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New Zealand Beekeeping Forums
NZ Beginner Beekeepers
Super Aggessive hive - low brood. High Varroa.
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<blockquote data-quote="Wknz" data-source="post: 3163" data-attributes="member: 175"><p>I cracked open my two home hives to do a bee wash and varroa check. Watched Trevs video (Thanks Trev) and got a mini strainer / pickle jar type think to do the sieving. </p><p></p><p>Hive one - beautiful bees - although a couple of guard bees were a bit peeved by the time I finished. Solid brood (yay) and tons of bees across two boxes. Samples 288 bees and found 3 varroa. 1.04% </p><p>Just on 1 percent. Re-adjusted the strips slightly but happy as they are. </p><p></p><p>Hive two - flow hive which is now two 8 frame boxes and no flow frames (the bees didnt take to them). I got the original queen from [USER=205]@CHCHPaul[/USER] and it was lovely. Some time around Christmas I got a feeling something changed in the hive, noticed a change in temperament and noted they were more niggly. I havent seen the queen but had noted there was fresh brood etc. Wondered if there was a wild mated queen in play again. </p><p></p><p>Recently they had been quite niggly with multiple guard bees dive bombing me if I stood closer than 1-2 metres for 2-3 minutes. Putting the strips in a 4 weeks ago they were testy as all get out. Today they were plain old fashioned rabid. I've had one aggressive hive before when a virgin mated locally. That hive was bad. This one is insane. Six bees stings in a row and dozens of bees aggressively attacking me - I walked away for a patch. </p><p></p><p>After moving away and clapping a few really persistent bees (Thanks [USER=71]@Maggie James[/USER] for that technique) I went around the other side of the house. I was found again by 6 - 8 bees who were seriously aggressive. </p><p>Clapped them, got found by more. Went inside, stepped out 7 minutes later and almost instantly there were another two. </p><p></p><p>I am wondering how much I smelled of stings and if that was causing the issue - but even so - these are seriously aggressive. </p><p></p><p>The hive looks honey / pollen bound. I had pulled two honey frames from them, to make space as they looked pollen / honeybound. I had noted lower brood and had some concerns re amount of feed. Now there is maybe half a frame of brood (out of 16 frames) and tons of pollen / honey. I didn't find the queen, as after getting some bees to test for varroa I shut them up for safety. </p><p></p><p>I only collected around 150 bees and found 7 varroa. 4.6% They are not healthy. </p><p></p><p>My dilemma. I have tons of honey and pollen, a hive with very low brood, about 3/4 of a box with frames covered by bees and a super aggressive hive on my hands. A new queen would fix the aggression but I am wondering if I am throwing good bees after bad. </p><p></p><p>My other hive has solid frames of capped brood I can make use of and I have two other hives going strongly in a separate location. Should I try to find the queen, kill her, and try for an emergency queen, buy in a known mated queen or just add the boxes onto another hive to become part of them? The hive has two, 8 frame boxes, ###### all brood and 4 apivar strips have been in place for 4 weeks. Tons of pollen and capped honey.</p><p></p><p>Thoughts? I would appreciate any advice on this. </p><p></p><p>PS: I suspect I dont want to mate a queen in my area again. It seems two out of two were super aggressive - and I dont want to try for three.</p><p>I have considered pulling the hive to pieces, refitting it in two standard 10 frame boxes and try to see if it will rebuild brood with more space to lay.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Wknz, post: 3163, member: 175"] I cracked open my two home hives to do a bee wash and varroa check. Watched Trevs video (Thanks Trev) and got a mini strainer / pickle jar type think to do the sieving. Hive one - beautiful bees - although a couple of guard bees were a bit peeved by the time I finished. Solid brood (yay) and tons of bees across two boxes. Samples 288 bees and found 3 varroa. 1.04% Just on 1 percent. Re-adjusted the strips slightly but happy as they are. Hive two - flow hive which is now two 8 frame boxes and no flow frames (the bees didnt take to them). I got the original queen from [USER=205]@CHCHPaul[/USER] and it was lovely. Some time around Christmas I got a feeling something changed in the hive, noticed a change in temperament and noted they were more niggly. I havent seen the queen but had noted there was fresh brood etc. Wondered if there was a wild mated queen in play again. Recently they had been quite niggly with multiple guard bees dive bombing me if I stood closer than 1-2 metres for 2-3 minutes. Putting the strips in a 4 weeks ago they were testy as all get out. Today they were plain old fashioned rabid. I've had one aggressive hive before when a virgin mated locally. That hive was bad. This one is insane. Six bees stings in a row and dozens of bees aggressively attacking me - I walked away for a patch. After moving away and clapping a few really persistent bees (Thanks [USER=71]@Maggie James[/USER] for that technique) I went around the other side of the house. I was found again by 6 - 8 bees who were seriously aggressive. Clapped them, got found by more. Went inside, stepped out 7 minutes later and almost instantly there were another two. I am wondering how much I smelled of stings and if that was causing the issue - but even so - these are seriously aggressive. The hive looks honey / pollen bound. I had pulled two honey frames from them, to make space as they looked pollen / honeybound. I had noted lower brood and had some concerns re amount of feed. Now there is maybe half a frame of brood (out of 16 frames) and tons of pollen / honey. I didn't find the queen, as after getting some bees to test for varroa I shut them up for safety. I only collected around 150 bees and found 7 varroa. 4.6% They are not healthy. My dilemma. I have tons of honey and pollen, a hive with very low brood, about 3/4 of a box with frames covered by bees and a super aggressive hive on my hands. A new queen would fix the aggression but I am wondering if I am throwing good bees after bad. My other hive has solid frames of capped brood I can make use of and I have two other hives going strongly in a separate location. Should I try to find the queen, kill her, and try for an emergency queen, buy in a known mated queen or just add the boxes onto another hive to become part of them? The hive has two, 8 frame boxes, ###### all brood and 4 apivar strips have been in place for 4 weeks. Tons of pollen and capped honey. Thoughts? I would appreciate any advice on this. PS: I suspect I dont want to mate a queen in my area again. It seems two out of two were super aggressive - and I dont want to try for three. I have considered pulling the hive to pieces, refitting it in two standard 10 frame boxes and try to see if it will rebuild brood with more space to lay. [/QUOTE]
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Super Aggessive hive - low brood. High Varroa.
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