>Thanks. I'll have a look around. I was just looking at your "simplicity" post. I would like to have as few chemicals involved as possible. Is there a way of knowing whether I would need the Fumidil, apart from taking some samples in to a lab?
http://www.barc.usda.gov/psi/brl/bd-nos.htm (note that nosema is mostly a spring disease)
http://www.kin.net.au/goble/KiBees/general/beekeep/nosema.htm (note comments on nosema resistance to medication)
"The only positive way of identifying the disease is through dissection of adult bees. The hind gut and digestive tract of diseased bees are chalky white or milky white. Healthy bees, on the other hand, have amber or translucent digestive tracts. In addition, individual circular constrictions of a healthy bee's gut are visible, whereas the gut of an infected bee may be swollen and the constrictions not clearly visible." ABJ
Nosema isn't that hard to diagnose yourself, but if your bees don't have dysentary, I wouldn't worry about it. If they DO have dysentary, you can field strip a bee and tell if they have it.
>I like your idea of having all same size boxes. We are doing 8 frame because I don't anticipate ever doing this on more than small scale, and I myself am on a bit of a small scale!... When you don't weigh too much over a hundred pounds, the weight of full boxes becomes important!
Full medium 8 frame boxes are a joy to lift, especially after lifting deep 10 frame boxes.
I like the 8 frame equipment, it's just that there isn't a lot of competition on prices and there's always some gadget I'd like to try that isn't made for 8 frame boxes.
My other theory is to try to get the hives horizontal so I don't have to lift ANY boxes except whatever I put the frames of honey in when I rob the hive. I HATE moving 5 heavy medium supers and then a heavy deep food chamber to get to the brood chamber at the bottom, to see if it's doing well and is queenright. Then I have to put them all back.
Mostly standardization is a matter of being able to interchange frames whereever you need them.
[This message has been edited by Michael Bush (edited September 17, 2003).]