Greetings across the water

This morning had just replied to Wanderingsailor's comment on my last Blip, regarding a problem she had had with formic acid treatment of her bees. I said I would try to find a resaon.

Just as I finished the mobile rang and Angie asked me to pick up Flash (our dog), meeting her at the "bee hives". So drove over and found her chatting to the beekeeper Hans Vögele. I have Bliped his bees a few times but in the last 10+ years had never met him - he doesn't live there. Angie on her rides had often spoke to him.

I think he was a bit taken aback as I jumped out of the car, shook his hand and asked for his help for an "acquaintance" in the UK. Hans is a bit of a legend in these parts, has over 40 bee colonies and has been beekeeping for 51 years.

The problem had been masses of bees dying immedaitely following formic acid treatment in June. Hans said it should not be applied if temperatures above 20°C as the stress caused by the fumes, agitates the bees, they produce lots of heat and together with the high outside temperatures, they will die, literally cooked!

Now I should have known or deducted this and included it in my list. First of all MrB had only ever told me to do it in Autumn and Spring. Secondly his latest instructions a few weeks ago had included: start it in the late afternoon/evening before a dry and best cloudy, no direct sunshine, warmish period so that the bees could fly. Naturally he didn't say not to do it when it was hot as the temperatures were now coolish and there was no sign of a heatwave in the foreseeable future.

Not sure what the temperature was when WanderingSailor did the treatment but could be the reason. Makes sense anyway.

When I asked him if I could Blip him, he was a bit troubled he wasn't dressed up in his beekeeping jacket and insisted on taking off his cap for his worldwide debute. Greetings all beekeepers worldwide from Hans.

One nice thing Hans said: after 51 years he still surprises himself by making mistakes - there's hope for me yet.