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Blog – bees, beekeeping & other sticky subjects

A scary shadow of her former self

IMG_0003-001Opening a hive for the first time this year I was greeted by a remnant from last year — seemingly a bumblebee looking quite scary!

 

Turlough, Vita’s Guest Beekeeper Blogger

 

Vita at BBKA Spring Convention

Oil seed rape (canola) coming into flower

Oil seed rape (canola) coming into flower

You can tell it’s spring in Britain — the oil seed rape is just coming into flower and Vita is preparing to go to the BBKA Spring Convention this weekend in Shropshire.

And there will be plenty for Vita to talk to beekeepers about:

The Asian hornet trap will be there — a few of them, so if you are quick to the Vita stand, you might be able to buy one.

Swarm lures will of course be featured and Vita staff will be able to tell you about the research with the lures that has highlighted the different behaviour of prime swarms and caste swarms.

If your bees look poorly, you can ask about Vita Feed Gold and Vita Feed Green — each with their own set of uses, and Vita Feed Gold’s particular impact on Nosema.

You can find out more about the forthcoming HopGuard varroa control product as well as the tried, tested and trusted Apiguard and Apistan — and how Apistan is becoming effective again after a break of a few seasons in its use.

So please drop by the Vita stand on Friday or Saturday …

It’s that time of year

Away with the old comb - bring on new foundation

Away with the old comb – bring on new foundation. The new comb in this picture was ravaged by wasps when it was stored in an empty hive with a mall hole! Although the comb looks good, its condition would mean that the bees would probably build drone cells in its restoration.

It’s time for a change — old comb for new foundation. I try to make sure that no brood comb makes it past four years — and much is replaced even before that. There seem to be lots of good reasons to replace old comb with foundation — it inhibits the build up of pathogens in the hive, it prevents too much drone comb being built — and clearly the bees thrive on the change: it seems to motivate colonies. At the right time it can also delay or even discourage swarming.

Comb change  is highly recommended by the UK National Bee Unit and it gives some good practical advice.

It’scan be a messy job, but it can also be profitable if the wax is recycled. Now that should appeal to beekeepers. Unfortunately, the older the comb, the less wax it seems to contain! So frequent comb changing can be more economical.

Turlough, Vita’s Guest Beekeeper Blogger

ApiTonin – a product before its time

ApiToninVita is proud to announce the launch of a brand new product for beekeepers.

Bees bamboozled by the time change.

Bees bamboozled by the time change.

The result of rigorous research and development, ApiTonin is a plastic strip impregnated with specially formulated melatonin to help your bees cope with the changing of the clocks in spring and autumn.

Where can I buy ApiTonin?

You can find ApiTonin at your local supplier.
Find your country’s distributor here.

What is ApiTonin?

Are your bees bad tempered? Lethargic? Constantly raiding their mini-bar of honey stocks? They could be suffering from seasonal adjustment disorder (more commonly known as jet-lag).

It is well known that bees are extremely sensitive to the position of the sun. It tells them when to forage and when to return to the hive. More than that, the sun is a primary navigation aid to the bee.

What beekeepers have known for decades, but only now have a solution for, is the torment that bees experience when humans artificially changes the clock twice a year. That means the sun sets later following the spring change and rises earlier after the autumn change throwing the bees’ biological clock into complete disarray..

When to use the ApiTonin Melatonin Strip

ApiTonin can be used to help bees adjust to the clock changes in spring and autumn. ApiTonin is also ideal to help bees acclimatise to a new location when moved east or west, with the resultant slight change in time of sunrise and sunset (ie to offset the effects of ‘jetlag’).

Please see below for usage instructions. ApiTonin strips should be applied each day from the time of re-location or when the clocks are changed for a period of 21 days. After this time, the bees will be fully acclimated to their new routine.

How to use the ApiTonin Melatonin Strip

ApiTonin is very quick, simple and safe to use. If you’ve ever used the world-leading Varroa control product Apistan from Vita (Europe) Ltd, you know how to use ApiTonin: simply apply two strips to the brood chamber and leave for the specified period of time..

However there is a slight added complication with ApiTomnin —  for maximum efficacy, ApiTonin strips must be applied exactly 1 hour and 24 minutes before sunset. Fortunately through Vita’s extensive product development, we have been able to open the application window to two minutes either side of the optimum. Meaning that: if sunset is now at 19:33, ApiTonin can be applied to the hive at any time between 18:07 and 18:11.

The strips should be removed from the hive any time between sunrise and 2 hours 09 minutes following sunrise (ie if sunrise is at 06:33, the strips must be removed from the hive before 08:42.

ApiTonin strips can be reused for a period of 10 consecutive weeks and then should be discarded with normal household waste.

 ApiTonin – a silver bullet

Scientific studies around Europe have shown that ApiTonin is extremely efficient and produces no negative side effects in bees. ApiTonin does leave some residues in honey so Vita is working with producers to market a new “Jet lag busting” line of honeys. ApiTonin is harmless to beekeepers, leaves no residues in wax and can be used at any time of year.

 ApiTonin – Launch Date

ApiTonin will be available globally before noon today, 1st April 2014.

First inspection and a mystery bee

Mystery black bee

The temperatures rose to 15C yesterday in Hampshire in England, so I was able to open the hives safely for my first time this season.

And the news is good — all seven colonies have come through with a laying queen and healthy brood pattern. Some were getting a little low on stores, but a few frames of stores inserted in a few colonies should avert any problems. The extent of brood ranged from 3 sides in a nucleus to a staggering nine sides in a large colony that had been united from two colonies last autumn.

There was one peculiarity, however. I almost mistook one bee for a beetle. But no, it was a honeybee, just very, very black for some reason (see photo).

Turlough, Vita’s guest beekeeper blogger

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