Inspection Report - July/Aug Cumulative

This report will be a summary of the last few visits since they were all related and the purpose was supplemental.

MITE TREATMENTS

This time of year, it is very important to get varroa mite treatments under control. After the solstice, bee populations start to slowly decline in preparation for winter, but varroa mite populations start to increase. Because varroa mite can destroy a colony, it is important to get them under control.

I use several methods to control the mites throughout the year, but this time of year I use a method that is a bit intensive. It requires several consecutive treatments timed 7 days apart.

I spent most of July treating for varroa mites at the Google location, and feel that we have them under control. This is an ongoing process, so will begin another treatment cycle in September.

FEEDING

Because of the wet spring and early summer, many of the flowers that bees depend on for nectar, did not have any. The rains washed it all away. As a result, the Google colonies are light on honey reserves they need for the winter.

I began “emergency” feeding in July. This means that I bring sugar water to the bees, and put into special feeders that are inside the hives.

The hopes are that the bees will take the sugar water and convert to honey for the winter. I will continue to monitor the honey levels as fall and winter approaches. Most likely I will be feeding up until cold weather hits.

CORRECTION OF FRAMES

One of our hives at Google seems to have had an issue with how the bees were building the wax inside. I only discovered this on a closer inspection, and determined that I needed to correct the situation. Basically, the bees were building wax and comb in the wrong area, and could have been an issue.

I tore the hive apart, corrected the issue, and put things back together. The hope is that they will now begin to build in the correct areas.

The blue bottom box on this hive was in need of fixing honey comb inside.

COVID AND GOOGLE

I have been following the rules that Google has set forth. On each visit, I check my temperature and follow the steps at the front entrance. I am there when there are no other people in the building, and rarely see another person, but please let me know if there is anything specific I need to do to ensure that I am properly following Google rules.

RECOMMENDATION

Going forward, it will be important to keep feeding the bees, but adding medicine to help them with common issues this time of year. Specifically Nosema can start to appear before winter, and we want to boost their immune system before then.

Inspection Report - 08/17/2020