September to December – Tubbs Berry Farm

August 1st Hive Inspection, Getting Ready for Winter!

Heidi Tubbs — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 20:11:31 +0000

It is still pushing 100 degrees during the day here in Twin Falls, Kirk walks through a hive inspection and what we should be seeing and doing this time of year! 2 Part video.

Fall Varroa Mite Discussion

Heidi Tubbs — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 20:08:45 +0000

Varroa is enemy number one! Kirk discusses the what, why, and when of our successful mite treatment program!

Getting Bees Ready for Fall To Do List

Heidi Tubbs — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 20:06:50 +0000

Kirk walks through the biology of what is going on in the fall and what will need to be done in the next few weeks to get bees ready for winter!

Why did my bees die this winter?

Heidi Tubbs — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 14:22:11 +0000

This is a great video showing very common causes of bees not making it through the winter in southern Idaho. Many people think that starvation, lack of insulation, or moisture in the hive are the main causes. Kirk shows you that these are usually symptoms of a bigger problem, varroa mites. He walks you through how to identify some of the signs of varroa infestation in a dead hive and what happened over the course of the winter. If your bees didn’t make it, you might want to check out our post on how to get a dead out ready for new bees!

If your bees didn’t make it and you need to know the best place to get bees in southern Idaho, you can order bee packages from Tubbs Berry Farm here!

Why don’t we recommend insulating hives in Southern Idaho?

Heidi Tubbs — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 21:53:28 +0000

Why don’t you insulate your hives? If the hive is strong, has low mites, health bees and plenty of food, it’s a non-issue. Insulation works by resisting heat flow. It also works both ways it can prevent a hive from warming naturally on a warm day. The ebb and flow of daytime and nigh time temperatures allow the hive to expand and contract the cluster and move as needed. If you can’t resist using some type of insulation, I have found that ¼ inch foam under the lid, over the inner cover doesn’t seem to hurt anything, and on a warm fall like we had actually kept them a little cooler and slowed down activity on the unseasonably warm fall. Basically, it shaded them from the sun and helped them stay shut down. I have a few lids that I have built that way as a trial. Overall, I would focus my energy on managing varroa and making sure the hive is well provisioned!

January 2022 in the Bee Yard

Heidi Tubbs — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 21:51:43 +0000

Hi fellow bee enthusiasts,

I haven’t posted too much this winter, when its this cold you should be leaving them alone. I know its hard!

I do expect winter losses to be high. A warm Oct, Nov and December is hard on overwintering bees, allows lots of mite migration. In the past this type of weather has always resulted in high winter losses.

It is a great time to study up and make plans for improving next year.

I want to share a few links, I try to take in all the scientific research I can. As we learn more, recommendations for best practices will change. Correlation and causation are not the same things, multiple studies looking at lots of variables is the best way to tease out what is really happening in a study.

This first one is too Randy Oliver sharing the results of some trials. He does great job and I am a fan of his research.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyulQqhZBZ4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFGZ110irFY Think I will be trying the Dawn Ultra this summer.

November 1st Bee Update

Heidi Tubbs — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 22:51:23 +0000

Fall Biology and Early October hive check

Heidi Tubbs — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 22:45:07 +0000

Last week of October 2021

Heidi Tubbs — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 17:56:35 +0000

Here is a look at what is happening! We are having an abnormally warm October, this isn’t great for the bees!

Fall crowding in bee hives.

Heidi Tubbs — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 13:07:07 +0000

It is fall, we’re harvesting honey, pulling honey supers, and taking our bees back down to 2 deep 10 frame boxes. We want them dense and full going into winter. In the spring overcrowding is a problem, if the bees don’t have room they may decide to swarm. In the fall, overcrowding isn’t as bad. End of August, first part of September when we pull honey and treat for mites the bee populations are just starting to decline. Which means that over the next few weeks the bee population is going to decline rapidly from its summer high. The queen is laying less, the workers are backfilling with honey, and the bees are moving down into the bottom box. Pulling supers does crowd them in 2 boxes but remember much of this workforce is at the end of its life. Robbing can be a big problem in the fall, having a colony that has extra bees guarding or hanging out in front of the hive can be a big deterrent to other bees looking for an easy target.

This is what robbing looks like!

Heidi Tubbs — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 02:16:32 +0000

Here is a hive in the process of being robbed by strong colonies. You can see the fighting and the frenzy.

What to do? Keep strong colonies, if you catch it you can put a sprinkler on top to discourage bees from coming in. Robbing screens and reducing the entrance can help.

On this hive I put on a robbing screen, taped a bee escape on the hole in the front, and hosed off the box several times (do you think I could find the sprinkler? Nope). It seems to have worked but the robbing bees were pretty determined.

Mites on drone brood, hive too light for early September.

Heidi Tubbs — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 01:59:06 +0000

Checking for mites in drone brood is a great way to get a feel for what is coming as far as mite loads. If you have trouble seeing mites, they show up on the white larvae. Ideal is purple eye stage for seeing mites. This hive also has a lot of brood but is going to need some help to get enough stored for winter!!