Day 22 – Thymol strips

Today was a sunny day, though the temperatures did not rise above 10 °C. The bees were coming out, and I saw a lot of very large and very brightly covered pollen bags.
   Before I left on a business trip, I asked my mentor Bill about the pollen substitute being mouldy. He responded to me on the weekend saying: "During the winter months in many hives pollen in combs not occupied by the bees, becomes mouldy. To prevent mould from growing in your hives during this time of the year, 1/4 Thymol strip can be tacked on the right and left inside hive walls. The small amount of Thymol vapor released during the cold period is still enough to stop mould from damaging the combs and pollen." He also sent me a web link with information about how to use thymol against varr and tracheal mites and against mould.
   I opened up the hive to pin 1/4 thymol strips on each side of the hives.
   I also inspected the frames. One of my two hives, the one where the bees use up a lot more of the sirup, has almost every frame started with drawn comb. The other colony has produced mu less. I assumed that there were a lot less bees; perhaps there is another reason why these bees build much less than the ones in the hive next door. It looked so funny when some workers had their heads in the cell and only their back end could be seen.