 Foragers bringing in yellow pollen in mid-July and other bees fanning Nasanov pheromone. Photo by Eric Malcolm, July 16, 2026. | Time in the Yard: 3 hour 08 minutes Avg Time per Colony: 8 minutes Total Colonies: 65 Temperature (°F): Hi: 93° Low: 56° Avg: 76° Total Precipitation: 0.59” |
Actions:
Found and moved queens and medium brood boxes back below excluder in hives that were put back together incorrectly at last weeks inspections (n=3). Removed empty supers. Replaced 3 medium frames in a deep brood box (n=1). Finished July health inspections and mite sampling (n=10) for our overwintered colonies.
Observations:
We are starting to see more Small Hive Beetle (SHB) adults present during inspections. Still seeing nectar shaking out when shaking bees off frames during sampling. Bees were bringing in a lot of pollen this week.
Reflections:
The cooler weather this week has been a relief and allowed us to fit a formic acid application in to knock down colonies with high mite loads. We were incredibly grateful for that, as it saved us from doing several oxalic acid applications over the next 5 weeks!
Things in bloom:
Mimosa tree, Crepe Myrtle, Queen Anne’s Lace, Dutch Clover, Yellow Sweet Clover, Chicory, Common Cinquefoil, Purple Crown Vetch, Daisy Fleabane, Narrowleaf Mountain Mint, Clustered Mountain Mint, Virginia Mountain Mint, St. John’s Wort, Blue Vervain, Early Goldenrod, Black-eyed Susan, Glossy Abelia, Purple Loosestrife, Wild Potato Vine, New England Aster, Ironweed
Found and moved queens and medium brood boxes back below excluder in hives that were put back together incorrectly at last weeks inspections (n=3). Removed empty supers. Replaced 3 medium frames in a deep brood box (n=1). Finished July health inspections and mite sampling (n=10) for our overwintered colonies.
- Treated with Formic Pro (n=15), 2 strips per colony.
Observations:
We are starting to see more Small Hive Beetle (SHB) adults present during inspections. Still seeing nectar shaking out when shaking bees off frames during sampling. Bees were bringing in a lot of pollen this week.
Reflections:
The cooler weather this week has been a relief and allowed us to fit a formic acid application in to knock down colonies with high mite loads. We were incredibly grateful for that, as it saved us from doing several oxalic acid applications over the next 5 weeks!
Things in bloom:
Mimosa tree, Crepe Myrtle, Queen Anne’s Lace, Dutch Clover, Yellow Sweet Clover, Chicory, Common Cinquefoil, Purple Crown Vetch, Daisy Fleabane, Narrowleaf Mountain Mint, Clustered Mountain Mint, Virginia Mountain Mint, St. John’s Wort, Blue Vervain, Early Goldenrod, Black-eyed Susan, Glossy Abelia, Purple Loosestrife, Wild Potato Vine, New England Aster, Ironweed