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Randy,s Posts

A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 3

Contents The Donor Colonies 1 Tagging. 1 Results and Discussion. 2 Did the Tagged Bees Behave Normally?. 2 Progress of the Colonies. 4 Answering our Questions 4 Observations from the Donor Hives. 5 Correlation With Varroa Infestation. 6 Tag Recovery by Date. 8 Timelines of Recovery of Drifted Bees 9 Relevance to Mite Immigration. 10...

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A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 4

Contents Distance that Worker Bees will Drift 1 Effect of Distance upon Bee Drift 4 Hive-to-Hive Variation in Captured Tags 7 Validating our Methodology. 8 Mite Immigration: Results of the Stickyboard Counts. 10 Cumulative Mite Immigration. 11 Next Month. 12 Acknowledgements. 13 Citations and Notes 13     A Study on Bee and Mite Drift:...

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The Evolution of a Beekeeper

I liked this article by Ernie, since it well reflected the typical learning curve of a newbee.  The article originally appeared in the Summer 2023 edition of BeesCene, the journal of the BC Honey Producers’ Association, and is here included by permission.

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A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 5

Contents A Deeper Look into our Data. 1 Was Robbing Involved with Mite Immigration?. 6 Discussion on Robbing. 8 Study Wrap Up. 9 Review.. 10 Next Month. 10 Acknowledgements. 11 Citations and Notes 11     A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration Part 5 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ June 2023...

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Natural Beekeeping: A Reckoning

There is a great deal of argument about how “naturally” we beekeepers should manage our colonies.  But the mere act of “keeping” bees implies that it is unnatural.  Truly natural “beekeeping” would be to set out empty cavities (hives or other hollows) for swarms to move into (but not more cavities than would “naturally” exist...

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The Status of Our Industry Regarding Varroa Mgmt and What Can We Do About It?

Contents Introduction: A Reality Check on the American Beekeeping Industry’s Varroa Control Predicament 2 The Lead Up. 2 The Elephant in the Room.. 2 Our Conundrum.. 3 Our Predicament 3 A Personal Note. 4 Rationalization and Lack of Unreasonable Risk. 4 How the EPA Can Help Us 4 Our Current Arsenal: The Registered Varroacides 5...

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A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 6

A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration Part 6 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ July 2023     In our 2018 study in the California foothills, we confirmed that bees indeed drift from collapsing colonies to other hives, even to those at considerable distance. And that drifting can result in a substantial...

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The Status of Our Industry Regarding Varroa Management and What Can We Do About It?

The Status of Our Industry Regarding Varroa Management and What Can We Do About It? Part 2 First Published in ABJ August 2023 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com   CATCH UP Last month I wrote about the options (legal or unapproved) that beekeepers are taking to deal with varroa as it evolves resistance to amitraz. In this...

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Drones and Varroa: Part 1

Contents The Proposed Hypotheses 2 Monitoring of the Mite Infestation. 3 How Best to Obtain a Representative and Consistent Sample?. 3 Testing Hypothesis #1. 4 Field Observations. 5 Results. 9 The Take Home. 15 Citations and Notes 16     Drones and Varroa Part 1 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ October 2023  ...

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Drones and Varroa: Part 2

Contents Testing Hypothesis #2. 2 Let’s Do the Calcs! 11 Conclusions 11 Why Would Mites Prefer  Drones?. 12 Acknowledgements. 12 Citations and Notes 12     Drones and Varroa Part 2 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ November 2023         In the May issue of this journal, Dr. Zac Lamas presented some findings of...

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Selective Breeding Progress Report 2023

Selective Breeding Progress Report 2023 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ September 2023 In 2017 I proposed a simplified method for commercial queen breeders to select for varroa-resistant stock, and then undertook a demonstration project to see if it would work. After six years of strong selection, we appear to be making substantial progress!...

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Domain names held

Hi, I registered these three domain names in the hope that some regenerative farming nonprofits might wish to use them. I’d be happy to give them to an organization promoting regenerative farming that, unlike “certified organic,” accepts precision-bred (Crispr-edited) plant cultivars, and synthetic eco-friendly pest control methods. earthfriendlyfarming.org workwithnature.org backtonatural.org If you’re interested, you can...

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The Status of Our Industry Regarding Varroa Management: Part 3– Reading the Fine Print

Contents CATCH UP. 1 A LOOPHOLE?. 1 “THE LETTER”. 2 Authority to Regulate. 2 Unreasonable Adverse Effects on the Environment 2 Our Questions (again) 3 EPA’S RESPONSE. 4 WHERE WE NOW STAND. 4 Acknowledgements and clarification. 4 Citations and Notes 4     The Status of Our Industry Regarding Varroa Management Part 3 Reading the...

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2023 Field Trial of Matrices and Formulations for Extended-Release Oxalic Acid

Contents A Large Field Research Project 1 Materials and Methods 2 Experimental design. 2 Surface Area of the Treatments 4 Justification for the Ratios Tested. 4 The Test Colonies 4 The Matrices 7 Dose applied to the bees 13 Results. 14 Summary of my interpretation of the chart 16 Discussion. 16 Musing on other studies...

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