In US I understand it’s more common than in Europe to let the bees keep honey for winter. On the other hand I’ve heard more and more beekeepers giving sugar for winter. And the discussion which sugar is the best
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
Europe versus USA: breeding varroa resistence
Rüdiger Dietrich’s comment is so good I made it into a post of its own as well. Thanks Rüdiger! As a German I have of course to answer to Eriks contribution “Breeding for Varroa resistance: Germany versus USA”…:-). When commenting
VSH is active on drone brood as well
In my former post I wrote: “When I first read that bees don’t uncap and clean out drone pupae, as they do of different reasons with worker pupae, I was a little bit surprised as I saw it ‘all the
Breeding varroa resistence: Germany versus USA
The other day I received Imkerfreund 12-2013 in my postbox. In this issue of the German bee magazine I found an interview with the scientist leading a varroa breeding project involving beekeepers. It’s a project that has made some progress.
Efforts for resistant bees give results
I really work for getting bees that can handel the varroa mite themselves. You get results when you do, but it’s extra work and sometimes it’s difficult to interpret what you see. And you loose some bad bees. And some
The art of beekeeping
Hive of eccentricbeekeeper.com Foundationless Of course it’s more natural for bees to build their own combs. But is it the best for bees and beekeepers? There’s been a lot of discussion about natural beekeeping. First let us be clear. Natural
Searching for resistant bees
Kenya I started long before the mite arrived to focus on increasing the varroa resistance in my stock. 1989 I went to the mountains of Kenya to get genetic material that were more related to the resistant bees in South
Feral bees on corn and GMO
A lot of discussion is going on which role neonicotinoides and gmo play for die offs and ccd of bee colonies. A poison is never beneficial, neither for bees nor for man (well, many are used as plant protection). And
Every breeder bee colony should be VSH tested
VSH-trait VSH (Varroa Sensitive Hygiene) is a trait in worker bees. Worker pupae with Varroa mites that have offspring are cleaned out. The fertile female mite survives, but all offspring dies, as well as the worker pupa. Worker pupae with