Bee Chronicles Nov 2010

Oh, what to talk about? November is a slow month in the hive. Just keep on, keeping on. It is getting cooler so you can’t check your bees as often as you might like. I feel like you need to keep food in front of the bees. You never know when winter will start and you want your hives full of food when it does start getting cold for long periods of time. If you can’t open the hive to look you can lift a corner. If you go “ umph” when you lift, the hive is getting full. I have always liked to use the scientific methods when I can.

Your bees need to be healthy, so if you see any signs of illness, treat it appropriately. There are reports of chalk brood in the area. Chalkbrood is a stress condition. Frequently found in the outer regions of the brood chamber where temperature regulation is less controlled. For some reason the bees are stressed . Seldom does chalk brood wipe out the colony. However, the population can dwindle creating a weak hive. Then robbing can occur and later hives dieing from poor thermal regulation. Also the weak colony may not put up enough food. I would recommend removing the frames with the chalk brood. Then switch the hive location with a strong hive in the middle of the day. This will allow a population increase in worker bees which should reduce stress and increase food foraging. If you don’t have two hives you might consider getting some extra bees from a friend. Do everything possible to increase the laying capacity of the queen. Moisture in the hive can also contribute to the problem. Was it humid this summer or what? Make sure you have good ventilation in the hive.

Fall flowers are coming to an end. The queens are slowing down on egg production. If you want to keep your queens laying till Thanksgiving simulate nectar flow with 1:1 sugar syrup. You may also need to feed pollen patties so the hive does not run out of pollen before next spring (mid- March).

If you medicate: do your teramyacin and powdered sugar for foul brood and fumigilin B in syrup for nozema. The terramyacin is dusted on the end of the top bars. The fumigilin is mixed in one gallon of syrup and feed to the bees until they consume a gallons worth.

Healthy fat bees have a better chance of making it through the winter