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Randy,s Posts

Sick Bees – Part 8: Time for a Paradigm Shift!

Contents Understanding Viruses. 2 Bee/Virus Coevolution. 2 Viral Quasispecies. 2 Regional Bee Stocks. 3 The Natural Situation Prior to Varroa. 5 What’s Changed?. 7 The Seasonal Progression of Virus Infections. 7 Enter Varroa. 9 Things are Different These Days. 12 Varroa and Viruses. 14 Holding Yards. 17 Beekeeper-Applied Miticides. 17 Varroa changed everything. 19 Practical...

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Bromenshenk

TABLE OF CONTENTS The Paper What Do Bromenshenk and the Army Claim to Have Found? The Team The Tools A Novel Approach Back to the Paper Q & A Iridescent Virus Practical Applications Acknowledgements References Bromenshenk Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in American Bee Journal December 2010 A man walking along the street one night...

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The Primer Pheromones and Managing the Labor Pool – Part 1

We humans tend to anthropomorphize animal behavior, which is often just plain silly. The most caring, gentle, nurturing beekeeper can pamper a hive to no end, yet will still have her friendship rewarded with a volley of stings to the face should she move a bit too quickly.

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The Primer Pheromones and Managing the Labor Pool – Part 2

The Primer Pheromones and Managing the Labor Pool Part 2 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in American Bee Journal May 2010 In the first part of this article, I explained how the allotment of the hive labor pool was largely controlled through communication via the process of sharing protein-rich jelly via trophallaxis, plus non-feeding interchange...

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The Primer Pheromones and Managing the Labor Pool – Part 3

The Primer Pheromones and Managing the Labor Pool Part 3 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in American Bee Journal June 2010 I left you last month in the middle of explaining the current model for colony workforce allocation, and the influence of various primer pheromones. Please allow me to pick up where I left off....

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The Primer Pheromones, Part 4 – Reproduction and Survival

The Primer Pheromones, Part 4—Reproduction and Survival Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in American Bee Journal July 2010 Queen Pheromone(s) We humans hear the term “queen” and immediately project all the royal attributes of leadership and omnipotence upon the mother of the colony. But is this really the case? Does the queen bee really “rule”...

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Managing Varoa: Part 1 – IPM Realities

I welcome practical, tested tips, methods, and assessments from other beekeepers who are successfully keeping bees with varroa.  I found this article to be a good reality check on certain varroa IPM methods.  It was originally published in the March 2011 ABJ, and I asked the author if I could post it to this website. ...

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Sick Bees – Part 9: Pathogens and Plagues

First published in ABJ May 2011

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Sick Bees – Part 11: Parasite Monitoring

Sick Bees Part 11: Parasite Monitoring Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ August 2011 Last month I was presumptuous enough to try to boil successful beekeeping down to four basic rules. Giving the bees a dry home with plenty of honey is pretty obvious, so I’m going to make the other three easy to...

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Sick Bees – Part 12: Varroa Management – Getting Down to Brass Tacks

Sick Bees Part 12 Varroa Management—Getting Down to the Brass Tacks Randy Oliver www.ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ September 2011 Last month I showed how to make a mite shaker bottle, so that you could easily keep track of the actual mite levels in your hives.  So now you may wonder, how do I use...

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An Early Summer Test of Mite-Away-Quick Strips(tm)

An Early Summer Test of Mite-Away Quick StripsTM First published in ABJ September 2011 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com In the February issue of this Journal, I wrote about a fall trial that I performed with the new formic acid delivery method—Mite-Away Quick Strips (MAQSTM).  I had been impressed by their efficacy and ease of use.  Imagine...

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Oxalic Acid Treatment Table

Table updated Dec 20, 2023. You can print this table directly from this page.  It is critical to mix and apply oxalic dribble correctly (5 mL between each frame of bees), or you risk seriously harming your bees!  Be sure to read: https://scientificbeekeeping.com/oxalic-acid-questions-answers-and-more-questions-part-1-of-2-parts/ https://scientificbeekeeping.com/the-learning-curve-part-3-the-natural-miticides/ https://scientificbeekeeping.com/oxalic-dribble-tips/ https://scientificbeekeeping.com/oxalic-acid-powerpoint-presentation/ Update Dec 20, 2023: We’ve experimented with using glycerin...

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Sick Bees – Part 13: Simple Microscopy of Nosema for Beekeepers

CONTENTS Equipment Needed Taking Bee Samples Processing the Samples Bringing the Spores into Focus Spore Identification Counting the Spores Care and Feeding of your Microscope Coming Up   Sick Bees – Part 13: Simple Microscopy of Nosema for Beekeepers Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ November 2011–this article extensively revised in March 2019. It...

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Sick Bees – Part 14: An Update on the “Nosema Cousins”

CONTENTS Worldwide Status and Distribution Ceranae vs. apis Coinfection Seasonality Sample Interpretation What if You’re Dealing with N. apis? Seasonality Recommendations Acknowledgements References Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com In my last article, I described how to quickly sample for nosema.  So what do the spore counts actually mean as far as colony health is concerned?  I wrote...

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Sick Bees – Part 14: An Update on the “Nosema Cousins”

Contents Worldwide Status and Distribution Ceranae vs. apis Coinfection Seasonality Sample Interpretation What if You’re Dealing with N. apis? Seasonality Recommendations Acknowledgements References Sick Bees 14: An Update on the “Nosema Cousins” First published in ABJ December 2011 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com In my last article, I described how to quickly sample for nosema.  So what...

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