brood in a Treatment Free Colony http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282262-Survey-of-Mite-Infestation-in-Drone-and-Worker-Brood-in-a-Treatment-Free-Colony&goto=newpost Mon, 06 May 2013 01:44:16 GMT So I was out working the bees today and I was removing some deep frames from a medium hive. The bees had built comb hanging from the bottom of the... So I was out working the bees today and I was removing some deep frames from a medium hive. The bees had built comb hanging from the bottom of the frames. It was the only way I had to get a deep nuc into a medium hive last year.

I took the best of the brood comb and tied it into a foundationless frame:


However, a lot of the comb was drone and so out of curiousity I started pulling out the drone brood and counting and separating them by which ones had mites and which didn't. Then out of more curiosity, I did the same with the last little bit of worker brood there was on a similar piece of comb.



Here are the results: Of the drone brood, I uncapped 56 drones, finding 15/56 (27%) infested with at least one varroa, and two with two mites for a total of 17 mites. Of the worker brood, I uncapped 73 and found 5 infested with a mite (7%) only one having successfully reproduced, showing multiple mites in the cell, in the typical ages of a mite lifecycle in a honeybee cell (1.4%). I did not find any reproducing mites in the drone cells, but as you can see in the picture above, the drones were all recently capped whereas many of the workers were near emergence.

What does this demonstrate?

First, I have mites. No surprise there, I have been saying that for years.

Second, I have plenty of mites. No tiny insignificant population here. This is not a hive that has demonstrated hygienic traits, yet survives nonetheless.

Third, the mites obviously prefer the drone brood, infesting at a rate of one in four while worker brood was only infested at a rate of one in fourteen.

Fourth, some hives are capable of handling a substantial mite load without crashing or even showing detrimental effects. This hive is about the fourth strongest in this yard of nine. I used it as my cell builder this year.

Five, if these numbers hold out, mites are not terribly successful at reproducing in worker brood in this hive, only about 1 in 71 worker cells result in mite reproduction.

And for some background data, I measured the cell size of this piece of nearly perfect free form comb and found the cell size to be a consistent 5.2mm. The rest of the comb in the hive is 4.9mm wax or 4.95mm plastic. ]]> Treatment-Free Beekeeping Solomon Parker http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282262-Survey-of-Mite-Infestation-in-Drone-and-Worker-Brood-in-a-Treatment-Free-Colony Ask a Treatment-Free Beekeeper a Question! http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282187-Ask-a-Treatment-Free-Beekeeper-a-Question!&goto=newpost Sat, 04 May 2013 23:50:45 GMT The last question thread did quite well, ten pages in 6 months! So I'm going to let that one sit in the archives and start a new one.

Feel free to ask questions of a real treatment-free beekeeper. I have a very real desire to help people keep bees treatment-free. To that end, I want to give anybody who wants to know something an open line to ask. I want to be totally transparent and I will tell you just about anything you ask, as long as I have some actual experience on the subject.

So ask. I am here for those with serious questions. ]]> Treatment-Free Beekeeping Solomon Parker http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282187-Ask-a-Treatment-Free-Beekeeper-a-Question! Bees not moving into foundationless upper brood chamber http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282162-Bees-not-moving-into-foundationless-upper-brood-chamber&goto=newpost Sat, 04 May 2013 18:19:47 GMT I am in the process of switching my overwintered hive from foundation to foundationless. About three weeks ago, I took the bottom box off the brood... I am in the process of switching my overwintered hive from foundation to foundationless. About three weeks ago, I took the bottom box off the brood chamber and put a new eight frame box on top, with six empty frames (wedge frames with wedge nailed on edge) and two frames of extracted comb from last year's super. I positioned the combs in the box as follows: EECEECEE, with the E's being the empty frames and the C's being the two combs.

Three days later, I peeked in the hive and found lots of workers in the old super comb (cleaning out leftover honey, presumably) but no drawn comb in the empty frames. A week ago, they had cleaned the old comb, but still hadn't drawn out any comb in the empty frames. At that point, thinking that the nectar flow might still be a bit light, I put a baggie feeder of 2:1 syrup on top of the frames in the top box.

I just peeked in the hive again, and found that they still haven't started drawing out comb. I am in Maine. The maples have been flowering for a little while, the dandelions just started blooming in earnest in the last day or so, and the bees are definitely bringing in pollen. It is, however, still down in the 30s at night here. But I worry that they are not yet in the upper box.

So the question is: Am I just being impatient? Should I wait a week and check again, or should I do a proper inspection now? If so, is there anything in particular that I am looking for, in addition to a general inspection?

Many thanks,
mainubeek ]]> Treatment-Free Beekeeping mainubeek http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282162-Bees-not-moving-into-foundationless-upper-brood-chamber Green Chapel Trials http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281956-Green-Chapel-Trials&goto=newpost Thu, 02 May 2013 00:43:55 GMT Green Chapel Farms has maintained a Foreign substance free hive for 3 years. The observations of our student researchers can be viewed at... Green Chapel Farms has maintained a Foreign substance free hive for 3 years. The observations of our student researchers can be viewed at wildthingsgrow.com under home/research projects.
We are posting this information for all of you who are interested in the nature of bees, and their adaptability, and not necessarily "bee keeping". ]]> Treatment-Free Beekeeping eyeonyou http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281956-Green-Chapel-Trials Where can I get VSH Queens? http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281869-Where-can-I-get-VSH-Queens&goto=newpost Wed, 01 May 2013 16:47:46 GMT I'm in Oregon and the closest source for VSH queens is CAlifornia. Anyone have a good experience with someone in California who sells VSH queens? ]]> Treatment-Free Beekeeping whalers http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281869-Where-can-I-get-VSH-Queens Confused http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281739-Confused&goto=newpost Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:22:20 GMT So, as a new beekeeper trying to find my way... Treatment free means NO treatment right? Or does it include powdered sugar shakes and essential... So, as a new beekeeper trying to find my way...
Treatment free means NO treatment right? Or does it include powdered sugar shakes and essential oils and such?

Thanks! ]]> Treatment-Free Beekeeping mochilaur http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281739-Confused Long Term Honey Storage http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281713-Long-Term-Honey-Storage&goto=newpost Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:46:44 GMT I just had a thought. In feral hives, bees build up their store of honey and pollen, and swarm, generally speaking. I'm not saying it's in that order or anything, just what they do. In the winter of course, they eat the honey and in the spring they use the pollen to build up again.

But what about long term honey storage? Suppose the cavity the bees are living in is a little large. They build up, store a lot of honey, more than they consume during any given winter. What is done with this long term honey? What do beekeepers do that interfere with the bees' honey storage characteristics? Few surviving hives use all their stores down to the last cell. There should be some left over in the spring and in a colony with certain characteristics, there might be a substantial amount.

So there's a couple of things that I see that interfere. First, we confiscate what we consider the 'surplus.' I doubt if a bee had an opinion, they would consider their hard earned bank account a 'surplus.'

Then there is a lot of feeding going on because for the most part, beekeepers don't take the 'surplus,' they take the honey, and the bees often then don't have enough to overwinter. Some beekeepers are more conscientious about this, yes, but there is a whole lot of feeding going on.

Enter another aspect of beekeeping, changing the hive size, or as it's known more colloquially, 'supering.' Like migration to almonds, this doesn't happen in the wild. This almost certainly affects hive dynamics, and we see examples of it all the time. Sometimes bees won't 'move up.' They swarm without the hive being full. And you gotta worry about wax moths getting into the stored comb.

All these things work against a natural longer term storage of honey, honey that might be available in a drought year, or an extended cold wet spring, or an especially harsh winter. But there are also beekeepers who by practice simply don't feed, expecting the bees to compensate for the above actions on the part of the beekeeper.

I suggest a more conscientious approach to beekeeping. I suggest leaving comb on the hive year 'round, leaving enough honey (plus a factor of safety) for the bees to survive the winter unfed, and very limited supplementation only when necessary to prevent starvation of colonies which through the sole responsibility of the beekeeper (or perhaps of abnormal weather) do not have enough stores to last the winter. I also would like to get away from the idea of 'feed.' It is nectar substitute just like pollen substitute. And there's nothing like the real thing. Bees ought to collect nectar and pollen on their own, it's what they do. ]]> Treatment-Free Beekeeping Solomon Parker http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281713-Long-Term-Honey-Storage Going Treatment Free - step 1 http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281640-Going-Treatment-Free-step-1&goto=newpost Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:08:01 GMT Full disclosure - I'm not treatment free, but I applaud anyone and everyone who has established a successful treatment free apiary. Seriously I do.

But, I would suspect that everyone who has done it would agree with a few principles:

  • Treatment free does not mean doing nothing and hoping for the best.
  • Treatment free requires at least as much understanding of bee keeping as any other philosophy - so educate yourself.
  • If you start out with a couple of generic packages from Georgia, and don't check and don't prepare for any contingencies you probably will not be successful as a treatment free bee keeper.
  • If you replace your dead outs with generic packages from Georgia every spring you probably won't ever become successful as a treatment free bee keeper.


Maybe I am wrong about some of these - and I welcome constructive input. The reason I am even bringing it up is that I get quite a few contacts via our local bee keepers association from new bee keepers who of course want to be treatment free - of course they want that, who wouldn't? But they don't understand these basic points of the pursuit. That is on them of course, it should be obvious that everyone needs to educate themselves about their chosen path. But for some reason a common take away from the treatment free internet community is that all you have to do is not treat and all your dreams will come true.

I just wish that all of the proponents would make it painfully true that at least at first - treatment free is not easy.

Or am I wrong?

Again - not hacking on the whole treatment free thing. I'll probably give it a go myself one day when I think I have achieved a sufficient state of Zen.

I almost forgot - Step 1 to becoming a treatment free bee keeper - learn to be a bee keeper. ]]> Treatment-Free Beekeeping David LaFerney http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281640-Going-Treatment-Free-step-1 Installing swarms on drawn foundation http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281243-Installing-swarms-on-drawn-foundation&goto=newpost Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:47:24 GMT I normally start swarms on foundationless frames with just one drawn frame of comb in the middle of the box to act as a guide. Seldom lose a swarm. ... I normally start swarms on foundationless frames with just one drawn frame of comb in the middle of the box to act as a guide. Seldom lose a swarm.

This year (because of ppb) I have an abundace of drawn boxes of comb that I need to get occupied with bees to help protect asap.

Anybody have experience installing swarms on fully drawn comb?

Acceptance? Any other issues?


Thanks,

Don ]]> Treatment-Free Beekeeping D Semple http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281243-Installing-swarms-on-drawn-foundation