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Mite Away in Small Colony

2K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  wildbranch2007 
#1 ·
As I stated in my welcome post about a month back, I am new to bee keeping. I inherited my grandfather's hives which had not been tended to for several years as he was very sick. However, there were still bees in them and I moved them closer to me. I have been feeding them a regular supply of 1:1 sugar syrup since the weaker hive felt very light. Today was a warm day and I happened to be off so I decided to go through the weakest hive. It took some work to get the frames freed up since they had not been moved in several years. I found bees were only on about four frames and the colony is very weak, as I had expected watching it compared to the strong one. The brood is scattered, but not sunken and no smell like I have been taught to expect with AFB. I stuck a toothpick in some brood jsut to check and they did not come out stringy/ropy, but were normal. However, in inspecting the brood, there are varroa mites in each one. It seems to be very badly infested (understandably so after not being opened, much less treated for four-five years). With the low amount of bees, brood and the heavy mite infestation I don't think this colony is going to make it. I do have some mite away strips, but reading the instructions it says it must be used with at least 6 frames of bees or the result may be excessive brood mortality or death of the colony.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I go ahead and treat for the mites, even with the colony being small, since I will lose it with out treatment? Any opinions appreciated.
 
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#2 ·
Andrew --

Not sure I have your complete answer, but before treating smaller hive, I'd check other hives - they may need treatment, too. If smaller colony has gotten this far, may be just best to feed for a couple weeks and see if they build strength before you treat. Ask other local beekeepers about varroa tolerance and treatment experience in your area. Good luck and keep us updated on your progress.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the reply.

Both hives have enough mites to need treatment and I had planned on treating both. However, I am most concerned about the smaller hive. The other hive is strong enough that there shouldn't be an issue to treat. I have been feeding them for a month, but have not seen any growth. However, I have been using entrance feeders because it is all I have. I suspect the stronger hive is robbing most of the food, even though I have a block next to the feeder to buffer robbing. I plan on getting a top feeder tomorrow and see if that helps.
 
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