Author Archives: Ewa&Mikael

English summary: First result of this year’s drone cuotout and colony 8 had about 19% infested cells when the brood were newly capped and seem to have cleaned out about 40% of the infested cells 5 days later.Nu har vi börjat skära ut drönare och analysera angreppsgrad och eventuell DBVSH (Drone Brood Varroa Sensitive Hygien)Continue reading “21 maj- första resultat ur drönarramen”

English summary: The bee colonies developes quickly in may and it is important to add supers and move full combs from the brood chambers (honey or brood) to the supers and replace them with fresh drawn frames in order to prevent swarming. Our strongest colony got a third brood chamber since all combs were fullContinue reading “20 maj: Snabb vårutveckling”

English summary: We were invited to Gävle beekeepers on May 11 to carry out a presentation why it is a good idea to let the bees use honey all year, also during the winter. The presentation was well recieved where we also took the opportunity to debunk several myths and fairy tales around beekeeping (HeatherContinue reading “Föredrag i Gävle”

English summary: In last colony check we saw swarmcells which mean we must find the queen and place her in a new hive together with all egg frames and nurse bees. We create new nucs of the swarmcells and leave only one swarm cell in the old hive – more than one then they canContinue reading “15 maj – svärmceller”

English summary: Today we checked the new nuc and did indeed found a new queen running around. Strangely enough, it appears that the bees choosed a 5 day old larvae instead of any of the eggs that were present. Maybe this is another myth – that the bees can only use eggs and that olderContinue reading “12 Maj-nykläckt drottning och svärm”

English summary: Time for the yearly drone cutout as mite control. In order to evaluate if the hives have show Drone Brood Varroa Sensitive hygienic behaviour (DBVSH) we use 6 split frames where half 1/3 portion is cut out one week before the 2nd half. We compare the number of cleaned out larvaes, between theContinue reading “30 april- dags att sätta in drönarramarna”

English summary: Time for the first honey badge of the season, perhaps Maple but there are many flowers at the moment so probably a mix. Efter en eländig senvinter/tidig vår med massor av fula ramar och lådor att sanera är det härligt att konstatera att bina nu åter är i gång. Två samhällen är extraContinue reading “25 april: Första skattningen”

English summary: This year’s project was to build a “show hive” for two combs that we can bring on lectures, markets and other exhibitions. Årets projekt blev att bygga en visningskupa – den kommer vi ha med oss på marknader, föreläsningar och liknande. Byggbeskrivning:1. Skruva fast alla distanser på sidorna. Tänk på att förborra demContinue reading “20 april: Visningskupa”

English summary: We have successfully carried out the first test with Melicitos. We placed it in the middle of the brood chamber and after one week the comb was clean and prepared for new brood.Nu har vi gjort vårt första test med att låta bina processa cementhonungen då vi helt enkelt satte in en ramContinue reading “17 april: Ta hand om cementhonung”

English summary: Its somewhat logical to believe that its harder for the bees to survive a winter in the North of Sweden. However, pure cold wheather is no issue for the bees as long as the hives are kept dry whereas moisture in the hive creates an environmental where the bees cant keep the clusterContinue reading “14 April: Större vinterförluster i norr – är det sant?”