GeorgiaWes · Georgia, US · Pests & Disease · Aug 3, 2026

The bees that get you through winter are being raised right now — a reminder about August mite loads

22 years in and I still see the same heartbreak every spring, so forgive the soapbox. The colony that dies in January didn't die in January. It died in August. Your winter bees — the long-lived fat-bodied bees that carry the colony from October to March — are being raised over the next 4-6 weeks. If varroa is chewing on that brood now, those bees emerge with damaged fat bodies and a load of DWV, and no amount of October treatment un-rings that bell. October treatment kills mites, sure, but the winter bees are already made by then. So: wash now, not when the supers come off in September because it's convenient. If you're over 2-3 per hundred in August, you're already paying interest on that debt. I run 30 hives in Georgia and August washes are the one job I never let slide. Happy to answer questions from newer folks below. What are y'all seeing for counts this week?

#varroa#winter-bees#mite-wash#seasonal-management

▲ 15 votes 💬 5 replies

5 replies

ImkerinLena · Aug 3, 2026

Well said. The physiology matters here: winter bees need intact fat bodies for vitellogenin storage, and varroa feeds directly on fat body tissue — not haemolymph as we all learned years ago (Ramsey's work showed this). A bee parasitised as pupa is permanently compromised. In Bavaria we say the beekeeping year begins in August for exactly this reason.

AlpineCarnica · Aug 3, 2026

Agree completely. In Tyrol our saying is the same — August is the first month of next season. I would add: don't just treat, verify. Wash again 2-3 weeks after treatment finishes. I've seen formic strips fail in a bad heat spell and the beekeeper never knew until the colony collapsed in November.

BethsBees · Aug 3, 2026

Second-year here in Ontario and this is timely — I washed yesterday and got 7 per 300 on my strongest hive. That's over 2%, so I should be treating basically now, right? Supers are still on though. Does that change what I can use?

muglabalci · Aug 4, 2026

BethsBees — with supers on your realistic options are formic (if your temps allow) or pulling the supers early. Most other treatments contaminate honey. 7/300 in early August I would not sit on. And GeorgiaWes is right, I've kept bees 15 years in Muğla and every colony I've lost to varroa was lost in August, just discovered in winter.

GeorgiaWes · Aug 4, 2026

What muglabalci said, BethsBees. 7 per 300 with supers on — I'd pull the supers this week and treat. The honey left in the boxes isn't worth the colony. Good on you for washing at all, most second-years don't.

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