> When I checked 1/21/06 they were mostly alive...I attribute my loss to
>varroa, nosema (some with heavy dysentery), perhaps also tracheal mites (not
>checked).
Zach, you may want to check them for Tracheal, if the dead bees aren't too
rotten to cut. You say they were alive in Mid-January, but died later with
heavy staining. I find that to be a classic example of Tracheal damage.
> I would like to know how beekeepers with more bees fared ...
Of the 500 I've checked, 33 didn't make it. 225 left to check, but I don't
predict any changes to the % losses...unless I find a bit of starvation. I
did find a few Varroa deaths. Dug some dead in the process of hatching bees
out of their cells with my pocket knife...shrunken abdomens and no wings.
But that was just a few. Found a few Tracheal problems...colony boiling out
in mid-winter, in a pile on the snow. Had TJ cut them. He thought I seeded
the sample, but no...40/50 bees cut were heavily infested with much
scarring of the Trachea. Rest of yard...all quiet in winter, and alive now.
>Apparently climatic
>conditions do make a difference (i.e. harder to winter here with a longer
>winter, although it has been quite warm this past one).
Well of course. But we had a warm winter, and losses shouldn't have been so
high. It seems to me that beekeepers with acclimatized stocks fare much
better than those who buy their bees in from far away. Trying not to point
any fingers here. Did you northern beekeepers who lost your bees use
northern stock, or southern stock? While southern bees are great for
southern beekeeping, the aren't resistant to Tracheal, which is still a big
problem in the north. Everyone seems convinced that Varroa is the main
culprit in these large colony die offs, but I wonder how much is actually
Tracheal mite destruction. Obviously we have to keep our Varroa populations
in check, but don't forget Tracheal. Requeen with tolerant stock. Once your
bees can tolerate Tracheal mites, and winter well, then you can work on
controlling Varroa. Until then, it's a crap shoot, and who knows what is
killing the bees, or if they can winter in the north, anyway.
Mike
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.4.0/305 - Release Date: 4/8/2006
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---
|