> They kill the bees I sell them just as fast as they kill other bees.


Look on the bright side: you can call that a consistent revenue stream.


> I think the opposite is also true for large colonies that do the robbing. They bring back mites and possibly raise the varroa levels in the entire apiary. In past years, I've looked at my biggest late-season colonies with a sense that they were the healthiest now I've become more skeptical.


So I was decimated this year--100% loss--despite low late-August mite counts in all but 1 hive. I had demurred from past practice, and rather than empirically treating all colonies in the spring and fall, only treated those with indicative mite counts (3+/100 bees on alcohol wash). Whatever the cause of the late-season mite immigration, it was certainly a fact for me this year, with all of the deadouts that I autopsied showing mite concentrations in the 15% range. These colonies all went into winter with 60+ pounds of stores (in 3 cases 100+ pounds), large population numbers (well, moderate in 2, but not few enough to combine) and no overt signs of varroa/virus infestation aside from 1 isolated K-wing (I did October inspections, though no mite counts). I had my best honey production year--roughly 450 pounds off of 9 hives--while leaving plenty on board for overwintering. I really thought I was set, had done everything right, and finally had my practice figured out. Not so much.


So now I get to start from scratch again for the first time in 5 years. I will have Russians in the home apiary (a completely new breed for me), and Buckfast at the farm. I'll do a weak oxalate/syrup spray on the packages when they arrive (after removing the queen) and then figure out what to do in the Fall (empirical tx vs measured. Maybe measure mites in all, and treat all across the board, regardless of mite count. And then assess the effect of treatment). And try not to kill them all again. Or more accurately, get them all killed again.


We'll see. Wish me competence.


S


Skillman, NJ

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