First Year Beekeeper Experiences and Lessons Learned Eric Miller January 2016
Why Decide to Keep Bees in the First Place? Tree hugger with a homesteading fetish History of seeking out unusual hobbies, including Maple syrup production Mountain unicycling
Beekeeping Was bound to happen eventually
Preparing to be a Beekeeper Attended the January TRB Beginner Beekeeper Course Consumed beekeeping media Books/audiobooks: Honey Bee Hobbyist, The Wonders of Beekeeping Podcasts: Kiwimana Buzz, Beekeeper s Corner YouTube: National Honey Show Magazines: American Bee Journal, Bee Culture Attended TRB, EMB, and Jeffco meetings Got an EpiPen Ordered a nucleus colony, purchased and assembled a hive
Preparing a Hive Site Property is mostly wooded Had to site the apiary in the shade Leveled a spot and put down blocks for the hive stand
Sun Exposure in the Summer
Colony Management Planning Deciding what kind of beekeeper I want to be Chemical-free? Treatment-free? I decided to be active in the hive Weekly inspections Limit synthetic chemicals unless the colony is in peril Wrote out a management schedule Everything from when to feed to when to replace the queen In pencil Decided not to rob the hive the first year
First Days as a Beekeeper Nuc pick-up in April Reality set in that bees come with pests Nuc installation Weak; few bees and virtually no stores Deformed wings Called the nuc supplier for guidance He concluded they were probably just malnourished, which led to developmental problems Later concluded this was probably the result of Deformed Wing Virus from a heavy mite infestation prior to delivery
1 Hour After Nuc Installation Lots of deformed wings
Growing the Colony Fed through early July; restarted in mid-august New equipment = comb to draw Inspections every 7-10 days Filmed the first few for self-educational purposes Powdered sugar dusting weekly as varroa control attempt Added a slatted rack Adds an air gap between frames and the weather Supposed to encourage queen to use entire deep to lay
Adding the slated rack
Pests and Disease - Viruses Deformed Wing Virus Problem largely went away after affected bees were purged from the hive following nuc installation Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus In early July, I started seeing bees that were clumped together and looked like they d been burned; hairless; oily Spiked again about one month after a surge in my mite load in the fall Indicates the BPV was a symptom of vectored viruses brought on my mites BEST DEFENSE FOR VIRUSES IS MITE CONTROL
Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus
Pests and Disease - Bugs Small Hive Beetles Sudden swell of hive beetles on the inner cover in early July Possibly affected by lack of direct sunlight Treatments: Beetle Blaster traps; aggressive hive tool killing; nematodes; sealed cracks in inner cover Varroa Mite load remained low until late September, when it exploded Queen stopped laying until after treatment Treatments: drone frame; powdered sugar dustings; oxalic acid
Varroa Destructor
Our Garden Was Prolific Wife s garden was potent in 2015 For the first time, she had a bumper crop of bittermelon Bean and cucumber crops were also off-the-charts
Capped honey in October
Preparing for Winter Outer cover Inner cover and moisture board inside Vented super to exhaust humidity and add space for fondant Rubber stoppers allow for adjustments to ventilation Wind blocks on N and W sides of hive Entrance reducer over mouse guard
Moisture Control/Ventilation
Cold Weather Feeding
Some Lessons Learned Most important: Have (and execute) a mite control plan Keep records! Accrue knowledge without worrying about memorizing everything One hive was plenty for the first year Kept me from spreading my efforts too thin, and let me concentrate on the survival of a single colony This also kept me from inflicting my rookie mistakes on multiple colonies, which could be inhumane and expensive More hives will come as experience and efficiency grows My first kill 9 May 2015 Felt horrible, but learned to accept some kills in the interest of caring for the colony
Some Lessons Learned (cont) Don t put sick bees back in the hive Generously glue hives during assembly to limit safe zones for small hive beetles and wax moths Beekeeping requires significant storage space for accessories, bulk materials, hive components, etc. You also must think about how you re going to store drawn comb after honey extraction; considering potential for infestation by wax moths, mice, etc. Beewatching is not beekeeping
Plans for Year 2 Possibly grow to two colonies Split existing hive Deploy a swarm trap Get on top of mites earlier Treat in late July to help protect winter bees Test for mites every week starting in August Begin treating before the ratio spikes Sensor deployment: temperature, humidity, weight
The bee s life is like a magic well: the more you draw from it, the more it fills with water. Karl von Frish, Austrian Bee Researcher Questions or Comments? Eric Miller
Backup Slides Varroa management.
Sugar Roll Mite Test Put about ¼ cup of powdered sugar into a jar with #8 screen on the lid Shake a frame of bees into a container Preferably a brood frame, but try to avoid shaking the queen To be consistent I try to pull the bees out of the bottom chamber each time Scoop bees into a ½ cup measuring cup; quickly dump them into the jar and screw on the lid Roll the bees so they re all coated in the powdered sugar Finish working your hive Shake the jar over a white plate for about 30 seconds. Put another 1-2 tablespoons of powdered sugar into the jar, roll them, and shake again Spray water over the plate to dissolve the powdered sugar Count the mites Mite count / 300 = percentage of mites to bees (infestation level)
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Varroa Tests August 2015 Bee Culture magazine describes 2% as the safe level and 5.3% as the danger level; shows natural mite population growth in late September as the bee population begins to decrease, resulting in a dangerously quick distortion in the ratio of mites to bees Danger level Safe level 0 7-Jul 7-Aug 7-Sep 7-Oct 7-Nov This may have doomed the colony Mite Load % Oxalic Acid Vapor Poor treatment technique
Mite Treatment with Oxalic Acid
Post-OAV Mite Drop Following my second (first effective) treatment 1 ½ days after treatment Estimated 1680 mites THIS IS NOT NORMAL