I want to clarify somewhat the comment in the text about the contradiction concerning the reason for lowering the threshold for giving Thymol to get a better selection. At the same time saying that if you have non-selected bees against
Evaluation of season
Around Christmas I get time to do work on an Excel application on the computer, feeding it with new figures about the honeybee colonies from the season. It helps me identify the least good colonies (which will get their queens
Bedding down
I live on 59 degrees north and 15 degrees east in Sweden. It can be quite cold in winter and bees can’t usually leave the hive a single time from about November until about middle of March, sometimes late in
Small cells and VSH
There have been numerous tests of varroa reproduction with bees on different cellsizes throughout the years, with the assumption that you then test varroa resistance. As far as I understand that can be true, but you don’t know to what
Denial of history
It appears now and then articles in especially the German language stating that the enlarging of cellsize historically never have occurred, but instead what’s happened is going back to normal larger cellsize. And those decreasing cellsize is doing something unnatural.
My selection parameters
I have prepared for and selected for varroaresistance for quite some years. Last year I learned how to test a colony for VSH, a simplified method described by John Harbo, easy for everyone to use. DWV-bees on the hardboard Before
Prepared for winter
It’s been a very busy time for some time now. From about August 5 to August 25 all supers above queen excluder are harvested and honey extracted, the third removal for the season. Those colonies showing wingless bees on the
Neonics and success
Bees visit corn for pollen, period. Bees visit canola for pollen. Bees visit potatoes for pollen (Danish tests). Bees visit a lot of flowers for pollen. Bees get what the pollen is enriched with. Neonics are not good for bees.
The Fire Brigade saved my bees
Yesterday several agricultural buildings burned down on a farm. Close to one buidling I have some beehives. The closest maybe 6-7 m (20 feet) away. When I got the telephone call and was on my way in the car I
Bees On Corn
This morning the bees flew heavily on flowering corn. I’m sure they were happy for the EU ban on treating seeds with neonics. It would have been no good for the colony with beebread made of pollen from corn grown