Refining the Mite Wash: Part 1 – Treatment Threshold and Solutions to Use

Refining the Mite Wash Part 1 Treatment Threshold and Solutions to Use Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ July 2020 Once you’ve shaken a sample of bees, you then need to separate the mites from them.  There are various recommendations for using alcohol, detergent water, powdered sugar, ether, or CO2.  I’ve been using inexpensive […]

An Experiment to Improve Pollen Sub: Part 2

Beekeeper-Funded Research An Experiment to Improve Pollen Sub: Part 2 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ May 2020   In my last article I laid out the reason that I ran this experiment, and my two suspects for being the limiting nutrient in the artificial diet – the lack of an important sterol and/or a […]

An Experiment to Improve Pollen Sub: Part 1

Beekeeper-Funded Research An Experiment to Improve Pollen Sub: Part 1 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ April 2020   In my location, we may not see a drop of rain all summer long, so our colonies become pollen-starved. In order to prepare strong colonies for almond pollination, I used to move them to better forage […]

Questions on Amitraz

Questions on Amitraz Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ March 2020 This past year, some beekeepers asked me a couple of questions about amitraz. So I ran some quick cage trials to obtain answers. The results surprised me. Amitraz is a highly-effective acaricide (something that kills mites and ticks), and is widely used by […]

Fair demo cage

Nosema: Part 7C — The Prevention of Dysentery

Contents Review.. 1 Balancing moisture elimination and heat loss. 2 Broodrearing in the winter cluster. 3 So let’s do the arithmetic!. 5 Practical applications. 5 Optimal Cluster size. 5 Winter stores ― honey and beebread. 8 Hive placement. 8 Hive insulation. 9 Hive ventilation. 10 Literature cited. 11 Nosema and Dysentery: 7c The Prevention of […]

Practical Beekeeping Management

I find that many of the best management resources for professional beekeepers interested in best management practices for their managed livestock were written long ago, before all the hoopla about “The Decline of Bees.”  Those practices still apply — other than varroa mite, little has changed about beekeeping.  So the update is to keep varroa infestation […]

Overwintering of Honey Bee Colonies

Overwintering of honey bee colonies This subject has long generated endless debate among beekeepers.  There are a few excellent resources by those who have collected hard data: Dr. Floyd Moeller was a USDA researcher who performed extensive field research to test various beekeeping management practices. This excellent publication covers practices to improve overwintering success, and […]

The Causes of Dysentery in Honey Bees:  Part 2

Contents The bees’ need for water. 1 Water and the winter cluster. 1 Water Balance. 2 Water homeostasis and buffering in the winter cluster. 3 Water in the gut. 3 Atmosphere and Humidity within the winter cluster. 3 Evaporation via respiration. 5 Defecation/Dysentery. 6 Literature cited. 8     Nosema and Dysentery: 7b The Causes […]

Beginners Resources

I Googled the word “beekeeping” today, which came back with 39 million results — far too many for most of us to read! The other issue is that with the advent of the Internet, those with strong opinions are free to upload their thoughts, without anyone first checking them for supportive evidence.  And in beekeeping, there […]

The Nosema Problem Part 5: Monitoring and Disinfection

Contents What the beekeeper can do. 1 seasonality. 2 detection and Sampling. 3 Queens And Nosema. 6 Deadout equipment. 7 citations and notes. 8   Nosema and dysentery: 5 Monitoring and Disinfection First published in ABJ October 2019 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com Some beekeepers are concerned about the current unavailability of fumagillin. Although the Canadians are […]

Extended-Release Oxalic Acid Progress Report 2019

Contents Background. 2 The 2019 field test. 2 Results. 4 Those danged outliers!. 6 Overall efficacy. 7 Could there have been mite immigration from other colonies?. 8 Fate of the applied towels. 9 progression of action of treatment over time. 13 Results from others. 14 Mexico and uruguay. 14 Southeastern States with high humidity. 14 […]

The Causes of Dysentery in Honey Bees — Part 1

Contents Why would a colony exhibit signs of dysentery?. 3 honeydew.. 4 Microbial dysbiosis or parastism.. 5 The link between pollen and nosema. 7 How about those “winter bees”?. 8 Literature cited. 10     Nosema and Dysentery: 7a The Causes of Dysentery in Honey Bees, Part 1 First published in ABJ December 2019 Randy Oliver […]

The Nosema Problem Part 6: Treatment

Contents First a return to queens. 1 Treatments for nosema. 2 fumagillin. 3 Alternative treatments. 3 What else is on the market?. 6 Nozevit®. 6 Hive alive®. 9 Acids in syrup. 9 Possibilities on the radar. 9 What if you don’t want to treat?. 9 citations and notes. 10   Nosema and Dysentery: 6 Treatment […]

Pesticides in the News

Pesticides in the News Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in August 2019 Our beleaguered Environmental Protection Agency, tasked with protecting man and the environment, is caught between an unsupportive Administration and a public that is becoming more and more concerned about the effects of pesticides and climate change. I plan to return to […]