Acid Attack

Interesting development on the Salisbury Novichok Affair today when Mrs May named the suspects. Will be interesting to see how this develops and I suspect it will remain at the top of the Conservative agenda as long as May-possible to keep our minds off Brexit.

Spurred on by Harry The Potter's report of the bees nest in his garden being rescued and prepared for winter, I thought I ought to get a move on. I had actually talked about it with MrB on Saturday when he dropped by. His slightly dismayed look when I said I hadn't yet done the treatment for varroa mites, said it all. But the weather has to play along and since then it hasn't been good.

From 10 beekeepers you will probably hear 13 opinions on how to treat the pesky varroa destructor mite which invaded Europe from 1967 (behind the Iron Curtain), arrived in Germany in 1977 and the UK in 1992. It's worldwide the biggest risk to honey bees. Some areas, including Australia, Norway and the Isle of Man are varroa free.

The mite attaches itself to the top of the bee, near the head and between the wings. It weakens the bees and causes various viral diseases and can wipe out a colony. Some claim that by treating the disease one is not allowing the bees to build up their autoimmune systems. Some try natural methods involving herbs and essential oils while others try various chemical treatments and thereby almost certainly contaminate the honey.

I think though the most common method is the use of "natural" acids in particular "Formic" (ant) or "Lactic" (milk), the liquid being put on absorbent mats in the hive for about 24 hours where it evaporates and gives out its stringent vapour and smell. Like many, I simply use the standard padded kitchen washing up cloths.

One can usually see the varroa mites when carrying out normal checks and thus get an idea of the state of play. I have to say that I haven't seen any and although it was not a proper check, I did put boards under the hives over the last 24 hours and saw no signs of any (they fall off from time to time). A tribute to the beekeeper who gave me the two colonies in the spring and I suspect to the system recommended by MrB of encouraging the bees to build extra frames of drone cells which are bigger than worker cells and preferred by the varroa mites. These frames are periodically removed and destroyed before the drone larvae hatch with the mite attached.

However, before carrying out the treatment, I needed to make sure that all the excess honey was out. Late season honey tends to be honeydew which contains very high amounts of minerals which are not good for the bees in winter. They tend to get diarrhoea but can't fly out in the cold to do their "business", resulting in a good breeding ground for other infections. 

And at the same time, I wanted to return to the system recommended by MrB when I started which involved reducing the hive from two boxes to one. Small, compact and thus easier for the bees to manage in winter when they need to maintain around +30°C around the dormant brood cells. The disadvantage is that come spring, you start off with a smaller colony and thus it can take longer to get honey. But I am not in it for the money.

There was quite a surprising amount of honey even if it was not all capped (bees put on a wax seal when sugar/water ratio right). So with a bit of juggling, I eventually got all four hives sorted and later in the afternoon got all the equipment out to reap the rewards. Not sure quite how much, but perhaps around 15kg.

Everything went well and I would probably have given them 24 hours to settle down before doing the unpleasant acid treatment but the weather forecast was not on my side. It has to be warm enough to get the acid to vaporize but not too warm to suffocate/burn them. Plus they must be able to fly and get some fresh air but there is some rain and thunderstorms forecast.

So made a check of how they were settling down and actually wanting to photograph some flying in with pollen, I was suddenly buzzed by a large hornet that was trying to get into the hives. At the moment the entrances have been narrowed to help the bees defend themselves against robbing attacks from other bees and wasps which thankfully are few this year and I suspect the hornet would not have got through or at least have had to make some effort and thus give the bees enough time to react.

There were several wrestling matches and I don't know who won. After 5 minutes or so the hornet was no longer to be seen. As things were otherwise quiet I decided to go ahead with the acid treatment shortly before dusk. I didn't bother with protective gear (against the bees) but of course for the acid. Should always use protective eyewear, gloves, long sleeves and have a bottle of water handy should you spill any.

Taking off the lids, I soon realised - in the form of a sting on my lower lip .- that protective bee gear was not a bad idea. And from there on all went OK. The girls were not happy and I fully understand, so have no problem with the sting - it's only my second this year. I actually feel somewhat guilty about them having to go through the next 24 hours. I used the kitchen clothes I last used two years ago and which had been kept in a sealed plastic bag. Had taken them out earlier thinking I would have to dampen them slightly with water and noticed they were soft - stupidly I put one of the cloths directly to my nose and reeled back from the acrid stench, and that after two years!

As a reward, I will start to feed them sugar syrup/fondant as soon as the ordeal is over and they can happily fill out all the frames with Christmas and winter food stocks.