APIARY INSPECTIONS, AUGUST 27, 2018 – BROOKE SAVAGE

The hives are very active, and are trying to pack away enough honey for the winter. The colonies populations will also decrease gradually over the next 6 weeks.

I have attached three pictures:  one shows the beautiful, beautiful pollen they’re collecting, and the other has a nice looking queen in it (she’s on the lower left, on the wooden bar), and there’s a nice shot of comb honey too.

Varroa treatments:  the hives finished their 2nd round of treatments today. The most compromised hive decided to replace their queen, and the new queen has already emerged. This is actually a pretty good thing, as the hive will not have any eggs or brood for 2 weeks, which is also an effective method of controlling varroa (they breed in the brood cells). I’ll check to make sure she’s laying properly next week.

Pests: I am very relieved to report that all pests (hive beetle, wax moth, mice) are well in check.

Honey Stores: Two hives are well provisioned for winter, and three need a bit of assistance. I installed three feeders filled with simple syrup to give them a boost. We like each colony to have about 50 pounds of honey for winter.

Upcoming visits: Overall, the hives are doing well, and need a few critically timed interventions for about 6 weeks, and then should be ready to be all closed up for the late fall and winter.

• Tuesday, September 4: Queen-right assessments, refill feeders
• Monday, September 10: Full inspections and varroa testing

As always, please contact me by text, email or phone if you have any questions or concerns.