Thought I would try a more organic approach to the varroa mite problem. I obtained some powdered sugar to use to dust the bees. I used about a cup of the powdered sugar and put it on all of the top bars of the bottom brood chamber. I then used the bee brush to sweep the sugar in between the frames. Thats when the hive really woke up. There were so many bees in the air after doing that, it was just amazing to see. After about 15 minutes or so I checked the bottom board collector and found 6 adult varroa mites. I emptied it and re-installed. I will check again in 24 hours. I am hoping with this method and a couple of others will help with dealing with the varroa mite problem.
After dusting the bees, they were everywhere, thousands of them. They really were not concerned with me at all. The dusting caused an immediate grooming behavior. And it looked like it caused some sort of feeding frenzy as well. Where ever the powdered sugar fell, bees were all over it consuming it.
Here are photos and a couple of clips from today's visit;
Burr comb about to be removed
I see quite a few new bees in this photo
Added the powdered sugar...
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