Spring is just around the corner!

So far this year we've treated the bees with oxalic acid to combat varroa, fed the bees, all colonies, and removed the paving slabs from under the hives.  We were recommended to remove the slabs and leave the mesh floors open so that any varroa dropping through it would fall all the way to the ground and not be able to crawl back into the hive.   Despite the suggestion, from well respected sources, that open mesh floors are ok even in the dead of winter I can't bring myself to leave the colonies so exposed and I've decided to leave the sliding varroa trays in place until spring is with us.  The pond is fully excavated and lined with a pretty substantial carpet. A waterproof liner, butyl is the best I'm told, has not yet been sourced although Bill Mundy is busy looking for a sponsor. The roof felt on all our buildings is springing minor leaks and must be replaced as soon as possible, Bill Mundy is on this case as well.  Colony No. 8 has been lost.  On inspection there were accessible stores but very few bees.  All other colonies seem strong and healthy, as far as I can tell, I'm touching wood as I write and hoping that we'll get through the winter with 11 strong colonies!
Barry

The Asda warehouse and headless bees

On Saturday 4th Feb Bob Smith entertained and informed a group of Dartford Beekeepers in one of the excellent meeting rooms at the Asda Warehouse (Dartford).  His talk was on checking your bees for acarine and Nosema, two common problems affecting the Honey Bee.  He brought the instrument kits and microscopes needed, about 12, and we supplied 50 or so bees collected that morning from the Top Bar hive at the Apiary.  To check for Acarine which is a v. small mite which lives in the trachea, or airway, of the first spiracle we first had to decapitae a bee and then remove a strip of the collar of it's thorax.  The trachea are now visible under a dissection microscope at  a magnification of about 40x.  The mite infestation shows up as discoloured areas where the healthy trachea is clear and transparent.  To check for Nosema we ground up the abdomen of a few bees and added a little water.  Slides were made up using a drop of this solution and inspected at 400x magnification.
I for one was inspired to learn a little more about bee diseases in my spare time and I would be quite confident of identifying Acarine and Nosema.

Barry