Chinquapin Honey LLC

Chinquapin Honey LLC Small apiary. Locally produced seasonal honey. Master Beekeeper. Alexandria, Virginia Apiary

The bees stopped the excessive bearding yesterday but I noticed that after the constant outside occupation un the sme pl...
08/17/2026

The bees stopped the excessive bearding yesterday but I noticed that after the constant outside occupation un the sme place they had left wax in the side of the hive….

Varroxsan application yesterday, and they have been staying out side ever since….
08/11/2026

Varroxsan application yesterday, and they have been staying out side ever since….

They did not like me going in to their hive(s) today. Today was the first time i went in deeper than looking at a frame ...
08/09/2026

They did not like me going in to their hive(s) today. Today was the first time i went in deeper than looking at a frame in the top box. I have yet to do a full inspection this year and last year for that matter, I think. There must be something to not disturbing the colonies every week or every several weeks.

I went in only to verify brood in the bottom and middle box and only looked at a frame for capped brood, larva and eggs, so I could add the varroxsan. The top boxes were chock a block full of the honeydew. Gross.

I thought there was something going on with #2 for the last week, second from the right (I have been in New Hampshire most of July). My explanation was I forgot to flatten the corner of an apiguard tin in June, so it was stuck to the bottom of the ventilator box. When it came time for the 2nd application, I found that tin still had thymol in it. I added the 2nd dose anyway. [ #2 was the only colony that swarmed because it was the strongest in population and honey production.]

I think the queen shut down for a while according to what I found in the literature so what I was seeing was a good brood break in my most robust colony. Looking at a frame from mid and bottom boxes, I was satisfied with the amount of open brood and this explanation was as good as any.

SPOTTED LANTERN FLY HONEYDEW is godawful! I went in today to remove the apiguard tins and add the varroxsan strips. I co...
08/09/2026

SPOTTED LANTERN FLY HONEYDEW is godawful!

I went in today to remove the apiguard tins and add the varroxsan strips. I could tell something was very very wrong. The beautiful hive smell was gone. In its place a revolting alien smell that can only be associated with the spotted lantern fly honey dew. As you can see it is darker and there is a lot of it. Smells terrible. Spread that on a piece of toast.

What I saw in the apiary today were hives that are honeydew bound and brood chambers pushed down in the colony.

There was a lot of cleanup involved here. This mite treatment shoukd take me well into late October when I go through my OAV regimen for the season for a near zero mite load for winter.

Here is the .stl file for the SHB smasher. I am going to modify this design make it a little longer.
08/05/2026

Here is the .stl file for the SHB smasher. I am going to modify this design make it a little longer.

this is used on the top of the beehive frames to smash hive beetles.

07/03/2026

Sucks not to have A/C

All the bearding was temperature induced. Harvest is done but one hive is defensive…wife got tagged on the ear in frint ...
06/17/2026

All the bearding was temperature induced. Harvest is done but one hive is defensive…wife got tagged on the ear in frint of the house…wait till I put in the apiguard.

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Alexandria, VA
22302

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