The "Apiguard" has been in the hive for two weeks now (half way through), so I installed another foil tray this afternoon. The weather has been good for the past couple of weeks and it is still pretty warm during the day - mid to high 20's Celcius (80's F). This should be enough for the gel to evaporate and the Thymol to do its stuff in the hive! Fortunately the next 10 days also look pretty warm-ish, and the temperatures are forecast to be in the high 'teens Celsius (~60F). So I hope the mite treatment will be able to see it's full course at suitable temperatures and be fully effective.
The Daughter hive still looks strong, and as the temperatures have dropped the bees are spending less time on the outside of the hive. Just before I added the first dose of "Apiguard", two weeks ago, I was able to do a quick check on the super that I placed at the bottom of the hive. This was much lighter than it had previously been and so it now appears to be emptying! I hope this means the bees have moved the honey up into the deeps. Once the treatment is finished I'll check the super and remove it if I can.
I also checked the Parent hive. This is doing OK as well, and I added about 1/2 litre of 2:1 sugar syrup. The bees are taking a little syrup and the stores in the hive are much improved. However, they are not still building out the honeycomb that they cleared out after the beetle problem earlier in the season. Perhaps the reason is that the comb is "contaminated"? I think I'll exchange it with another built out frame to see if this helps encourage them them to store something! Maybe if this comb was being built out I'd be thinking about adding a new hive body in the hope the bees expand the nest over the next month or so i.e. while the weather is still warm enough for them to raise brood before the winter.
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