Up till now anyway, this colony of bees (and their ancestors forming this colony’s ancestor colonies) that has lived in a wall since several colony generations, has never been treated with any kind of chemicals ever, against Varroa mites or
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
MT-colony conclusion
I have shared the performance of this colony which had almost a box of plastic small cell frames and natural positioning of these frames (as the uppermost broodbox). Which also had a tough experience with mice living in the bottom
The queen of the wall
Five days after I hived the swarm from the wall I checked it. I placed it about three km from the wall where it originated, to help form the ”stock of the region”. It wasn’t a very big swarm, but
Feral swarm
Tonight at half past nine after a telephone call, I took a swarm in a raspberry bush which came from bee colony in a wall in an old house 20 meters away. The house is situated ”in the middle of
Producing varroa resistant bees from a local population
Erickson and Hines in test apiary 2003 Dr Eric Erickson did a great job in the 1990’s in Arizona together with A.H. Atmowidjojo and Lenard Hines (commercial beekeeper with 700 colonies), first showing it’s relatively easy to identify more resistant
Salix is valuable
Salix has many species around the world that are important for our pollinators in spring. Rich in nectar and valuable pollen. Willow trees have done most of their job for this year. They are not only loved by bees.
First increase, the first apiary
A couple of days ago I started for the new season, to check colonies for need of food and for increase of space for bees and brood. I want to give you some glimpses. I checked four apiaries that afternoon.
Plastic positioning and the mouse
You remember the previous post about the “multiple test”(MT)-colony, natural positioning, plastic frames, a mouse (or mice), mild winter and what a good condition this colony came out with now in spring. I’ve been thinking about it. Mild winter Yes
Epigenetics, genetics and breeding locally adapted bees
Randy Oliver in Sweden 8 Dec 2013 7-8 December, Randy Oliver California USA, Steve Pernal Canada and Mark Goodwin New Zealand had a workshop on parasites and pathogens, mainly Varroa and American Foulbrood. Mark Goodwin with the help of video