博客存档 - UMD Bee Lab

Last Week in the Apiary - 3rd Week of September 2025

9/26/2025

The close up look at the top of a pad of Formic Pro sitting on the top of frames in the center of the brood chamber. There are over 24 dead Varroa mites sitting in the center of the pad, surrounded by honey bees.

Deceased Varroa mites on a used Formic Pro strip. Photo by Eric Malcolm, September 18, 2025

Time in the Yard: 5 hours 5 minutes
Avg Time per Colony: 13.25 minutes
Avg Temp: 70.2°
Total Precipitation: 0"

Actions:
Performed full health inspections and sampled 19 colonies for Varroa, Nosema, and Viral monitoring project. Combined 1 colony and consolidated space on another. Removed equipment from dead-outs. Removed formic treatment strips. Applied Swiffer strips, as needed.

Observations:
Lots of dead mites dropped on the used formic strips. 3 weak colonies absconded. Small Hive Beetle presence is increasing across operation. One colony is queenless and requeening. 2 weak colonies showing improvement in capped brood pattern and quantity of brood.

Reflections:
We are still working to get mites back in check and below 2 mites per 100 bees.

Things in bloom:
Chicory, Crepe Myrtle, Clustered Mountain Mint, Japanese Knotweed, Gray Goldenrod, Tall Goldenrod, Daisy Fleabane, Mint, Butterfly Stonecrop, Garlic Chives, Bearded Beggarticks, Calico Aster, New England Aster, Common Ivy, Late Boneset

0 Comments

Last Week in the Apiary - 2nd Week of September 2025

9/16/2025

0 Comments

A top down view looking at the 3rd frame from the hive wall, full of capped honey. There is bridge comb with honey at the top of several frames showing that lots of honey has been brought in and stored,

Time in the Yard: 3 hours
Avg Time per Colony: 8.5 minutes
Avg Temp: 66.3°
Total Precipitation: 1.03"

Note: Seeing a lot of capped honey in brood chambers and between top and bottom boxes (see image). Check colonies that might be at risk of becoming honey or pollen bound.

Actions:
Pulled ~80 VarroxSan strips and applied formic treatments to 21 colonies. Placed Swiffer strips on 4 colonies with SHB presence. Removed 1 dead out hive from the yard.

Treated 21 colonies for Varroa
Formic Pro – 2 Strips

Observations:
Pulling cardboard strips out from between frames can be challenging and requires finesse. One colony was queenless and needs to be combined after treatment.

Reflections:
Never assume a treatment will be effective; always check mite loads before and after treating. Now is a good time to take inventory of equipment in need of replacing prior to winter weather.

Things in bloom:
Chicory, Crepe Myrtle, Clustered Mountain Mint, Japanese Knotweed, Gray Goldenrod, Tall Goldenrod, Daisy Fleabane, Mint, Stonecrop, Garlic Chives, Bearded Beggarticks, Calico Aster, New England Aster, Common Ivy, Late Boneset, Black-eyed Susan, Hydrangea

0 Comments

Last Week in the Apiary - 1st Week of September 2025

9/9/2025

0 Comments

Time in the Yard: 3 hour
Avg Time per Colony: 18 minutes
Total Colonies: 36
Time in the Barn: 2 hours 15 minutes
Avg Temp: 70°
Total Precipitation: 0.75"

Note: The forecast changed, temps were too high to apply Formic. Will attempt next week.

Barn Actions:
Brought in 38 supers from the field. Stacked and strapped them together for winter storage.

Apiary Actions:
Inspected 10 colonies. Removed equipment from 2 dead outs from the yard. Combined 1 weak colony. Consolidated 2 hives to provide less space.

Applied 2-3 Swiffer strips to colonies with Small Hive Beetle presence.

Observations:
August lab results of Varroa samples showed mite loads in several colonies still well above threshold. Many treated colonies showed visible signs of mite infestation and reduction in strength. More SHB per sighting observed.

Reflections:
It was a good thing to have rechecked the forecasted high temps prior to applying Formic strips. The forecast changed from earlier in the week to have two days over 85°.

Things in bloom: Chicory, Crepe Myrtle, Black-eyed Susan, Queen Anne's Lace, Clustered Mountain Mint, Japanese Knotweed, Daisy Fleabane, Mint, Ironweed, Partridge Pea, Stonecrop, Basil, Blue Mistflower, New England Aster, Calico Aster, Gray Goldenrod

0 Comments

August 2025 Varroa and Nosema Results

9/8/2025

0 Comments

Varroa Diagnostic Results - August 2025

A graph showing monthly Varroa average loads for each month up to August 2025. There is a red line, indicating the 3 year APHIS National Average and a blue line indicating the monthly average at the UMD apiaries. In August the UMD apiary Varroa average has continued an upward trend and climbed to 7.5 Varroa per 100 bees. The 3 year APHIS National Average for August is around 2 Varroa per 100 bees.

Nosema Diagnostic Results - August 2025

A graph showing the 3 Year APHIS National Average compared to the monthly average at the UMD Apiaries for Nosema. UMD Apiary shows an increase in average Nosema loads to 0.47 million spores per bee. The National average for August is less than 0.3 million spores per bee.

0 Comments

Last Week in the Apiary - 4th Week of August 2025

9/2/2025

0 Comments

A large red Ford F350 with a flat bed parked off of a grassy tract beside a row of 38 honey supers that are being left out for bees to clean after extraction. The honey supers are mostly white with a few that are green, yellow, and blue interspersed. Supers are standing on their sides with two facing to the side and two stacked perpendicular on top of them in sets of 4. The last two supers are standing on their side with no supers on top.

Time in the Barn: 6 hour 15 minutes
Total Colonies: 38
Avg Temp: 69°
Total Precipitation: 0.0”

Note: We left our supers some distance from our hives to prevent triggering robbing.

Actions:
Put out wet supers in an empty yard (no colonies) to be cleaned out. Checked them 2 days later but still wet. Cleaned out extractors and stored all extraction tools and equipment for the season.

Observations:
Several different pollinators were cleaning out the supers including bumblebees, yellowjackets, carpenter bees, and honey bees.

Reflections:
These were two beautiful days for getting outdoor work done.

Things in bloom: White Clover, Chicory, Crepe Myrtle, Black-eyed Susan, Queen Anne's Lace, Clustered Mountain Mint, Japanese Knotweed, Early Goldenrod, Wild Potato Vine, Rose of Sharon, Daisy Fleabane, Mint, Virgin's-bower, Ironweed, False Sunflower, Partridge Pea, Flowering Spurge, Red Clover

0 Comments

Last Week in the Apiary - 3rd Week of September 2025

Last Week in the Apiary - 2nd Week of September 2025

Last Week in the Apiary - 1st Week of September 2025

August 2025 Varroa and Nosema Results

Varroa Diagnostic Results - August 2025

Nosema Diagnostic Results - August 2025

Last Week in the Apiary - 4th Week of August 2025

Archives