I've Kilt My Bees.

[jdmidwest]

Not a good week for the Stingerz Farms.  On Thursday, I burned 2 of my last 3 hives at the house.  Small hive beetles took their toll on the hives.  Nasty little black hard shell beetles from Africa that dung in the honey and cause it to ferment.  The larva hatches and millions of maggots start boring thru the honey and it slimes the hive making it the nastiest place on earth, bees move out.  I explained it to the better half today as I was burning the last hive, its like someone dumped our septic tank and a bunch of maggots in our house, we would move out too.

I inspected the third and felt that they were a strong hive and full of bees and honey.  There was a queen and she was still laying.  There were beetles inside.  I placed a trap with mineral oil in the hive and sprayed the ground all around where the old hives were with Permethrin to kill the larva in the ground.  But, it did not help.

Friday, Dad informed me that one of the 4 hives at the farm was leaning forward and on the ground off the stand.  Being the puss he is around the bees, that is all I could get from him, he did not want to go closer and investigate.

Saturday, I came home late from gunshow and noticed that bees have moved outside the hive and were living on it, not in it.

Today, trip to farm to upright hive tipped over.  Box was still sealed and bees were working good.  Hive was heavy and full of honey.  Cleaned the weeds out from around hives and sprayed weed killer.  Those 4 are doing fairly good, one will probably not make it thru winter without help.

Back to the house.  All the bees are out of the hive.  Shot some pics and started to work.  They were gentle to work with as I brushed them off into a small 5 frame hive with some comb inside.  They were essentially a swarm of bees.

I cracked open the hive and found the same mess.  Rotten honey, beetles everywhere and maggots, aka beetle larva.  3 days and everything ruined.  Gas and a match, I had me a nice beetle fire, the smell of burnt honey and plastic foundation is still in my nostrils.

Hopefully, I can nurse them thru the winter.  They are on life support now.  No brood, no pollen, and no honey.  Nothing for the beetles to mess up.  I put a feeder on them.  If I am lucky, the queen will start laying and we will have a late frost.  Maybe they will have a brood cycle before winter cluster, otherwise, they are goners.

Here is a link to the critter I have been fighting  https://www.uaex.edu/publications/PDF/FSA-7075.pdf

 

[BilletHead]

  Bummer JD,

I still don't know what I am doing here with my inherited hives. I did remove the supers and they had not built in them at all. Guess it is because they are a new colony. One hive is full of bees and the other is not as strong. Peeking in both sections in each hive looks really full. Need to read more in my bee for dummies book and get ready for winter I suppose.

BilletHead

[jdmidwest]

Almost past getting ready for winter, it will be here in 3 weeks with first killing frost.

You should probably start feeding the one that is not as strong with 2/1 sugar now for them to build up stores.  Each hive has its own personality.  If they are healthy.  Otherwise, there is a whole new way of looking at them, like I have learned.

That mess of bees today was really gentle.  I was really dreading it this afternoon, wading in at dark with thunder in the background.  But I just brushed them off into another hive and no stings or problems.  Only had a few bumpers.

The sad thing is another 50 or 75 dollar bill went up in smoke.

No reusing the comb, saving the wax or the frames.  Just a foul burnt smell of sugar.

[Quillback]

Sorry to hear that.  Seems like there is always some bug or virus or something else that messes with any kind of domesticated plant or animal that a person raises around here.  Never ending battle.

[MOPanfisher]

Bummer, sure is a tough life for bees any more.

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

Sad.  No one can say you didn't try.  I hope you are able to find something else to keep your time filled. 

[jdmidwest]

Its only over for this season at the house.  Starting fresh again next year with new brood stock.  I still have 4 hives at the farm that don't seem to have an infestation there.

That mess of bees I swept into a new hive last night were working fine today.  Now, if I can keep the beetles at bay till frost, they may have a chance.  I will know in a few weeks if I open them up and find some brood inside showing the queen is still in good shape.  Otherwise, this one will freeze out this winter.

My mentor came into the office today with a new little find.  A little black beetle he found in his honey supers that he had in storage waiting for extraction.  If the honey ferments in the jars, they have done their nasty on his too.  Only a few weeks will tell on that one.

It is true, beekeepers are the sole root cause of all of the bee problems in the US.  Most of the major plagues to the bees have come from the importation of bees from out of the country.  Like alot of other invasive species, they have come ashore from foreign countries.  This beetle came out of Africa.  Killer bees have came from South America.  Mites from Europe.  On and On.

 

[jdmidwest]

Good news today.  The bees on the outside of the hive that I swept into a small hive are doing good.  The queen has been laying and producing young bees.  The hive seems pretty strong and the queen is productive.  I have been feeding sugar water since the transfer and there has been some fall flowers.

I opened the hive and transferred the bees and frames into a larger hive body today.  Everything seemed pretty normal.  The hive beetles were thick inside but the bees were keeping them cornered in all 4 corners of the box.  I did not transfer them into the new box, I mashed and drowned as many of them as I could along with a few bees.  This hive may make it thru the winter.  Lucky thing, I did not extract the honey I took off in July.  I can put it back on the hives that are in trouble for food this winter.

Back to 1 hive at the house, down from 10 this time last year.

[Flysmallie]

13 hours ago, jdmidwest said:

Back to 1 hive at the house, down from 10 this time last year.

It's a start, or a restart. Good luck with these JD. 

[jdmidwest]

It was nice to see a nice solid queen laying and trying to survive.  Still have some work to get the beetles in check.

Maybe the cold weather will knock a dent in them.