Q AHB . . . A Farce??!!

Jerry, I intend to throw a question at you on Africanized honey bees. First, do you live in the Africanized zone? Second, do you live with them all the time? I do and yes they are mean, but let’s get the swarm show put into the fire where it belongs and quit the scare tactics on people. I handle these kind of bees a lot and yes they sting more than Italian bees, but to scare people into thinking that they are a killing machine from you-know-where and you must kill or be killed is a farce. How do you think the people in Africa handle this kind of bee? I really would like to know.

Gene from Arizona

Well, Gene, let me bring you up to speed with our situation in Florida. Tell the lady who lost the 900 pound horse to AHB they are a farce. During the autopsy the veterinarian found three to four pounds of bees in the lungs and stomach. Not funny. Or, how about the owners of the eight dogs that have died or the goats or sheep that this situation is overblown. Or, maybe the dozen people sent to the hospital that they were victims of scare tactics. I could go on with the events that have brought our attention to the transition to AHB in Florida. Our expanding population of AHB has been tracked for the last several years as they apparently came off of ship traffic directly from South America, Central America and Mexico to our many deep water ports. We have had approximately 500 AHB swarm traps at the deep water ports for many years knowing that these were possible entry points. But obviously, not all swarms hitchhiking on this ship traffic chose to occupy these traps and entered the environment.

In a tropical and sub-tropical climate, more like their home than Arizona, they are reproducing in the void in the environment left by varroa decimating the EHB population before varroa. All voids are filled and AHB is doing that as it reproduces, swarms and absconds, primarily in South Florida at this time. We are in the beginning of this transition to a 100% AHB feral population. My ultimate job as Chief of the Apiary Section of the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services is to protect the citizens and visitors to Florida. Add to this, protecting the large beekeeping Industry, Florida production Agriculture and keeping our public safe and this has been a major undertaking for us the last couple of years.

Florida is not blessed with vast uninhabited desert such as Arizona and must deal with a growing population that loves Florida’s climate and life style. Suburbia is growing by leaps and bounds with 5,000 new residents per month. We need to protect our citizens and tourists. To do so in the context of multiple pet and livestock deaths and many people seeking medical attention is the only prudent course.

We have partnered with colleagues from the Beekeeping Industry to establish Best Management Practices (BMP’s), so that they can maintain manageable colonies in the face of a concerned populace. We have partnered with many at the University of Florida, primarily Dr. Bill Kern and Dr. Jamie Ellis, to develop Extension educational outreach training, along with training first responders, master gardeners, pest management professionals, Dept. of Health, visitor bureaus, forestry, grower groups, etc. We have developed many educational aids such as booklets, pamphlets, displays, a public service announcement that should be released soon, and training CDs. Everyone at every level of local and State Government recognizes the importance of this issue and is positively participating. I have not shared many things out of our comprehensive plan for Florida simply because of lack of space here. Are we where we need to be, no, but a tremendous amount has been done from scratch in a short period of time.

I would be glad to share a CD of our efforts with you or any of the Classroom readers, so you can make a more informed decision yourself. I am proud of our efforts and stand by them because of the reality that AHB brings to the challenge. I absolutely positively do not want a human fatality because of a lack of effort to educate about AHB in Florida as has happened elsewhere. Nor, do I want Florida’s Beekeeping Industry to suffer because the public is uneducated about the value of honey bees and ignorantly links them to AHB.

Q Down for the Count?

Hi Jerry, I had this question from a Bulgarian beekeeper and cannot answer: After an application of powdered sugar over the top bars of the brood box, and the varroa mite is dislodged from the bee and falls to the bottom board, is ‘she’ able to reattach herself later to a host bee, or are her feet still covered with powdered sugar and she dies? I plan to perform this experiment when I return to Montgomery, AL. Thanks.

Fred Fulton

Fred, the powdered sugar method is a “mechanical” means to dislodge exposed or phoretic mites. This treatment needs to be used with a full screen bottom board or with a sticky board to actually put distance between the mites and the colony by allowing the mite to fall on the ground or having the beekeeper remove the sticky board with the mites. There is the possibility that mites dislodged could conceivably find their way back onto an adult.

Q Learning, Learning Always Learning

Hello Jerry! I am so delighted to see that you have used my numerous questions in your wonderful column! Thanks, I am honored! I do hope others benefit from our conversations. My husband and I have harvested honey and this is our first year! We spun 27 shallow frames from our supers (we have two hives)! It was interesting to see the different colored honey between the two hives...they are in the same meadow! Our questions are:

1. Do we feed the bees now that the honey flow has slowed down/ ended? Do we give them sugar water or patties? We did give them back the supers to “clean out” before we stored them.

2. We noticed quite a bit of burr comb between the frames in the brood box and the box on top of that. Do we clean this out before winter? Between some frames they have small openings just allowing them to get through; otherwise it is almost sealed up.

3. Do I use soap and hot water to clean up our beautiful extractor? I haven’t seen anyplace that talks about what to use.

4. What exactly are the “essential oils” in “Bee Quick®”? It certainly did work for us.

What a gift we have in raising honey bees...I look forward to going to the hives every single time! Thanks for your expert and I must say kind replies!

Linda Maureen

Linda Maureen, I should be thanking you for the good questions—Which I will, “Thank you.”

1. I can’t remember what state you are in but for any state north of the Mason-Dixon line having 60+ pounds of stored honey/syrup is the recommendation for long cold winters. If you have harvested the honey so that food reserves are below 60 lbs., you will need to start feeding lots of sugar syrup. If you are in a southern or southwestern state, many times the 60 lb. recommendation can be lessened. Remember that stored pollen or “beebread” is also needed in fairly large amounts so that early brood rearing can take place. Treatments for varroa should have been completed in August and a general check for disease issues should be past. The “bees” going into winter are different physiologically than their summer sisters and their robust health and quantity is important.

2. Removing burrcomb always makes it easier for the beekeeper to perform hive manipulations. Having to pull, tug and yank on frames to get them out is no fun and can upset the colony and cause unneeded worker or even queen mortality. Scrape all this out.

3. Hot soapy water works well. A good scrubbing, rinsing, drying, covering and food-approved grease lubricating, where needed, will have your extractor clean and ready to use next year. Taking it to your local hand-operated carwash works great. Be sure to protect the motor from possible water damage.

4. Essential oils are products like oil of almonds, mint, camphor, eucalyptus, wintergreen, spearmint, those kinds of oils that have an odor and evaporate quickly. Bee Quick® does work well, but the producing company has not released the ingredients to my knowledge. Honey bees are a gift. Enjoy.

Q Bandits and Stinkers!

Dear Jerry, last spring I had trouble with skunks raiding my hives. They really knocked the bee population down. I finally caught two of them. Where can I find a picture or drawing of a skunk guard that fits on the front of each hive? This would work best for me. On reading up on bee pests they say that raccoons are just as bad. Is this true? We have a lot of skunks and raccoons in this part of Oregon. Thanks for your help.

Ben

Ben, skunks are the best at feeding at honey bee colonies. Raccoons are good, but skunks are better. Their method is to come at night when the bees won’t fly and simply scratch at the bottom board entrance. The bees walk out to investigate and protect their home and the skunk eats them. Just like your favorite buffet, they walk down the line of bee hives, scratch, eat and move on to the next one. And, as you see, they can be effective in reducing population. There are a few things to consider on how to slow down or prevent this from happening. There are some commercially available skunk guards (see www.draperbee.com), but similar hive protection may be accomplished by wrapping the hive with chicken wire.

The design of some guards is such that it discourages the scratching by having a plate or platform with sharp projections that fits onto the entrance lip. When the skunk tries to scratch, it is uncomfortable on the skunk’s paws, making it less easy to get any easy meal. You can make one using thin plywood and multiple sharp small nails on the hive entrance and sometimes on the ground as well. You can put your colonies on stands that elevate the hives away from the skunks and/or convert your colonies to upper entrances only which also puts distance between the small skunk and a tall hive. I guess it may be politically incorrect to say this, but a rifle or trap is an option as well.

Q Tipsy Bees or Beekeeper?

Hi Jerry, I have a question for you. I never put uncapped honey in with my capped honey. I put it in the freezer and next spring I put it back on the hive. However, this fall I spun out 3 or 4 frames with about ½ uncapped for our own use. Then, my wife and I wondered if it should happen to ferment would there be a health problem by us eating it. I really don’t think so, but we decided to ask an expert. That’s you. What do you think? I would appreciate your answer.

Wilbur Nieman

You know, Wilbur, that the definition of an expert is someone at least 150 miles from you. Since you are in Indiana and I am in Florida that puts me at the genius level!

Fermentation is the process whereby yeast take in sugars to reproduce and excrete the waste product alcohol. Alcohol is found in some commonly accepted products such as wine, beer, whiskey, vodka and the alcohol that is produced from Indiana corn to make ethanol. Alcohol is a poison that in small quantities causes alcohol poisoning exhibited by humans and other mammals in brain dysfunction, sometimes called drunkenness. If you and your wife want to eat fermented honey, that is your decision. Don’t feed it back to the bees because it doesn’t help them either. As you indicate, you can freeze honey. So, if you freeze the unripened honey, this will stop fermentation yet preserve the good things in the honey until it is thawed and consumed.

Q Preparing for Winter

Hi Jerry, here in Arkansas, it’s time to start closing my hives and trying to prepare for fall and winter. My four hives seem very strong, although I’ve noticed some small “hive beetles” crawling around inside the hives. I haven’t noticed any damage yet, but I know I need to do something to gain control. I poured some “Lorsban” on the ground around the hive. This chemical is good for treating borers in fruit trees. I didn’t know if it would help control the beetles that I understand go into the ground around the hives. Please tell me what I should do and when, so I can keep in control of this pest. Thank you so much. I really count on the information that you give all of us each month.

Vicki Hale

Vicki, sorry for the delay in replying but I just returned from Arkansas and the Arkansas State Beekeepers Association meeting. It was held in Mountain View, Arkansas which is a beautiful part of the state and the country. Everybody in the area seems to be able to play a musical instrument. Some great traditional music was played. The only thing I can play is the radio. But, I digress. Adult hive beetles at this time of the year are looking for a warm place to over-winter. With shortening days and cooler temps, they recognize that trying to reproduce at this time of year is not going to work. The adult hive beetle does not go into the ground; it is only the larva when it has destroyed its part of the colony and requires burrowing in the ground to pupate and emerge as an adult. There is little to be done at this time of the year that would make a difference. The bottom traps and coumaphous trap do not work as the beetle is at the top of the hive or in the cluster trying to stay warm. And, remember, the SHB is not a beetle problem, it is a varroa or whatever is making the colony weak and vulnerable problem. Get a beetle trap for the bottom this spring and keep your colony strong.

Q Phenol in Honey

Dear Jerry, what is the definition of phenol in honey and what value does it have? Thank you.

Rose

If my understanding is correct “phenols” are plant materials such as tree gums, saps and resins that have some degree of antibacterial action. They are found obviously in high concentrations in propolis, but also in honey to lesser or greater amounts. Some are naturally occurring and are thought to have human health benefits such as those found in Manuka Honey from New Zealand. Phenols can also be introduced by using such illegal products as carbolic acid as a bee repellent to clear supers and is then considered a contaminant. Levels of it can be found by using gas chromatography, if analysis is needed.

Q Can You Ever Have Too Much?

Jerry: For the sake of inquiry, a beekeeper creates the following conditions: 1. An entire colony is honey-bound during the honey flow. What strategy does a colony use to eventually allow the queen to lay to prevent the colony’s decimation or demise? 2. The brood chamber is honey-bound. A queen excluder and an empty super are placed over this brood chamber. Will the bees move some of this honey to the empty super to allow the queen to lay, or will the colony simply dwindle in numbers and eventually perish? I imagine honey-bound colonies are fairly common, both in feral and domestic colonies. Thank you.

Robert Weast

I like your opening Robert: “A beekeeper creates the following conditions:” In real life this situation of being honey-bound would be a rare and quickly fixed Darwinian event. Since we are playing around with scenarios, the colony would have to want to consume the honey stored in the brood chamber, as the beekeeper created a condition of a large colony with a small living and nectar storage area that is all filled. In the wild this would be abnormal as the colony would not generally be confronted with an abnormally large colony and an abnormally small hive area. The colony, when faced with space restrictions, normally will swarm. The beekeeper has in this situation forced the colony into premature colony failure, depending on the season of the year.

In the fall this is not a problem if the winter bees have already been produced. If this happens in spring or summer, then the colony never develops to its full potential and may even succumb because of pests, predators that look for weak colonies. 2. Honey bees can move honey resources around, but it takes time, effort and workers, if space is available elsewhere. This condition is unusual in the feral population as populations are normally smaller, usually 20-25,000 instead of 60,000 in managed colonies and cavity selection in feral colonies allows for more room in comparison to population size. The queen is never confined artificially in a feral colony and can move about rather than being restricted to a certain space. Just about everything we do to managed colonies is different and perhaps even wrong from what is “normal” for them in a natural state. Honey bees are adaptable, but we need to cut them some slack in order for them to be healthy, productive, and fun.

Q Helpful or Harmful?

Hi Jerry, I am new to beekeeping, having started two packaged bee colonies this last spring. I enjoy your Classroom articles and was wondering whether you ever discussed the use of spray oils? My bee mentor and friend, Charlie, introduced me to this procedure as an effective means of controlling mites on bees in my hives as it has been in his hives for 30 plus years. I have used both the petroleum-based spray oil purchased from the store, as well as making my own out of olive oil mixed up in the blender with water. I would be interested to hear any thoughts you may have on this subject Thanks.

Bob

Bob, there is some indication that vegetable oils may have some effect on tracheal mites finding suitable hosts. It may confuse the mites in recognizing the proper age bee. The varroa mite is too large and robust to be significantly affected by vegetable oils. It may be more detrimental to the honey bees as the oil can coat them, causing some breathing and flying problems. It coats the beeswax comb and can plug up the porous cappings on the brood, resulting in less oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange in the developing brood. We have not had these mites for 30 years as yet in the U.S., so your friend got a jump on these, I guess. Is oil used in this way helpful? Maybe. Is it hurtful? Maybe. There are several safer, faster and efficacious treatments for these mites that really work. You may want to try them.