Laura and I have made rounds, now that hot temperatures are here – to add beetle traps to each colony. The high humidity this spring / early summer has made the hives a favorable place for small hive beetles (SHB) to lay their eggs. The larvae from the beetles consume proteins from pollen, as well as the carbohydrates from nectar to prepare themselves for pupating. It becomes easy for a colony to become overwhelmed with the beetle larvae in a very short period of time.
A secondary effect of having high humidity this year – is that the nectar the bees brought in during the cooler temperatures – has a HIGH water content. The bees typically don’t cap the cells of nectar until they have dehydrated the nectar down to 15% to 18% water. It comes in from the flowers at about 80% water. Reports from many of my fellow beekeepers this last week, have been reading of 22% water content and higher. What this means – is that the bees have plenty of food for their consumption – however they have not made honey from the nectar they brought in. For 99% of my hives this year – I am choosing to leave them with their nectar through the summer – this reduces for a few weeks/months the time that we need to feed the bees sugar syrup.
First and second applications of mite treatments are also being made early this month in Dallas, Rockwall, Hunt, Kaufman and far east Collin counties, and late in the month (and into September) in Denton, western Collin, Kaufman, and Van Zandt counties . We are using a product called Apiguard, which is a Thymol-based commercially made mite treatment. We apply this several times on a schedule to help keep the reproductive mites at bay – when the bees are starting to decline their populations because of the lack of natural forage now that summer is fully here.
Laura and I have also noticed MANY instances of fire ants inside colonies. This is a first for us – and we are researching appropriate treatments – as in some cases – the fire-ants have caused the colonies to either abscond, or die out.
We are also checking to see if the colonies need supplemental feeding with sugar syrup provided directly into the hives – if they had not found enough resources (nectar) to store during the springtime.
I’d like to also pass along a reminder that if you are inclined to add wildflower seeding to your fields, this is the time to start planning that – and getting your seeds – and to sow them as we approach fall/winter – for winter/spring growth and blooming in spring/summer of next year.
A good (yet verbose) set of seed sowing guidelines is here:
https://www.wildseedfarms.com/pages/planting-instructions ( Under the tab of “How do I sow my Sunflower Seeds: )
The biggest takeaway from the above link – is that simply broadcasting seed – will likely have a disappointing return on your investment of seed. Less than 1% germination rate that way. The seeds need to touch soil and be very lightly covered for the highest germination rates once the fall/winter rains come back.
Pollinator wildflower mixes are available from companies such as:
Turner Seed (Breckenridge TX) https://www.turnerseed.com
Native American Seed Co. https://www.seedsource.com
American Meadows https://www.americanmeadows.com
Bulk Seed Store https://www.bulkseedstore.com
and Google turns up many other suppliers as well.
Rex Smith and Laura Winters
Harmony Hollow Apiary
469-251-2BEE (2233)
HarmonyHollowBees@gmail.com
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