Two years ago, I put a nuc that was failing into my observation hive as a ‘Hail Mary’ effort to save the queen through the winter.
I found the bees covered in mites, with DWV and some progressive paralysis disease. So I used my OxVap to blast the colony with OAV. I tried smaller amounts at first, but that didn’t built enough pressure to shoot the vapor in. So I used the 1gram, 10-frame dose on my 3 frame observation hive. These bees got at least 3 times the recommended dose.
Things I Observed:
1. The bees near the vaporizer fanned, but the rest of the bees carried on as if they didn’t notice.
2. The queen did not pause in her egg laying.
3. Little crystals formed on the bees, comb, and brood throughout the hive.
4. 4 hours afterwards, all the larvae that had been floating in jelly were removed, except for some of the just-about-to-be-capped larvae. The capped brood and eggs remained.
5. By 6 hours, the cleaned out cells had newly laid fresh eggs.
6. The mites rained down over about 3 days time. And after I vacuumed the bottom board, I did not see another mite in that hive (it was winter).
7. The hive continued to limp along for a few more months, with me feeding them honey, and the capped brood and eggs that were covered with crystals hatched and appeared normal.
8. Even after all of the mites were gone, the diseases remained, and the queen probably got the paralysis virus. At first she started looking clumsy when bending her bottom into a cell, then two days later, she seemed to stumble and slip down the comb a bit. A few more days later, she ended up on the floor on her back with only her head and tongue still moving. In workers, it seemed to start with the back legs and move forward through the body. It was gruesome.
My take away:
1. at 3x the vapor dose, larvae from 3-6 days were sacrificed, but replaced with eggs within hours.
2. Even after all the mites are dead and gone, the viruses persisted and appear to be transferred sister to sister and sister to mother.
3. The down-fall of a hive to PMS is brutal to watch up close. What I read as bees suffering, (stuck on back with progressive paralysis) felt intolerable in my living room. And like Randy’s dog analogy, it just seems cruel not to do anything to prevent this fate. I am now an early and aggressive treatment advocate.
4. Keeping the viruses out in the first place is way, way better than treating afterwards. If your hive survives, it may take a full year to purge the viruses, if they ever get fully purged.
Sent from my iPhone
***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
