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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
Lloyd Spear <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 24 Jan 1999 16:34:53 -0500
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Rod says "I have been using essential oils for mite control with good
success =
but find little about it on the net or in the bee journals? Why?"
 
Rod, there is a lot about this in the Bee-L archives but you are right that
there is little in the journals.  My understanding is the reason there is
little in the journals is because there has been real difficulty:
- getting predictable, consistent, and reproducible results
- determining which of the many ingredients in essential oils are causing
the effects.
 
Many of the researchers at USDA and universities believe that there is
"something" going on with essential oils that (sometimes, often?) kills or
controls mites.  My understanding is that they have encountered great
variability in results.  Sometimes a given oil will work well, and sometimes
it won't work at all!  I also understand that in the simplest essential oil
there are a bewildering variety of chemicals, any one or more of which can
be causing the effects.  This makes it very difficult to determine just what
is going on, which makes it difficult to reproduce the desirable effects!
 
Many, many beekeepers, commercial and otherwise, are using 3 Illinois depth
supers (6 5/8") as a brood nest and for over-wintering, and for supers.
There is no reason you should have any difficulty doing so.  However, I
don't understand why you feel you need to use queen excluders; because you
do not!
 
Once you have sufficient drawn frames, just put three supers on each hive
around May 1 (in your area).  This will give the queen plenty of room, and
minimize swarming.  She will initially move up and lay in the added supers,
but as nectar comes in the bees will store it as high as they can, and move
down.  As they crowd the queen with nectar, she will move back down and by
August will be down in the three bottom supers...which is where she started!
 
You don't (or should not) care that nectar is stored in the same cells where
brood has been raised.
 
Of course, this only applies to producing honey for extraction.  When
producing comb honey, just put two of your Ross Round(tm) supers on top of
the brood nest about May 1.  The queen will not lay in them, although it has
been reported that you might get a single row of drone brood along the
bottom of the sections nearest the brood nest.  (Most beekeepers have never
seen that.)  Rotate these when the bottom one is 75% filled, and add another
super if both are mostly filled by July 15 or so.
 
Hope this helps,
Lloyd
Email [log in to unmask]
Owner, Ross Rounds(tm), the finest in comb honey production.
http://www.rossrounds.com

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