Expert Advisory Details

PAU experts' suggestions for honey bees

Bee strength of honey bee colonies during April is about at peak. Keep vigil of swarming in the colonies and manage to prevent and check swarming. Colonies should be provided enough space in the form of raised empty combs or frames with wax foundations and super chambers to cope-up with brood rearing and honey storage. The early part of the month is still suitable for queen bee rearing. If drone brood rearing is continued, the stock multiplication can be undertaken either by dividing the colonies or through mass rearing the queen bees. The progressive beekeepers should prefer the latter method for its well known advantages. Older queen bees may also be replaced, if not replaced as yet during the season, with the new ones raised preferably from the selected good stock following mass queen bee rearing technique. Dust sulphur powder on the top bars of bee combs @ 1.0 g per comb against brood mite (Tropilaelaps clareae). Alternatively, fumigation with formic acid (85%) @ 5 ml daily for two weeks may be applied which, however, should be avoided during nectar flow. The latter treatment will also take care of Varroa mite. In the case of infestation by Varroa, destruction of sealed drone brood comb part, Varroa trapping on drone brood and then its destruction, dusting of icing sugar in between bee combs and use of sticky papers with Varroa bottom board, can also be integrated. Keep vigil of the brood diseases and on suspicion, immediately consult expert and suggested control measures should be undertaken; non-chemical methods should be preferred. Use of antibiotics should be avoided. Proper spacing among the colonies and extraction of honey only from the supers separated from brood chamber with queen excluder help in preventing spread of Varroa and brood diseases among the colonies in an apiary. If Eucalyptus is in bloom around the apiary and colonies have surplus sealed honey, it should be extracted. All necessary precautions, for preventing robbing in the apiary, must be observed during and after honey extraction. Afterwards, commercial beekeepers may migrate their apiaries to sunflower growing areas. Considering the ensuing summer season, colonies should be managed to be shifted under shade.