How does the colony determine the queen should be superseded, and the implications this has for practical beekeeping? Plus the water preferences of honey bees, and some bumblebee-mimicking hoverflies.

An introduction to Varroxal, the new/old miticide available in the UK, and discussions on how it and FormicPro can be used control mites midseason. These provide the opportunity to avoid hard chemicals (like Apivar) and/or exploit late season nectars like heather and ivy.

3D printing saved my hives during Waspageddon, improved my honey sales, and was lots of fun when queen rearing. If you were tempted by part 1 in this series, then here are the background details — including what not to buy — in time for the Black Friday sales. Unless you're reading this next May.

'Matchsticks under the crownboard' … often recommended, rarely (coherently) justified, and contradicting colony behaviour. This and other topics related to winter insulation, condensation, and ventilation.

Strategies to exploit midseason partial or complete brood breaks to control mites without needing to also treat in late summer. These may offer advantages to those keen to abandon 'hard' chemicals, avoid miticide resistance, or who target late-season nectar flows (e.g. heather, balsam, or ivy).

The tedium of jarring and labelling honey gives me time to think about other things. I ponder how to safely store and carry lots of heavy jars, or label them informatively for customers, or where the bees foraged to collect all that nectar in the first place.

The beekeeping season might be over, but the beekeeping chores never stop. Some are best done in the cooler temperatures of autumn — rationalising frames, defeating wax moths and preparing soft set honey — before the onset of winter.

Vadescana (marketed as Norroa™️) is a radically different new mite treatment. How does it work? How well does it work? Is it the silver bullet that 'solves' the problem of Varroa, or is it misnamed and too difficult to use effectively? Is it even necessary?

Water is essential for colony survival, particularly when temperatures are high. How much water does a colony need, which bees collect it, and where do they collect it from? As the climate changes, how can you ensure your bees have access to enough water?

Autumn is here. Time for some final pre-winter hive management, comparisons of baker's and beekeeper's fondant, the impact of 'local' on beekeeping, unusual sightings in the apiary and heather honey extraction. Next stop … spring.

Repeated oxalic acid vaporisation is often recommended without discussion of the related importance of dose and application frequency. The method works … if you use enough OA, at appropriate intervals for sufficient time. Of course, that doesn't mean you are allowed to use it.

Sugar shake or dusting is promoted as a good way to dislodge mites for counting or Varroa control. However, recent evidence suggests it reduces the survival of exposed bees, which raises some interesting ethical questions.

Used properly, Apivar is an excellent miticide. How and why do you position and reposition the strips in the hive? How long do you treat for, and how do you detect and avoid resistance? Don't expect the answers to be in the instructions on the packet.

There's a lot of variation in beekeeping. Things change from week to week, and month to month. This season was different from last, and next season will be different again {{1}}. This variation is just one of the things that makes beekeeping so interesting, _and_ so challenging. But these seasonal changes aren't the only things that vary. Beekeeping attracts all sorts of people; brain surgeons, tree-huggers, lorry drivers, accountants, rocket scientists, environmentalists, homemakers and, I dare say, homebreakers. But within that broad swathe of society, it seems to me that there are two basic _types_ of beekeepers: 1. Those who don't understand, or don't care, what's happening inside the hive, but just want some honey at the end of the year. If things don't work out, they don't try to determine what went wrong. Instead, they simply buy another queen (or nuc) and hope for better 'luck' the following year. They keep bees, and they like honey, but that's it. 2. Those who want to _understand_ what the colony is doing. If things go well, they want to repeat the success in the future. Conversely, if things go badly they try to understand why, and avoid the situation happening again. Ideally, if things _start_ to go 'pear shaped', and they spot the symptoms, they intervene in the hope of averting disaster {{2}}. ### Blurred boundaries Inevitably there's some blurring of the boundaries between these groups, both in the level of interest/understanding, and its timing. Some tyros start as near-fanatics, suffer a couple of setbacks, and rapidly join the first group (or give up). Others start the season enthusiastically, determined to keep on top of things, only to be distracted by family holidays, golf, or a thousand and one other things (_aka_ 'life'), and end the season without a clue what happened in the hive. But it also works the other way; some start knowing next to nothing (or inherit bees 'accidentally'), but get captivated by bees and beekeeping, and develop an insatiable thirst for understanding. They never stop learning. My guess is that most readers of _The Apiarist_ fall into the _'like to understand'_ group. I know I do, though it's not unusual for me to realise _“_ _I don't have Scooby_ _”_. Hives on the heather moors For example, heather honey … on the West coast it was the only honey I produced (and most years generated too little to even dampen the extractor 😞), where the 'challenging' conditions made colony preparation for the late summer crop problematic {{3}}. This year — for the first time — I've taken hives to the heather in the Scottish Borders. Some did well, some did poorly. I'd _really_ like to understand why near-identical colonies performed so differently, so I can get _more_ to do well next year. ## Why does any of this matter? In some ways, it doesn't (other than carrying those echoingly empty supers back from the hill). You _can_ keep bees without understanding why the colony is doing whatever it's doing. You can even be successful — measured however you want; honey production, wax, pollination, _etc._ — without much understanding of bees. At least, you can _some_ of the time. In a good year, beekeeping is easy. A few carefully timed inspections, a bit of swarm control, everything goes swimmingly. Heavy supers, mated queens, happy beekeeper. But how often does that happen? I reckon I've had three 'easy' beekeeping seasons over the last 15 years. Seasons where _everything_ went right. Seasons in which any fool (including this fool) could succeed. However, most years bring challenges; adverse weather, pests and pathogens, accidents, or often a complex mix of these and other events. Deciphering _why_ the colony isn't doing as well as it should, or doing something you think it shouldn't, involves good observation, a little detective work, and some basic knowledge of honey bee biology. It's not rocket science (so rocket scientist beekeepers don't have an advantage), but it isn't always easy. Whether you consciously apply it or not, judicious use of Occam's Razor — the _law of parsimony_ — makes understanding your bees a little easier. ### This post is for subscribers only Become a member to get access to all content Subscribe now

Enjoy the sights, sounds and smells from the last of your beekeeping this season. There's still much to do, but it's going to be a long time until you can work with the bees again, so make time to store away some memories for the long winter ahead.

Using 3D printing you can inexpensively produce items for your bees and beekeeping that are useful, and either unavailable elsewhere or costly. Here is an introduction to the technology, and a guide to some of the things you can make.

The science, art, and practice of sustainable beekeeping ... so much more than honey