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Tue, 22 Nov 1994 07:58:00 -0700 |
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Hold on a moment:
Ear mites exist: they are a nuisance to mammals (horses, etc) but they
don't affect bees.
The problem Guy likely had with his bees is caused by another parasitic
mite: either varroa or tracheal mites. I think the best thing for him to
do is contact a local beekeepers association (or even one beekeeper) and
learn about the problem with some new friends. Another course would be
to read about the problems in a book from the library (The Hive and the
Honeybee, 1992 edition by J Graham, Dadant and Sons, to start).
A quick answer is that the mites die soon (within 2 weeks) after the
bees. New bees will become re-infested, but from neighbouring bee
colonies, not from the old equipment.
The mould is not a disease. It results from cool moist conditions: new
bees will clean up quite a messy-looking few combs, but a strong colony
is better equiped to do the job. Otherwise good combs can be reused
without any harm, but if they are plugged with mouldy pollen it's
debatable whether the comb is worth all the work the bees have to put
into restoring it.
Good Luck
Kerry Clark, Apiculture Specialist
B.C. Ministry of Agriculture
1201 103 Ave
Dawson Creek B.C.
V1G 4J2 CANADA Tel (604) 784-2225 fax (604) 784-2299
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