This is an ongoing column featuring questions from readers, and answers from UD’s Bee Team. All beekeeping questions are welcome! We may post your question (anonymously) here, and provide an answer for everyone out there that might be wondering the same thing. If you have a beekeeping or bee-related question, please send it to UDBeeTeam@udel.edu with the subject line “Ask the Bee Team”
Q: Hi UD Bee Team, This is my first year, actually first month of beekeeping. I have one hive and installed my NUC on May 3. The NUC came with an Apivar strip, which is still in the hive, I’m not sure how old it is though. I just purchased 2 more strips and added a second deep box last week. My question is should I put the strips in the hive now or later? Thanks in advance for your advice.
A: Thanks for reaching out. The apivar slowly releases a dose of Amitraz. The recommended time for in hive treatment is usually for six weeks. I am not sure who your supplier is or their mite management strategies, but they probably put the single strip in there to drop any mites so you could transfer your nuc into a colony mite free (or with as few mites as possible) as it grows. I would not use anymore strips or mite treatment at this time. Your colony is most likely in full nectar and pollen collection mode. The only thing I would do at this time is to wear gloves and remove the old strip and then once a week check the colony for queen cells and whether they need more room (a second story or super). I would not worry too much about mite levels until later in the season, I would say around August. I recommend doing a mite monitoring technique (48 hour mite drop on a sticky board, alcohol wash etc….) later in the season to know when mites levels are getting high. There are published thresholds (based on mites counts from different monitoring methods) that can help guide when you should treat the colony. -Dr. D, UDBT
