- graph 1 - dramatic 2019 fall hive weight gain
- graph 2 - flat to decreasing 2018 fall hive weight
- water balance calculator table - 2019 shows a slightly positive fall
water balance compared to past years, while 2018 shows a dramatically
wet fall water balance
Many factors contribute to fall hive weight gain, but I
speculate that that dry conditions favored optimal goldenrod and aster
honey bee forage; sadly these dry conditions stressed shrubs and trees.
Local fall water balance appears to slowly cycle with a period of 3 to 4
years, meaning that fall 2020 might also be dry - stay tuned.
2 comments:
Interesting, In Northern NJ Goldern Rod and aster is depented on a wet but not a rainy fall in order to get a fall flow. I need 'my' goldarn rod in wet soil just before the flowers open.
Did you by any chance sample for Varroa in the hives? I ask because I'm concerned with some wild colonies (probably from a spring swarm) collapsing in fall and my strong healthy ones robbing and bringing back Varroa during a nectar dearth. In your 2019 Hive #1, that fall weight change could be because your bees are robbing a weaker and collapsing hive.
I plan to rubbage through the data that all the broodminders collect in the US to see if there are people with fall scales, more than one hive where only one increases in weight, and has Varroa infestation data. While, I plan on putting 20ish hives on broodminders(R) and sampling every 15 days in 2020 to test this out myself.
Have a look at both hive weight blog posts - https://beesurprised.blogspot.com/search/label/hive%20weight Lifting just one end or half the hive weight makes this measurement method affordable and easy. Yes, so many fall hive weight factors to consider like robbing. Regarding varroa mite control, try spreading your hives as far apart as possible which mimics the natural behavior of wild bees.
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