Hi all

Allen Dick wrote:
How much mite reproduction do you get in the drone brood.

Reply:
Not very much. Don't even see varroa on exposed drone brood
on bracecomb, from opened cells exposing pupae, when
opening up hives any more, when splitting supers apart from
the third top broodbox. They are clean now.

Even when Kim was at the bees for article for Bee Culture,
we didn't see much reproducing in the drone brood. We
uncapped drone brood with him watching and camera ready.
With Erik and others too later on. Maybe one or two.

Allen Dick also wrote:
When you speak of mites waves passing through, are you
implying the mite waves are from outside the hives, or that
they have waves of success in your hives when drones are
being raised?

Reply:
There seems to be three interacting circles raising varroa
that is going on. Well, maybe four if you think about it!

There's the drones
also the workers
also phoretic mites
mites from outside sources

It depends up the time of the year what you see and each
has a rhymthic pattern with up and down swings, coming and
going, from minor honey flows and blooming to major ones.

Allen also asked:
How was the honey flow?  Did you manage to extract a
surplus?

Reply:
So far so, so, considering the year being a proclaimed 100
year drought and fires all around. Many were feeding their
bees up into May this year because of it. Had over 110 days
of 105F heat plus and drought only broke 9 Jul this past
week.

In many spots 50-70% of the trees never leafed out along
with bushes.

But all in all we have extracted, while many in the area
did not, but refused to touch the third deeps just in case
the rains didn't come. Everyone expects the bloom to be on
by the end of July now with August thru Thanksgiving for a
decent average crop year yet.

The fourth deep super you saw when here, we were setting up
for crop, now have 5-6 drawn combs on most all hives.
Should be ready for El Nino on time as it comes in.

Regards,

Dee A, Lusby



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