Went out to check on a hive that had some unusual brood cells. The larvae were somewhat deformed and the irregularity was noticeable to my novice eye. I pointed this out to my friend who after a few glances observed the misshapen form the uncapped brood.
Afterwards I went online and did a Google search for Honeybee Brood Disease. I wasn't too sure what I had seen but it looked like the larvae has been squashed yet there was no evidence of damaged cells and the misshaped forms were found at random in the brood cell. My worst fear was that it might be the dreaded American Foul Brood.
What I found, when i checked my hives in the fading light of early evening, appeared more like Chalk Brood. Now I will have to ask some of my more knowledgeable bee keeping friends how to treat this bee malady and how to prevent it from spreading to other hives in that yard. Sure glad I won't have to torch my hive to get rid of the disease.
Some more good news comes from the Big Island, where the Big Island Beekeepers Association hosted a Honey Tasting event. The results were hard to find on the BIBA website but thanks to an e.mail from a friend this link to Damon Tucker's Blog gave the results in an excellent post that included pictures from a recent swarm removal on his property.
Congratulations to Kauai beekeepers Joyce and Francis Takahasi with their Miki Mac honey and the Lydgate Ohana of Steelgrass Farms in Wailua who won a blue ribbon each in the Best Liquid and Best Appearance respectively. Mahalo for representing Kaua'i so well.
Might as well pile on some more good news. Coming up in a few weeks on Monday November 29 at KCC, a panel discussion hosted by the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture will take place in the Electronic and Technology Building's lecture hall at 6pm. I hope to receive some more details on the speakers and the subject matter and will post them as soon as I can. Here's an excerpt from HDOA agent Darcy Oishi's e.mail,"The post-poned trip is finally happening and I must apologize but we have short notice again. Can you set up a room for them to give a presentation on Monday the 29th if at all possible at 6:00 PM. I'm going to generate info and everything about the meeting. Things have been crazy hectic man. The talk they'll give is a beekeeping basics course and kind of cover what you all need to do to prepare for varroa and small hive beetle. it will focus more on best practices. "
This was scheduled earlier this year but had to be postponed due to a family emergency of one of the featured speakers. I'll post more details later. Mahalo to Chris, Ben and Joshua for forwarding bee related info to me. I hope this blog can continue to be a useful forum for folks wanting learn and share more about bees and beekeeping. Aloha aina and have a beautiful day.
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Aloha Kauai Beekeepers; the delayed visit by experts from the mainland is back on schedule. Here's the information:
ReplyDeletePresentation:
Basic Beekeeping Location: Kauai Community College, Tech 114
Date: November 29, 6:00 PM
Preparing for Varroa and Small Hive Beetle
Location: HDOA Conference Room
4398A Pua Loke Street
Date: November 30, 9:00 AM
About Mr. Snyder: Rob Snyder is a member of Bee Laboratory team at Pennsylvania State University. Rob’s interest in beekeeping came after taking an apiculture course in Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Pennsylvania where he developed a strong interest in insect taxonomy. Mr. Snyder has managed hives for Triple L farms as farm manager and worked closely with Dr. Robert Berthold. In 2007, Mr. Snyder became served as Apiary Inspector for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. In 2009, he joined Dennis vanEnglesdorp’s Bee Lab at Pennsylvania State University where he organizes and assist in the National Honey Bee Survey, as well as taxonomically identifying native bee specimens from across Pennsylvania. Mr. Snyder’s interests include honey bee management, epidemiology and photography. The vanEnglesdorp Bee Lab is recognized nationally as one of the premier labs conducting research on varroa, diseases associated with varroa and colony collapse disorder.
Mr. Snyder will be giving two presentations. The first, Beekeeping Basics, is geared toward beginning beekeepers and hobbyist and will address a variety of issues including how to keep your hives healthy and basic good practices for beekeeping. The second presentation is entitled “Preparing for Varroa and Small Hive Beetle”. This presentation is oriented to more advanced beekeepers and will focus on what beekeepers can do now to prepare for varroa and small hive beetle.