This past season had its highs and lows. The weather this summer was unusually wet. In terms of honey, some plants produced a fair amount of nectar, with a strong nectar flow from basswood in the summer. Going into the fall, there was a significant flow from goldenrod, something we have not seen in recent years. Overall, with the excessive rain, our honey yield was a bit below average.
This mixed weather also resulted in a mixed success with our queen rearing. As far as our cell builders are concerned, we had great success rearing cells. However, with the rain preventing mating flights, our queen mating success was lower than previous years.
Mite levels peaked early this year and we struggled to manage the levels. The Formic Pro used in mid-August was not very effective. We switched to Apivar in fall, after supers had been taken off. However, even Apivar seemed to be less effective with a delayed response. We monitor our hives with sticky boards at least 3 times a year. We find that post treatment monitoring is now essential.
The strength of our colonies was lower than what we typically like to have before winter. As per usual, we are indoor overwintering colonies that have 4 frames of bees or less.
