I have had this blog for some years now. And I had originally a website in both English and Swedish for many years, which were also not updated for many years. 1.5 years ago or so I updated the English
Bashing temper of a daughter of a breeder
The feeders I use. The gate has the angled plastic cover inserted when feeding to protect the bees from entering the whole area of the sugar solution A few days ago I removed the last feeder after giving the
Bees grooming, shaking and biting mite
Already in 2002 Sven-Olof Ohlsson in Munsala Finland filmed bees grooming, shaking and biting mites. I have published two of his video clips on YouTube for him. You can see one here where the the mite had attached fast between
The Bee Shaker – where to take the sample
It has been discussed where to take the bees when making the test for infestation level of Varroa mites with the Bee Shaker. From a brood frame or just near the brood. The first week of May, I did a
Varroa resistant worker bees
Magnus was a beekeeper in his youth in western Sweden. He quit in 1996 but started again in 2013 with his wife Ulrika. Then they bought from an older beekeepers a pavilion with seven bee colonies, most of which were
Treatment select for increased reproduction rate
Varroa mites multiply in bee larvae. After they come out of the cell when the bee is fully formed, they sit on the adult bees and suck hemolymph. It was observed many years ago that during the brood period of the
The bee shaker and varroa resistance
One mite from 300 bees. I understand that sometimes it’s a good idea to get an idea of the infestation level of varroa mites in bee colonies. You can take samples from a couple of colonies in an apiary to
More viruses due to cold weather
The weather has given the coldest May since 1962, 12 years before I started with bees. The bees have had a hard time getting enough pollen to keep up egglaying to reach optimum nectar gathering strength when summer comes. In
Varroa feces, larval and pupal skins
I found a good description of what happens in the brood cell here: http://www.ars.usda.gov/Research/docs.ht…44&page=14 There are good pictures of different stages in the development of the bee and of mite reproduction. There I also find the answer to my question and
Varroa defecation and pupa remains
I’m checking my, as I think, most promising colonies for the VSH trait. (http://www.elgon.es/diary/?p=146) After dragging out more than 1000 pupae I have learned a lot about analyzing what I see. But I understand it’s more to learn. And I’m