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referee

New Bee
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Can I feed my bees while treating them for Varroa with Api Life Var
 
A simple google with 'apiguard' and 'feeding' may help.

most websites recommend not... if the alternative is starving, that it is a no brainer.
Personally, I feed after Apiguard. The bees are still producing a great deal of brood and as long as they have enough food, should not fill the brood space with syrup.
 
peteinwilts said:
A simple google with 'apiguard' and 'feeding' may help.

most websites recommend not... if the alternative is starving, that it is a no brainer.
Personally, I feed after Apiguard. The bees are still producing a great deal of brood and as long as they have enough food, should not fill the brood space with syrup.
Click to expand...

Surely, feeding with a 50/50 solution will encourage brood rearing, wheras feeding with a 2/1 solution will encourage the beesto store the syrup ? .
 
There appears to be a little difference between apiguard and api life var in that the apiguard needs the bees to distribute the thymol around the colony and feeding may distract from the effectiveness of the ttreatment due to it being left in the tray. It would appear that the other formulation does not require this distribution.

The answer therefore is yes. Remember though, you never asked about ratios of sugar to water, so that is a different issue. 9:1 sugar to water is even suitable if the colony is starving. You did not mention why you wished to feed, only whether you could. Of course, you can do whatever you like, but that will not mean the bees will follow your instructions!
 
Bob Bee said:
Surely, feeding with a 50/50 solution will encourage brood rearing, wheras feeding with a 2/1 solution will encourage the beesto store the syrup ? .
Click to expand...

I feed over the apiguard in this instance because the nuc needs building up for the winter. I place the apiguard on top of the frames cover this with a 45cm eke (riser board) and then place the rapid feeder on top of that so the central hole matches up with the central hole on the eke.
feeder.jpg


This is a new feeder knocked up from some scrap timber and holds about 4 ltrs syrup.

Below you can see the two peices of home made kit between the brood and empty super, when the bees have found everything I'll remove the super and place the lid directly over the feeder.
bob2.jpg
 
referee said:
Can I feed my bees while treating them for Varroa with Api Life Var
Click to expand...

The first question to be answered is why are you treating? What kind of numbers are you seeing in drop counts? I don't treat unless I have too, the last time I had to was over 8 years ago.

If you are treating for prophylaxis you are helping the mites more then the bees. The mites will develop a resistance to the treatment.
 
sugarbush said:
The first question to be answered is why are you treating?QUOTE]

Because it is far better to be safe than sorry!! Perhaps that explains why your colony numbers vary down to zero?
Click to expand...
 
Arfermo said:
sugarbush said:
The first question to be answered is why are you treating?QUOTE]

Because it is far better to be safe than sorry!! Perhaps that explains why your colony numbers vary down to zero?
Click to expand...

Mine very down to zero because I sell them off every few years and start over. I am a horse trader of sorts.

It isn't about being safe rather then sorry. IMO A beekeeper should be knowledgeable enough about their craft that they can tell when they need to treat and when they don't. Blanket treating is never a good idea, it results in resistant mites and nothing on the market to kill them.

Many beeks in the US have gotten away from treating.
Click to expand...
 
Sugarbush

Have I got this right your varroa control is to sell off your bees to someone else every few years and then re-stock with fresh baught in bees?

If this is the case then you get the people who you buy your bees from and the people you sell your bees to, to do all the treatments for you.

Or is it the case that you raise new stock from your existing colonies and just have a good varroa management throughout the season and never get to high numbers of varroa.
 
The last several years all my bees have been feral captures, they are naturally resistant to mites here which is why they survive and why I catch them. I sell them off because people want them and it gives me the opportunity to reorganize my equipment. The last few years I tried 8 frame all medium hives, I have decided to change that up so I sold off everything last fall.

I treat for mites if it is needed. If I do an inspection and see multiple mites on bees I would treat, and then requeen with the daughter of one of my other colonies. I just haven't had any mite issues in about 8 years.

I manage several hives that I have sold off to other people. One is one that I call the Bardstown bees because I captured them out of a house in Bardstown Kentucky. They are black and while I haven't had them genetically tested I suspect they are German descendant. I have never seen a mite on them since I caught them in 2006. They have not been fed or treated since captured and produce well every season.
 
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