44 : Letters to the Editor
Varroa Mite Drop I was very interested to read the article by John Norfolk on varroa mite drop (March 2015, pp 39-41).
The delay in mite drop in his graph 6b (p 41) is, I believe, just that: a delay caused by the bees ignoring the Apiguard®. With Apiguard®, there is a continual but slow mite drop owing to thymol vapour in the hive and, when the bees disturb the gel, more mites fall. No two colonies behave exactly the same way – they all have slightly different reactions to Apiguard®. Some clear it in one or two days, others take weeks. If it is taking more than a few days, a watchful beekeeper will stir the gel to ‘reactivate’ it. The bees take notice and will try to remove it, which is what we all want! Beekeepers using Apistan® will see a different pattern of mite
The Ford–Wells Two- queen Hive
Letters TO THE EDITOR A selection of your personal views and comments
drop. Within the fi rst 24–48 hours there is a very dramatic peak in mite fall as the Apistan® takes almost immediate effect on the phoretic mites (those not in sealed brood cells). As the mites emerge from the cells over the next six weeks, they then succumb to the Apistan® and the mite drop more closely refl ects the rate of their emergence from the sealed brood.
Dr Max Watkins, Technical Director, Vita (Europe) Ltd
In June 2014 (page 7), I wrote about the glowing reports in the British Bee Journal (10 April, 1902) of the ‘Ford–Wells’ two- queen hive and asked if anyone had any further information. If I had looked in my copy of W Herrod-Hempsall’s Bee- Keeping New And Old (1930), I would have found the answer! The hive was the invention of Mr Wells of Aylesford, Kent, in about 1882. The hive contained 20 frames in two compartments, each containing a queen, kept separate from each other by a perforated board. In describing the hive, W Herrod-Hempsall states: ‘Never once did he succeed in obtaining as much, let alone more, surplus from these big colonies than from those worked cheek- by-jowl with them on ten British Standard combs. Mr Wells could … work this system, but he was the only man who ever succeeded in doing so … those who purchased Wells’ hives very quickly adapted them for chicken coops or dog kennels.’ Obviously, W Herrod-Hempsall did not agree with the readers of the BBJ!
Brian Dennis, by e-mail
www.bee-craft.com
May 2015 Vol 97 No 5
Photos by Claire Waring
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