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Today’s
video shows the final part of the three part series on how I applied Formic Acid to Honey Bee Colony C. The mite count on the drop board on April 7 was too high for comfort especially in light of the loss of Colony A last November. It’s now been seven days and the time has come to check on the
bees and give them some sugar
water at spring ratio of 1:1 with a teaspoon or two of Honey B Healthy and Tea Tree oil. The tea tree oil is used to help combat Nosema which are spores living in the guts of
honey bees and if they get out of control the bees can
experience symptoms mimicking dysentery in humans. I credit Don the Fat Bee Man for that piece of advice.
You will see a robber screen I place over the bottom entrance because I was concerned that leaving the entire opening unprotected during treatment might lead to attack from other honey bees or predators. The first step in the process of getting the bees back to normal was to remove the screen and replace it with the bottom entrance reducer. I then went ahead and fed the bees and closed them up for the day.
They seem to have survived the treatment very well and I’ll be back inside their home soon to check on the queen by looking for good patterns of egg laying and covered brood. Stay tuned as the hive comes back to full activity and gears up for a busy spring and summer next to its two new neighbors.
