Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus

The bees have had a bit of a set back.  I noticed on two hive checks recently within a week some dead bees on the varroa floor and quite a lot more today, a few on the landing board.  Bees still very active inside the hive and Queen, Eggs, Larve and sealed brood all seen in the last 6 days.  Bees busy bringing in pollen and storing nectar in the supper.

I called in the Bee inspector today 28th April 2017 who diagnosed Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV)

Dead bees around the entrance, black bloated abdomens

 Dead bees covering half of the varroa floor, notice the shiney black hairless abdomens which is another sign of CBPV

Short video abnormal looking black bee staggering about - CBPV

The National Bee Unit has alot of information about CBPV, photos and videos, see link below:

http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?pageId=275

There isn't any treatments for CBPV as it is a virus so my plan of action is:

1. Ensure there is plenty of room as CBPV is transmitted by bee to bee contact- add another supper!
2. Clean the varroa floor of infected dead bees on each inspection.
3. Carry out a shook swarm on a warm day (ensuring the Queen is safe) and the healthy bees will fly back to the hive leaving the diseased behind at the other end of the field.

Watch this space to see how this collony gets on!

Rape is out, plenty of forage for the bees!

Bailey comb change

Carrying out a Bailey comb change early in the season.

Knowing from my hive records that this hive had a large number of brood frames of about 3 years old, the bees would benifit from new foundation on which to draw out and the queen to lay in for the 2017 season (it would improve the health of the collony).

 On a warm day at the end of March I placed an other brood box with 11 frames of new foundation over this brood box above.  I fed about 6 litres of thick syrup in an English feeder housed in an empty supper to enable them to draw the foundation out (not in the photos).  Over the proceding week and a half, I checked that foundation was being draw out and I then went through the lower brood box and carfully picked up and place the queen in the upper box with a queen excluder inbetween so she wouldn't go back down to the lower brood box.  My 2016 Queen has a spot of white paint on her thorax and so is easier to find.

 

The lower brood box entrance was closed and the upper one opened.  This was to encourage the bees to use and store nectar/pollen in the new box to feed the developing larvae.

Above is a frame of new drawn foundation from the upper brood box with capped brood, larvae, eggs and nectar.  A possible reason for the peper pot patten I believe is how and where the bees have stored nectar, generally toward the edge of the larvae/egg field but some empty cell in the centre have nectar, some have developing larvae.

In the bottom brood box capped brood emerging, some pollen and nectar and shiny empty cells but importantly no eggs or larvae.  These old dark frames once all the bees have emerged can be rendered or destroyed.  I have found that melting old comb like this results in a lot of mess and very little wax, also trying to scrub and sterilise the old brood wooden frames is a wast of time and energy, I suggest burning them.

As of the 9th April I've added a supper of drawn foundation and a queen excluder under this, above the new brood box (a queen excluder remains under the new bood box also) to encourage the bees to put their stores up (bees tend to put stores above brood than bellow) and so not congest the new brood box.

Happy bees are healthy bees and more productive and they are developing fast so more suppers will have to be ready to be add soon.

Happy New Year!

It has been a few months since my last post, family and friends have been enjoying my first honey produced and I have now used up and melted down comb to produce candles.

   WARNING! When melting in the oven DO NOT LEAVE UNATTENDED
 Beeswax is highly flammable.