The Beekeeping Year Starts in August: Part 2 – Mite Treatment
2025-03-15
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Written by : Suzanne Wiebe
Every time there are big losses of bees–either nationally, or just in your own bee yard–people start asking the question of “what’s killing the bees?”.
The problem isn’t the question, but more so avoiding the answers that they don’t want to be the reason, and maybe it’s time to take an honest look at beekeeping altogether?
First off, bees do live in trees, and by that I mean they successfully overwinter in the tree space year after year without human intervention, unlike what some people would like to make you believe–saying the bees die each year and swarms from “managed” colonies move into replace them.
I watch the bee trees I know of all winter to make sure that the bees survived, and their success is much better than the national reports of how beekeepers are doing!
Bees forage for nectar and pollen, and if your bees don’t have enough to forage on…you probably have too many bees, or the area has too many bees.
Most beekeepers aren’t aware of what the bees are actually foraging on–especially just as winter breaks. We don’t “see” the flowers, but when you look at the bees coming back to the hives with legs full of pollen and see the frames filling with nectar–you have to know that the forage is out there!
Natural selection isn’t happening in most bee yards–especially commercial bee yards where most of the bees sold in the country are coming from.
Catching bees from feral spaces will give you bees that are more adapted to your region, but as stated above about the bees overwinter in trees…a tree is much different than almost all bee boxes, and this is where we really need to wake up.
A bee box isn’t natural, and in the post the other day about those that have had over 80% survival or better I think there were 3 points that were consistent.
Top Insulation
Better Bees
Good Management
Though the idea of what management needs done varies…it’s not the “luck” approach of only check your bees 2 times a year, and that opening the box is somehow traumatizing your bees–that is going to lead to consistent success; instead, It’s that you manage each hive, and you keep a number of hives that you can give the full attention to them that they need–something never discussed with the large operations losing most of to all of their bees.
Author – Michael K Scott
I have followed Mr. Scott’s facebook group for some time now. Sometimes we don’t agree, but most of the time it is a very informative group, especially ‘Think Out Of The Box Thursdays.’
This is a hive mind discussion that challenges beekeepers to take a second look at what they do, why they do it, and whether it is working.
I contacted Mr. Scott this morning and asked if I could share his latest post, because it really hit a topic I agree with – and am constantly challenged on.
Are Beekeepers Thinking About the Bee’s Welfare?
From the moment we set up our hives, until the moment we harvest the honey, and through to the fall when we winter wrap, 99% of beekeepers never consider what is best for the bees.
Before exploding in indignation, hear me out.
When you use Oxalic acid, do you ask yourself the damage you are doing by burning the bee’s tongue? Yes, we need to kill mites, but how much damage are we doing by giving the bees chemical burns on their tongue?
What About Feeding Bees?
We feed sugar water and fondant to our bees.
Many beekeepers remove all the honey in the fall, and then let the bees overwinter with honey made from sugar water. But, there is no nutritional value, no minerals, no amino acids in sugar.
This means that bees can have a box of honey, and still be malnourished. Is this why we see bees die in a box full of honey? Is this why we see bees fade as the winter goes on, even though winter bees are suppose to live all winter? Is this why our bees are not combating viruses, bacteria, and contaminants in their hive?
Beef farmers plant hay.
Sheep farmers plant clover.
Bee farmers look at you stunned if you suggest renting a 5 acre plot of land and planting it in a variety of wild flowers.
I hear beekeepers talk about their bees surviving, but they never talk about thriving.
What about Nectar?
Nutritional Value
Nectar is rich in sugars, which provide energy. The presence of vitamins and amino acids can also contribute to overall nutrition, depending on the plant source.
Antioxidants
Many florals and extract products derived from nectar have antioxidant properties. Antioxidants help combat oxidative stress—harmful by-products of cellular metabolism that can lead to chronic diseases.
Immune Support
Certain types of nectar, particularly when produced into honey, contain compounds that may contribute to immune support and overall health. Raw honey, for instance, has been known to have antibacterial properties and is often used as a natural remedy for coughs and sore throats.
Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamin A, zinc, magnesium are three cornerstones of life, they are also found in nectar.
What About Bee Boxes?
These are not natural. A swarm would not choose this configuration. Why?
The Langstroth hive was developed to make it easier to harvest honey, not to give bees an environment they can thrive in.
A couple beekeepers in our area are experimenting with leaving the shims in the hives. In the fall bees make the most wonderful curly comb on the inner cover, filling the shim with about 25LB of honey.
Every hive we have done this to is exploding with bees in March.
We are also experimenting with double nuc boxes which create a cavity closer to a tree, with the honey supers on top.
What About Honey Harvest?
What happens to the behavior of a hive if you take all of the honey at once? Does this create stress? Does this create an alarm behavior? Is there ways we can harvest honey without causing problems in our hive?
What About Over Wintering?
Doubles overwinter, but we have never had a 95%+ survival ratio in a yard with doubles. The space is too large to heat, and the shape and volume of the cavity appears to draw in air.
I feel this is true because our doubles are the only ones with a pile of dead bees on the bottom early in the winter. We’ve tried taping the seams. We’ve tried vented and condensed. But the success of a double overwintering is not repeatable, like it is when overwintering in a single.
Then there is top insulation. Why is it so hard to get beekeepers to put R24+ on their hives?
What About Queen Excluders?
Bees do not like queen excluders. If there is no reason to go through it, they won’t. Some beekeepers have found out that the hive will explode if they don’t use a queen excluder.
Other beekeepers have learned that that turning a thin, plastic queen excluder will keep the queen below 95% of the time. But, the worker bees will crawl around the ends. The
What About Us?
I was listening to Ian Steppler, the Canadian Beekeeper. Talk about bees needing more flowers, and asking the government to help. Yes, this is a great first step. The government has neglected beekeepers for too long.
But we need to step up. An acre to rent in our area is only $200-$350. If we were to rent 5 acres for $3000 a summer, and plant it in wild flowers, the honey, pollen and extra bees will recoup that money.
More important, our bees will feast on the nutrients all summer, and the winter honey will be full of amino acids, proteins, minerals, and vitamins that our bees need. I was chatting to John about a 5 acre plot near us. We would only need 19 extra boxes of honey to cover the cost.
No one is going to research for us, so we should all do our own experiments and share the results.
No one is going to stop turning fields into corn, unless we get together and rent the land.
No one is going to help us. We need to help ourselves.
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