Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Unusual configuration


This is the current configuration of #1.  This link discusses the common variations.  However, nowhere have I seen this set-up.  It did not come about by choice.  When I harvested the honey last fall there was still brood in the medium box so I left it.  I have checked many times and there has persistently been brood in the medium.  I left the bottom deep box in hopes that the queen and court would move into it.
Then I had my nuc.  I put the five frames into a deep box with follower boards to limit the space and put it in place of #3.  Well, as you faithful readers know, the colony lost its queen, so I used a newspaper combination in order to save the remaining bees.  I expected them to all move into the lower boxes and then I would take off the deep and have a single deep brood box.
So...
Yesterday I took a look into #1.  On previous inspections the bottom deep had only drawn comb and some honey and pollen.  If that had still been the case, I planned to do a lot of manipulation to get one deep brood box.  If the brood was gone from the medium, then I would rearrange to two deeps.
But the bees were not privy to my intentions.  There was brood in all three boxes!  I saw my (lovely) queen in the top deep box.  There was a fair amount of drone brood as well as worker in the bottom box.  What to do?  I added enough frames to make 10 in the top deep and left it as it was.
I did see a lot of uncapped drone brood and many with holes in the cap.
This picture is from another website and shows both uncapped larvae and caps with holes. 
Image result for varroa hygienic sensitive behaviour
I figured there must be a moderately high mite count.  Since I had intended to do a spring mite treatment anyway, I did not do a count but just put in Mite-away Quick strips.  I had to do some thinking about where to place them since the instructions say to place them between the two brood boxes; no suggestions for three boxes.  I did a bit of chemistry research and learned that formic acid fumes are heavier than air.  I put the strips between the medium and top super.  I also took out the entrance reducer to provide proper ventilation.
Olea's continues to go like gangbusters.  There were a total of 15 bars.  I saw brood on bar 14.  I added two more bars; 17 total now.
There continues to be sporadic activity around the swarm traps.

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