 Sampling colonies for diagnostics. Photo by Harriet Harris. July 8, 2026. | Time in the Yard: 6 hours 24 minutes Avg Time per Colony: 11.5 minutes Total Colonies: 67 Temperature (°F): Hi: 101° Low: 69° Avg: 79.6° Total Precipitation: 2.89” |
Actions:
Sampled for Varroa and did full inspections on spring package colonies (n=33). Also checked food stores for these same colonies.
Observations:
Colonies started from packages in the spring did not have ample food stores (boxes in brood area have little to no frames of food) and require urgent feeding. Four colonies had temperament of 2 out of 5, which is on the spicy side of normal. One colony recently requeened themselves. On average, these colonies were around 8.7 frames of bees.
Reflections:
This week we had planned to start our treatment cycle of oxalic acid vaporization but pushed our treatment schedule back by one week to take advantage of the break in heat for sampling.
Things in bloom:
Russian Sage, Dutch Clover, Yellow Sweet Clover, White Sweetclover, Hare’s Foot Clover, Elderberry, Chicory, Common Cinquefoil, Purple Crown Vetch, Daisy Fleabane, Mullein, Mimosa tree, Narrowleaf Mountain Mint, Clustered Mountain Mint, Virginia Mountain Mint, Queen Anne’s Lace, Crepe Myrtle, St. John’s Wort, Blue Vervain, White Vervain, Early Goldenrod, Black-eyed Susan, Glossy Abelia, Purple Loosestrife, Wild Potato Vine
Sampled for Varroa and did full inspections on spring package colonies (n=33). Also checked food stores for these same colonies.
Observations:
Colonies started from packages in the spring did not have ample food stores (boxes in brood area have little to no frames of food) and require urgent feeding. Four colonies had temperament of 2 out of 5, which is on the spicy side of normal. One colony recently requeened themselves. On average, these colonies were around 8.7 frames of bees.
Reflections:
This week we had planned to start our treatment cycle of oxalic acid vaporization but pushed our treatment schedule back by one week to take advantage of the break in heat for sampling.
Things in bloom:
Russian Sage, Dutch Clover, Yellow Sweet Clover, White Sweetclover, Hare’s Foot Clover, Elderberry, Chicory, Common Cinquefoil, Purple Crown Vetch, Daisy Fleabane, Mullein, Mimosa tree, Narrowleaf Mountain Mint, Clustered Mountain Mint, Virginia Mountain Mint, Queen Anne’s Lace, Crepe Myrtle, St. John’s Wort, Blue Vervain, White Vervain, Early Goldenrod, Black-eyed Susan, Glossy Abelia, Purple Loosestrife, Wild Potato Vine