#winterpreparations

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So I think it’s safe to say I have a somewhat unhealthy addiction to s’mores...but hey at least it’s all concentrated into a delicious gooey dippable pan of perfection!! #mumapproved #smores #winterpreparations https://www.instagram.com/p/BpDx9z4nubr/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ic678v480as4

All hives had their 3rd of 4 total drenchings today spaced 4 days apart per treatment. Each treatment is one cup. Drench is a 1:1 cane sugar syrup with Complete and just enough HBH to keep the syrup free from fungal growth. After treating my hives last season with this formula, i noticed it did seem to help alleviate winter dysentery issues compared to some severe stuff a couple years prior. Last winter's mild temps likely helped overwintering gut health as well. One of the key ingredients in Complete is Nosevit made from extracts of standardized 20% oak tree bark (specific to a region in Europe) and 80% water. From the Complete Bee website: "According to published scientific studies Nozevit has 4 distinct properties. 1. Nozevit Restores the natural pH of the mid gut of the honey bee. When the bee gets sick, the pH of the mid gut turns alkaline or less acidic. Nozevit has natural acidic properties derived from the tannin acids in the extracted plant polyphenols. A higher pH in the mid gut results in a hardening and straightening of the gut resulting in less food processing. 2. Nozevit Restores the elasticity of the mid gut of the honey bee. When the pH rises in the bees gut and the bees are infected internally the mid gut hardens off and looses it's "Slinky" characteristics. A more "Slinky" or elastic mid gut is better able to process ingested elements. 3. Nozevit Produces a "glue like" substance we like to call "gut phlegm" that lines the mid gut of the honey bee and traps and holds for elimination foreign elements inhabiting the mid gut. Cleansing takes place very quickly and the "gut phlegm" traps and holds inhabiting bacteria, microbes, and microsporidians. 4. Nozevit contains natural "probotics" or amino peptides which help in the digestion process of the honey bee. When the mid gut of the honey bee is purged, as in humans, natural beneficial bacteria is need to start the digestion process of newly ingested food. " ABJ May '09, Nov. '09, Oct. '11. #bees #beekeeping #winterpreparations #drenchediphonelens (at Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania)

gorgeous autumn afternoon prepping Chatham Univ. Eden Hall Farm hives for winter by checking queen status, honey store distribution and drenching with Complete. Great help from some of the Food Studies Grad program crew. Thanks so much for the awesome gift crate of beautiful veggies @edenhallfarm ! Forseeing heirloom tomato + ginger Bloody Marys for Halloween. Note the 6:00pm sunset location between the two west boundary tree. #bees #beekeping #winterpreparations #wintershadows @chathamsustain @chathamu (at Chatham University Eden Hall Campus)

Consolidating hives before winter. Speaking of remembrances, so, sadly I had to remove an old failing 2012 queen from one of my hives to do a combo with a nuc made up from one of her 2015 daughters. I didn't have my jar of alcohol to drop the queen at the outyard so did a quick few slices with my hive tool. Retained her head to drop in my alcohol solution (I make swarm lure with it) and noticed there were a number of worker gals still trying to groom and feed her. That hive really would not have made it through winter but was interesting to watch the loyalty even to a dead queen. Maybe some hives are just more adverse to supersedure. #beekeeping #bees #queens #queenright #winterpreparations (at Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania)