My obsession with observing my hive has obviously started with the appearance of Deformed Wing Virus and with my anxiousness on whether this will detrimentally affect my hive over the winter. I now visit the hive every day, spend about 3 minutes completing the standard checks and then another 40 or so minutes just staring …
Category: Beekeeping Update
Updates on how Katkoot’s bees are doing.
#018 Lose Some, Save some
No, the situation has not improved since I have last posted an update. Yesterday's mini inspection showed the same symptoms: Four bees seen with deformed wings; the varroa count on the board was 210 (over two days!); one wasp spotted (pathetically) trying to enter the hive and; the weight of the hive seemed O-K. …
#017 Bad news
Actually, terrible news. In fact, I am extremely worried and pessimistic about my colony's survival. I saw today bees with deformed wings, i.e. they are infected with the (overt form of) Deformed Wing Virus. I am at a loss and don't know what to do. A flightless bee cannot fulfill its destiny; cannot complete its …
#016 Autumn Inspections
10th of September 2018. That is the date of the last update that I have shared with you on my beehive. Four inspections have passed in between, but they were only mini ones. The inspections from now on, only really involve a varroa mite drop count on the board, hefting and observing the activity at …
#015 Last Open House Day
The last, full inspection of the season was planned for next week but, when I went over last Wednesday, I decided that was the last day I open the hive for this season. There are several reasons I decided to do that: The weather has turned. With the temperatures dropping considerably and winds picking up, …
#014 A New Front Door
Bees in nature select their homes based on a few criteria, one of which is the size of the cavity they will occupy and its entrance size. When beekeepers tend to bees, the entrance of the manufactured beehive is often quite large, which is suitable when the colony has a fantastically large population; circa 60,000 bees. …
#013 All my Single Ladies – Independent!
Arriving at the hive, I was originally worried that I might find a colony starved of all it's honey, especially if more robbing went on during the week that passed. But, oh no! Not these ladies! I cannot express my pride in my (sweet) small colony being able to ward off the bullies time and …
