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Randy,s Posts

Robbing Screens: Part 6– De-Anthropomorphizing Robbing

Contents Fact-checking some “common knowledge” about Robbing behavior 1 Anthropomorphizing bee behaviors. 4 There are different types of foragers. 4 Persistence of Memory. 5 How robbing happens –– Step by Step. 6 Importance of Scent 7 Our initial experiments to test the deterrance effect of screens 8 “Guilty” Flight Behavior 13 So is zig-Zag flight...

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Robbing Screens: Part 7–Can They Alone Prevent Robbing?

Contents Experiment #1. 2 Conclusion. 6 Rallying the Troops 7 The Dance Language. 7 Direction. 7 Distance. 8 “Profitability” and Desirability. 8 ODOR. 9 An Amusing Anecdote Regarding Training Bees to A Scent 9 The Purpose of a Robbing Screen. 9 Experiment #2. 10 Results. 12 The Question of Recruitment 13 The Question of Visual...

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How to Perform a Mite Wash to Monitor the Varroa Infestation Rate

Monitoring the varroa infestation rate by performing mite washes We don’t like to kill a bee any more than you do, but feel that any colony would gladly sacrifice a handful of workers in order to prevent facing an ugly death due to a varroa/virus overload. I’ve spent years testing and developing different methods of...

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Swarm pickups

Here’s a video of hiving a swarm by placing a nuc box next to it: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hwi8ts8r83dj5u0x1g6bs/swarm-pu-in-nuc-box.mp4?rlkey=009xao2f6nqg283zn17id39zb&dl=0

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Honey Cleanup without Robbing

Honey Cleanup without Robbing Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ September 2023   I’m often asked how to “clean up” the honey in cut-out burr or volunteer combs, spilled honey, sticky extracted combs, or other honey that we’d like to recycle back into hives — without initiating robbing and the potential transfer of pathogens....

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Robbing Screens Part 9: Designing a Robbing Screen that Works in Conjunction with the Colony’s Guard Bees

  Robbing Screens Part 9: Designing a Robbing Screen that Works in Conjunction with the Colony’s Guard Bees Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ March 2025   The defenders of a colony against robbing are its resident guard force.  Do the current designs of robbing screens help or hinder those guard bees?  Robbing Starts...

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Robbing Screens: Part 8– Do They Work in Concert with Guard Bees

Contents An Unsuccessful Attempt to Create Robbing  Field Observations of the Guards Behind Robbing Screens  How Colonies Guard Themselves against Foreign Bees  The Behavior of Guard Bees  My Conclusions  Next Month  Acknowledgements  Citations and Notes  Robbing Screens Part 8: Do They Work in Concert with the Guard Bees? Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ...

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Smokin’ Hot Mite Washin’- 2025 Update

Smokin’-Hot Mite Washin’ 2025 Update Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com   Monitoring the infestation rate of your colonies One has an ethical responsibility to prevent the suffering of any livestock under their care.  Most commercial stocks of honey bees, unless “treated” for varroa, will die an ugly (and preventable) death.  Most colony losses are due to inadequate...

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Is Our Party Winding Down

Contents Professional Beekeeping 2 The Beginning of a Boom 3 Indicators of Change 4 The Four Booms, Sprees, and Joyrides that We’ve Been Enjoying 5 I’ll Go Over Each of the Above in Turn, and Point out Early Indicators and Preparation. 6 The Demand for Bees for Almond Pollination 6 Early Indicators and Preparation 8...

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A Field Test of Apitablets

Contents Feeding Thymol for Varroa Control 1 Setup. 2 Results. 8 Discussion. 10 Consumption/Removal of the Tablets. 11 Confirmation of Consumption. 12 Conclusions. 19 Acknowledgements. 20 Citations and Notes. 20   A Field Test of Apitablets Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ April 2025 I’m often asked by developers of new items for beekeepers,...

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A Trial of Some Summer Treatments

Contents Oxalic Strips (OAE) 1 Fig. 1 The bees shifted brood rearing away from the strips 4 Extended-Release Thymol 4 Conditions During the Trial 7 A Note on Our Mite Wash System 8 Results and Discussion 10 Acknowledgements 12 Citations and Notes 12 A Trial of Some Summer Treatments Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in...

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The Shift Toward Bioacaricides

Contents SYNTHETIC MITICIDES. 2 BIOPESTICIDES. 3 PEST RESISTANCE MANAGEMENT. 4 SHIFTING TO “NATURAL” TREATMENTS. 5 MONITORING THE DEGREE OF MITE INFESTATION. 6 TREATMENT THRESHOLDS. 7 PHYSICAL, MECHANICAL, AND BIOTECHNICAL METHODS. 10 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER. 13 BIOLOGICALLY RESISTANT STOCK. 14 NOTES AND CITATIONS. 15     The Shift Toward Bioacaricides Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published...

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Selective Breeding for Mite Resistance: Part 1

Contents COLONY COLLAPSE REDUX? 1 A SIDE NOTE ON RECENT COLONY COLLAPSES 2 WASTED YEARS 3 NOVEL HOST-PARASITE RELATIONSHIPS 3 BREEDING MAY BE SIMPLE, OR MORE COMPLICATED 4 SELECTING FOR TOLERANCE OR RESISTANCE? 4 HOW DOES VARROA’S NATIVE HOST DEAL WITH THE MITE? 5 SOCIAL APOPTOSIS 6 RE-EVALUATING SELECTIVE BREEDING STRATEGIES 6 PROGRAMS SELECTING FOR...

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First Year Beekeeping

Updated 23 November 2025.  I continually update this page, so please refer to the current version.  For mite treatment options, search “Varroa Mite Management” Beekeeping in a Nutshell I’ve attempted to distill 50 year’s of beekeeping experience into a short set of instructions for starting out with bees in the Sierra Foothills.  This page provides...

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Selective Breeding for Mite Resistance Part 2: Concepts

Contents LET’S GET REAL 1 BEES ARE DIFFICULT TO SELECTIVELY BREED! 3 DARWINIAN BLACK BOX SELECTION 4 IT TAKES A TEAM 5 IMAGINE SELECTIVE BREEDING AS A CARD GAME 7 IT’S A BALANCING ACT 9 OUR PROGRESS TO DATE 10 JULY UPDATE 11 CITATIONS AND NOTES 12   Selective Breeding for Mite Resistance Part 2:...

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