Timing of mite treatment

[Les]

I was watching a video on youtube of a beekeeper going through his hives for the first time this Spring (4/22)  He is in a similar climate to mine and has not begun  feeding syrup yet, he is continuing with sugar patties for another week or so and he also added pollen patties.   I asked him when he planned on starting 1:1 syrup, he indicated that he was going to leave the hives covered for another week, remove the covers, then treat the hives for mites with Mite A Way quick strips for 7 days and then start feeding syrup.  I was kind of scratching my head with that response.  Am I wrong but I would think getting nectar into them would be more of a priority at this time to build them up before doing a mite treatment?  When would be a good time to treat in the Spring?

[apisbees]

Early stimulation of bees is not necessary a good thing. If you have a need and use for early bees to make nucs, splits, or packages then stimulate feed the girls. If you do not have a purpose for the early bees all you are doing is increasing the swarm risk later on in the season. Beekeeping is about having a plan for your operation and what you want out of the bees and hive and then implementing and sticking with it.
The beekeeper that lets the hives dictate his or her management are more apt to fail. I want honey... Oh Queen cells, Lets raise some nucs, nucs are produced late so no market, To many bees removed from colony so no honey. nucs don't build up enough so are lost during the winter. With all the extra manipulation The treatments are missed or to late and the hive might not make it.
Have a plan, Stick to the plan, manipulate the hive to follow the plan... But also be mindful of inspecting for disease and mites, that the queen is laying to her full potential, and that you do every thing you can to help the hive be successful in following your plan.

Sorry Les got a little carried away with my rant. If he has kept bees in his area for a long time he may have Knowledge that pollen is missing in the early spring but feeding syrup is only required if the hive is very light. Over feeding then the spring bloom hits and the brood nest becomes honey bound, that causes swarming issues.
I would suggest asking him why he does what he dose, it will most likely be very enlightening and will let you in on some secrets of your area.

[Perry]

What Apis says is bang on. I used to feed syrup in the spring but haven't for a few years now. I used to want heavy brood production in the spring because I sold nucs. Now that I overwinter nucs I no longer have to pull them from my honey production colonies so I don't need the massive build up before the first real nectar flow. (plus I'm lazy, why feed if not necessary ).
I use fondant during the winter for anything I am worried about and once foraging begins I stop feeding altogether. If I fed syrup in the spring I would be chasing bees in the tree tops.

[Les]

Apis & Perry, your input is why I love this site.  So much knowledge and insight......thank you, thank you.
The beek I mentioned is a fairly new beek like me, I think he is in his third year.  I believe he gets much direction from his bee group, which is a good thing.

I guess it's time to treat my bees (after the rain stops today).  Let's hope that rain makes the dandelions pop!  Heck, everything needs to pop........we are at least two weeks behind with this crazy Spring weather we have been having.

[apisbees]

You bring up a good point. We end up at bee club meetings and the commercial operators stand up and say that they have been feeding the bees for 2 to 3 weeks already and the new beek's think they are behind already. What they do not say is that in their operation they have a need and use for the extra bees that they are raising. treat when you feel comfortable with the temp and timing, not because someone ease is treating. work on your schedule if the season is 2 weeks behind then your treatment could be delayed by 2 weeks. If he is getting his timing from a commercial operator they some times do things out of necessity rather when it is the optimal time. They may need to get a treatment done before the hives are moved for pollination Or before shaking bees or making nucs. So they do it early. If the temps are not warm enough it could effect the quality of the treatment, but they have to get it done in the time window available to them.
Read all the instructions, check the 2 week weather forecast, and apply the treatment when you feel it is the right time for your bees and when the treatment is most effective. 

[Wandering Man]

All of the local "experts" were advising that we beeks rush out and start feeding out bees at the end of February, first of March because "more bees are lost at this time of year than any other due to lack of feeding."  This is typically when our Spring begins.

The rational was not only to feed the bees, but also to stimulate comb building and egg laying.

Now, I'm questioning their advice, because all of these experts have large apiaries and are trying to ramp up for production of bees to put out in the fields.

We started feeding, even though it looked to us like the bees had plenty of stores, and the plants were blooming.  The bees took the syrup in two of our hives, and ignored it in the third. 

[apisbees]

Another thing that your post brings to mind is, You have 3 hives foraging in your area going after the limited plants that are blooming but there is enough for them to survive. Commercial operators can have 30 and up to a couple hundred even thousand of hives in a small area where their is to little forage to support the number of hives. So them having to feed is a necessity.

[Wandering Man]

Apis,

Very true.

We have now moved our hives to another's property, and he is amazed at how many bees he now finds in his pumpkin patch.  My bees had very little competition in our backyard, and will continue to have little competition.

I think he will be even more amazed at how many pumpkins he grows later in the year.

[Les]

Wandering Man's comments reminded me as to why I decided to start beekeeping, it was for pollination purposes more than anything else.  The honey happened to be an extra bonus.  We actually do not eat that much honey (hubby is a diabetic), we give more of it away.  Reading posts on WWB, watching videos and seeing how many beekeepers want to make splits to increase their colonies influenced my mindset...... make more colonies.  While it is sound practice to have more than one or two hives, my mission should be to keep my bees healthy, more than concerning myself with increasing my number of hives.

[tecumseh]

To feed or not to feed that is one question...  First I would suggest the kind of flow experienced by Les or Apis is much different from what Wandering Man should expect.  If you wait here in the south to ramp up population then likely you will not obtain much of a honey crop as a results of this management plan.  As Apis suggest PURPOSE drives a lot of decision making and local conditions will dictate some choices.  The degree of feeding is most important here... and yes you can definitely feed too much but generally never too soon.  Personally my approach is I tip hives from the back and those light or top heavy get fed those that are heavy as a brick get nothing ( but with our long build up thru spring these will not be heavy for long).

Treatments no matter what the form all seem very much time dependent.