Status updates as of 11/09/2020 (copy/paste/modify from the above post #816 about the mite counts).
Pretty much ALL units are set with the winter stores (with or without help) - not a concern there.
All frames counts are in Ukrainian frame units (each deep Ukrainian frame is an equivalent of 2 Lang medium frames).
Yard #1 (backyard):
#1 - 73 mites (24-25%) - Weak unit on 4 frames. This unit is probably to fail as the attrition is already very high (as expected). I may just combine another mite dump into here - have another one with a young queen (#8) - nothing to loose, but a survival possibility until spring (and a potential resource IF get so lucky). This is my best honey producer though - we have decent 2021 honey crop. I also completely robbed them of every single frame - everything went into #2. At least something good from them - a bitter-sweet story.
#2 - 16 (5-6%) - (F1 queen from #5) Very weak unit on just 3 frames (still brooding and so I have some hope). There are signs of mite damaged brood - not great. This young queen was hatched and raised a bad unit (split from #1 above) and so I can see the mite struggles. Fingers crossed. Will combine with #3 IF MUST.
#3 - 13 (4-5%) - (F1 queen from #5) Weak unit on 4 frames. Also still brooding. Set on stores and all self-provisioned. No signs of mite damaged brood. This queen was hatched and raised by a strong Italian colony with unknown mite load. I will monitor and will combine with #2 IF I sense danger.Last year I went greedy and did not combine two weak units in the backyards - ended up loosing both.
Yard #2 (0.5 miles away from the backyard):
#4 - 37 mites (12-13%) - Terminated the queen and combined into #8 below.
#5 - 9 mites (~3%) - Average unit on 7 frames. Looks healthy and ready for winter. I had to feed this unit heavily - it was too weak through the summer to produce much on their own.
#6 - 13 mites (4-5%) - (F1 queen from #5) Strong unit on about 9-10 frames. Looks healthy and ready for winter. Self-provisioned too.
Yard #3 (5 miles South-West from the backyard):
#7 - 13 (4-5%) - (F1 queen from #1) - Strong unit on 8-9 frames. I like what I see so far. I also like how they set up in the CV hive. I fed this unit but it still feels a tad light on the stores, but with the fondant on the top added later (which I will do regardless) these should be set.
#8 - 51 (~17%) - I call this unit the failure of the season on all fronts - nothing but hassle with little to show for. Combined with #4 already and these are still only on 3 frames. May just dump them together with the #1 as an experiment to see if otherwise doomed units can still be saved via aggressive combinations for a spring expansion resource. One good thing about the late combines is that this is just another way to harvest more unused frames (honey and all).
Yard #4 (10 miles South from the backyard):
#9 - 17 (5-6%) - Strong unit on 8-9 frames. This is a heavily fed unit (not through their fault but rather mid-summer drought). Looks healthy and ready for winter.
Yard #5 (5 miles South-East from the backyard):
#10 - 67 (22-23%) - Average to strong unit as of. Regardless, I pretty much wrote this unit off in terms of both mites and worthless honey production. Had to feed them too. Will see how long they will last. Had I have handy OA solution, I'd probably use it on this unit trying to pull them through for the spring for the expansion projects. Oh well.
#11 - 15 (~5%) - (F1 from #12). Average unit on 6-7 frames. I fed these also. There are signs for mite damaged brood. Fingers crossed.
#12 - not counted - A strong unit on ~10 frames. Looks and feels ready just by brief external checks. Did not feel like breaking into this propolised-to-the-death hive. Will see in spring.
Yard #6 (15 miles South-East from the backyard):
#13 - 26 (8-9%) - Average unit on 6-7 frames. Still brooding significantly and very active. I had to feed these too and they feel set for the cold. Whatever happens is just fine.
Yard #7 (10 miles South from the backyard):
#14 - not counted - Strong Italian unit on ~10 frames. Self-provisioned. Whatever happens is fine.
#15 - not counted - Average unit on 5-6 frames. This late July swarm will be wintering directly in the trap hive on 5-6 deep Lang frames (turned at 90 degrees to make it a narrow and deep nest). I fed them as they were bone dry in the late summer (due to local drought). I actually like what I see. Fingers crossed.
So among other things, this winter I will have two units in narrow and tall configuration (#7 and #15) so to get the personal feel of the wintering in such setups. There are many good testimonials, but I want to see for myself before committing too much. This setup is supposed to be very energy efficient and favorable to winter weak to average colonies - which would be great for me.
