Last month I reminded you to keep an eye on varroa numbers - and for once I have taken my own advice! Although numbers vary greatly between apiaries and individual hives (some have none detectable), in some hives I have seen more varroa than I have seen since it first arrived here in 1997. I therefore started treatment (with thymol) at the end of the first week in July. The build up of varroa was predictable after the mild winter and incredible March and April produced such huge broodnests - a veritable varroa mite's paradise! This has given them a very long season, with drone brood appearing at least a month earlier than normal. So:

• Treat as early as possible for varroa - certainly as soon as the crop is removed.
• Feed colonies that are light after the crop has been taken off.
• Restrict entrances if necessary to prevent robbing and make defence against wasps easier. Be particularly vigilant with nucs.
• Set wasp traps where they are a problem (half fill a wine or beer bottle with sugar syrup and place near the hives - wasps go in, bees do not). Destroy wasp nests if they can be found (ring me for advice if you need it).
• Return wet supers to the same hives after extracting to prevent disease (mark them when removing the crop). Place supers under the crown board until they have been cleaned (this prevents bees dying through the heat build up in the poorly ventilated space if the supers are put over the crown board). Do this late in the evening to minimise robbing.
• Keep an eye on the quality of brood and re-queen or unite as necessary. See last month's tips. However, I have already seen two hives that are superseding poor queens that failed to mate properly earlier this year, so if you have a queen with a poor brood pattern, do check that they are not superseding before you knock the queen on the head and unite the colony with another.
• I am pleased that there are no further cases of EFB to report, but do keep looking.