It’s raining…again. My bees must be going spare. They can’t fly out and forage. Bees hate damp.
Dampness in the hive will kill sooner than cold. At least my hives have open mesh floors (OMF) which I think provide good ventilation. The bees couldn’t care less about what I think though. They would rather pick their own spot such as inside a chimney or cosy house soffit to set up home and be left alone. Getting them out of a house is fun – not [14 min video] and these places smell so nice to bees that a new swarm will probably come along the next year to take up residence in the same space. I’m not sure how successful bees are in the wild now that the Varroa mite is here never mind the effects of the extensive use of pesticides. The pan-European Poshbee Project might have some interesting findings on the latter. That pesky mite is not in Australia though, lucky them, and I hope it won’t be bought in carelessly with imported bees like it was done in 1991 to Ireland. It spread quickly. Beekeeping has changed a lot as a result since then. My mentor keeps telling me how wonderful and easy beekeeping was long ago. Part of me is jealous.
Keeping Varroa numbers down or eliminated altogether is high on the list of beekeeping priorities. Less or no varroa mite = healthier hive = less other diseases = good bees = higher numbers = good honey crop = happy bees = happy beekeepers = happy farmers with better pollinated crops. The Varroa mite’s other name is “Destructor” – I kid you not. “Varroa Destructor”, what a catchy name. There should be an arch-enemy cartoon character made of it.
For the non-squeamish here’s a two minute video about the our arch enemy.
There’s a lot more detail about the amazing life of the Varroa Distructor from Perfect Bee Blog
Image above is from a no-nonsense page which is worth a read.
OMF is supposed to help reduce Varroa mite numbers and help with ventilation of the hive. Of course with absolutely every aspect of beekeeping there are arguments for (e.g., Help your bees with OMF) and against. Proving yet again that you will always find someone to support any argument. How to make the wisest decision is the trick. Do I go with the new modern trend of OMF or do I buck against it and have solid floors? Or…do I tinker with it and put in a solid base inches under the hive with its OMF. I’m trying that this winter in the hopes that it will keep the hive warmer but still well vented.
It’s still raining and will be for hours, maybe days! I hope my bees are ok.
One of my hives on a sunny day [4 sec video]
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