Bees

Comment

Comment by Pbee on December 6, 2011 at 8:40pm

I have checked on the introduced Italian Queens and both are doing well.

The Nuc/s have been listed on TradeMe.

Listing #: 429989449

Very Happy Pbee

Comment by Pbee on November 28, 2011 at 11:40am

2 gone - 2 to go!

The 2 remaining are Carneolan Bees with new Italian Queens which will go in this afternoon.

Happy Pbee

Comment by Pbee on November 27, 2011 at 6:45pm

Hi All, 

4 Nucs for Sale as of Tuesday. Waitakere - Auckland.

 

2x4 frame and 2x5 frame, 3/4 depth. Wooden frames - naturally drawn.

Bees are Carneolans. Work hard and bring in lots of honey.

Gentle to work - no smoking required.

One of the 5 frames has last years Daykel queen - white marking. I think this one has 1 black plastic frame.

Two Nucs will be given Italian queens.

 

You can bring your own Nuc the day before collection or 'Hive Doctor's' travel Nuc can be provided at cost.

 

I am a registered Beekeeper with DECA.

Bees had Varroa treatment (Apistan) in spring. No history of AFB.

 If you are interested, give me a call 022 121 1221.

First come - first serve!

Pbee

Comment by Janet Luke on November 25, 2011 at 7:48am

Hi Rachel and Marjolijn, Good on you both for exploring alternative ways to treat for varroa. All beekeepers need to do this as we now have chemical resistant varroa here.  Grant what you describe is a way to do a count for varroa levels it is not a treatment, it would be impossible to go through the whole hive that way. I have just come back from visiting the Backwards Beekeepers http://www.backwardsbeekeepers.com/p/about-us.html  in New york and they shared many organic and natural ways that they are dealing with Varroa over there. They have had varroa for a lot longer that we have. I will write a blog soon about different ways they use to keep varroa levels down to a minimum. Please visit the Green Urban Living Green Community forum if you need a forum which is accepting, non judgemental and full of ideas, and advice for the Topbar beekeeper  http://http://www.greenurbanliving.co.nz/forum/

Comment by Grant on November 24, 2011 at 11:04pm

Hi Marjolijn and Rachel,

Reading through the book "Control of Varroa, a guide for New Zealand beekeepers" the only effective icing sugar method is the sugar shake. This however does not involve dusting the bees in the hive as its ineffective. To avoid clumping it should not be done in the rain, or in humid conditions or during a honey flow. If done correctly you get a 95% hit rate, but it involves collecting 300 bees in a jar each time. Remember that NZ has different requirements to other countries so always try to reference an NZ resource. More information is available in the book or you can read through topical discussion on the NZ Beekeepers Forum

Comment by Daniel Martin on November 19, 2011 at 9:40pm

Yippee!! I have had two swarms given to me last week. I have made one 1.2m topbar hive and need to make a second one. At the moment I have both swarms in either end of the hive until I get the new hive made. the second swarm I was given was the size of a soccer ball and is very active so I may keep this one in the original hive. Inspection tommorow afternoon. This will be the first one for me so I am brimming with nervous excitement.

Comment by Rachel on November 18, 2011 at 8:14pm

Hi marjolijn, this is my first year of topbar beekeeping but I have heard that a natural way to treat for varroa is to puff / sprinkle icing sugar over the bees and this then coats their body in it. They then pick the icing sugar off each other and the varroa fall off in the process. I have done so once to my hive and the bees really didn't seem bothered by it... Check out Phil Chandlers book Backyard bee keeping, it talks about it a bit more.

Comment by marjolijn vos on November 18, 2011 at 12:25pm

Just have to add, specific to top bar hives please.

Comment by marjolijn vos on November 18, 2011 at 12:24pm

Hello all, could people please share their experiences of treating

their hives for varroa using natural methods what ever they may

be. Thanks so much.

Comment by Nicholas Mayne on November 14, 2011 at 10:42am

NZ has about 40 different species of Native bees as well. However these are not Honey bees; and pollinate different things (although some also polinate some of our crops). The global decline is primarily in Honey bees which have evolved to pollinate many of our Euro-Asian foods.

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