August 10: Mites. Ugh.

August 10, 2014:

A mite, magnified many times over.
In real life they're about the size of a sesame seed.

I pulled the tray from the bottom of the hive today, and looking through the magnifying glass found...varroa mites.  Damn.  I know they're unbelievably common, and that the overwhelming majority of beekeepers have to cope with them, but I had hoped to escape them for this summer, at least.

My bees are supposed to be of hardy, mite-resistant stock.  Perhaps they'll fight them off with no major ill effects.

I'll have to measure the level of infestation, and figure out if I need to invest in some chemical or natural treatments.  Back to that sharp learning curve.  I'm pretty bummed.

August 11:  Some optimism.

I just went out and looked at the bees. I couldn't see any mites or deformations on any bees on the exterior of the hive, which is good news. I have a screened bottom board under my hive, and an old-fashioned lunch tray beneath it: this is a way that beekeepers monitor for mites, since when the mites die they drop down through the screen onto the tray where you can find them and count them. I saw a few on the tray last night.

Looking at it this morning, there weren't as many as my anxious mind saw last night. I cleaned the tray, drew a grid on it, and I'll check it again in 24 hours. The number of mites I find on the tray will determine whether I need to treat the hive or not (and if so, I'll have to figure out which of about 6 methods I want to use).

If it turns out I need to aggressively treat the hive and thus save the bees, I'll probably lose my honey crop, since it's still uncapped and I can't leave it on the hive while I use chemical treatments.

What I saw this morning leaves me guardedly optimistic, though. 

Not one of my bees, I'm happy to say.