Melittobia acasta and bumblebees

Nest treatment and restart

The goal removal of bumblebees from the hive and those parts of the nest on which a bumblebee colony can continue in your work. 
Melittobia are effective at destroying bumblebee cocoons, but bumblebee larvae before pupation ignore – they are not digestible for them.
The principle is therefore vto bring these safe parts and you „reuse“.

If you remove the bumblebees and destroy the rest of the nest, the bumblebees will survive but will struggle. Therefore, you need to transfer at least part of their work (wax parts), so they can smell him.
What parts and how You can find information on treatment here.

What will you need:

• Means for sealing the ulcer (cork, tape, etc.)
• red lantern
• a dark and preferably also cool room
• strong alcohol/ether
• Plastic bag for nest disposal
• Bin
• Ulcer cleaning agents following treatment
• A larger glass bottle (jar) with a volume of at least 1 litre (a large pickle jar of 3-5 litres is better).
• Funnel made from a cut-off PET bottle neck, through which bumblebees will fall inside but not fly out
• a beekeeping helper (alternatively, long meat-roasting tweezers can be used, or tweezers with rubber at the end, or a spoon, he throws a wooden chopstick at the „China“)
• We recommend protective gloves, ideally beekeeping gloves. 
• A face mask, or respirator over your mouth
• nail scissors
• razor blade
• Clean bee house with new bedding
• sugar solution (fructose, standard white granulated sugar, water in a 2:1:2 ratio) in a PET cap with a cotton wool roll, or in a bumblebee feeder see HERE
• ideally also a PET cap with frozen pollen, previously collected from the flap
• clean startle with a new lining (the old lining must be disposed of)
  Note
  – in the absence of a second hive (bumblebee hive), the original one can be used, thoroughly cleaned, as you do at the end of the season
  – focus primarily on corridors, cracks, corners, etc.
  – if you do not have a clean lining, part of the original lining can be used after thorough sanitisation in a pot in a conventional oven at a temperature of 100 – 120°C for at least 40 minutes

Notes

• Instead of alcohol/ether, you can also use boiling water and pour it over the embryo. However, this method is quite inhumane, damages the embryo, and most importantly, may not be as effective.
• You can find breeder accessories HERE

Procedure

1. We will carry out all further operations in a darkened room, by red light, for which Melittobia does not fly!
2. Careful – we never have a new clean hive and lining in the same room as an infested hive!
3. Startled by an attacked nest Seal hermetically (entrance, ventilation, roof)  
4. Hermetically sealed take it into the dark, turn on your red light (headlamp or bike taillight)
5. Carefully remove the roof and eradicate the individual Melittobia sitting on it
6. Remove the bumblebees gradually, mHow do you do it when inspecting a nest? (into a glass bottle with a funnel)
7. Watch out, you don't take the bumblebees away too with pieces of lining, which Melittobia females can carry
8. Nest lining Dispose of in a bucket for subsequent disposal.
9. Gradually you will reach the ceiling of the nesting cavity, which you must carefully tear or cut open.
10. We will remove the remaining bumblebees from inside the nest (a stick that the bumblebees can crawl onto, or long tweezers, is useful here).
11. Remove above all old mother (if present), Young mothers and males. The mother/mothers can successfully hide next to and under the nest
12. Then remove the nest with part of the lining onto a board – a large surface with a light-coloured finish; individuals of Melittobia crawling away will be clearly visible here
13. Remove all bumblebees, leave none in the nest
14. Carefully with a razor from the wax work we will cut off all the cocoons Yellow and/or brown, oval but closed 
15. In case of rest of the nest and then we proceed the same with the bumblebee house as if in total liquidation
16. Cut off larvae in casings and laying (brown parts) from the nest we will thoroughly examine using bright white daylight in a closed room (also possible outdoors with the risk of Melittobia escape), whether any Melittobia individuals are present on them
17. In a clean/new lining a ve  cleaned/new ulcer You create a dent. We will place it in there removed brown parts (larvae and egg-laying)
18. Ideally, you'll add Bird feeder from a PET bottle cap with pollen, dull we'll cover lining
19. You will create a pathway in the lining to the entrance hall / opening and insert Sugar feeder
20. Empty the bumblebees into the hive and close the roof
21. You leave the shock closed and Take him outside
22. Can one expect source of infection Will it be somewhere near the estuary, so it is a better shock absorber to place on the new site, or remove/transfer possible sources of infection, from which Melittobia can spread (insect hotels, solitary bee houses) to a distance of over 30 metres from the hive
23. After the nest has been tidied up (for a good few hours) open the air vent and you step away from the swarm; the bumblebees will gradually find their way out, they will make a reconnaissance flight And will it return to normal
24. If the worker bees return to original location, catch them with a net and a feeder, and return them to the hive through the flight entrance 

Yes, it's laborious, but Saving a rare bumblebee species It's worth a try.