Beekeeping Through the Eyes of a Biologist
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Allow me to start with an excellent assessment by Bee Culture’s Phil Craft (BC July 2015): Perhaps beekeepers who have come to the craft in the last few decades aren’t aware of the effect varroa had when it first arrived on this continent and of how it earned its full name, Varroa destructor. Whatever the reason, every year, beekeepers all over the country lose colonies to mites and the viruses of which they are carriers, and they never know what hit them. They blame pesticides,or CCD, or habitat loss, and sometimes those really are causes, or at least significant factors. However, too, too often, the underlying cause is a lack of effective management, which allows a mite infestation to overwhelm a colony or weaken it to the point that it succumbs easily to other stressors. The most frustrating thing about these losses is that they don’t have to happen. Watch Dennis vanEngelsdorp explain why mite management is critical for colony survival, and which methods work or don’t at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bm3Y4t1NwQ
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 […]
Read MoreContents 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 […]
Read MoreContents 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 […]
Read MoreContents Introduction and Some Scientific Terms 2 Don’t Anthropormorphize Honey Bees 3 An Example of Robbing Without a Fight 4 There’s Little Difference Between Foraging and Robbing. 4 How Robbing Screens or Guards are Presumed to Work. 5 Test 1: Does Any Exhaust Air Exit Out the Upper Entrance?. 5 Our Findings 6 Test 2: […]
Read MoreContents Introduction. 1 Materials and Methods. 1 SIDE NOTE: A Practical Observation. 9 Back to M&M.. 9 Results. 10 Discussion. 13 Next 15 Citations and Notes 16 Can Robbing Screens Reduce Mite Immigration? Part 4 First Published in ABJ October 2024 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com I’m typing these words freshly returned from presenting […]
Read MoreContents The Effect of Mite Immigration Upon the Efficacy of OAE. 1 Trial B –– A Comparative Trial of Effect of Robber Screens Upon Mite Buildup. 4 Experimental Design. 4 Materials and Methods. 5 Results. 7 Discussion. 10 Next 10 Acknowledgements. 10 Citations and Notes 1 Can Robber Screens Reduce Mite Immigration? Part 3 First […]
Read MoreContents Trial A –– A Crossover trial, No Mite Donor Hives 1 Materials and Methods. 2 The Robber Screens Used. 2 The Trial Yard. 3 Preparation for the Trial 3 Experimental Design. 6 Treatment Assignment 7 Stickyboard Counts 7 Results and Interpretation. 9 Conclusions 12 Acknowledgements. 13 Citations and Notes 13 Can Robber Screens Reduce […]
Read MoreCan Robbing Screens Reduce Mite Immigration? Part 1 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ July 2024 After writing about my investigations into bee drift and mite immigration, I was asked whether the use of robber guards (aka robbing screens) could decrease the amount of mite immigration into hives. So I ran some controlled field […]
Read MoreEffect of OAV on the Rearing of Brood Ernie Daley and Randy Oliver First published in ABJ June 2024 I have used OAV (oxalic acid vaporization) for varroa control for over ten years and have wondered whether (1) the treatment could be applied proactively prior to the introduction of package bees, and (2) whether […]
Read MoreTime for Plan B? Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ June 2024 The varroa mite invaded beehives in the U.S. nearly 40 years ago, and has been our major problem ever since. Until mite-resistant stock becomes readily available, we’re stuck with attempting to manage this parasite with an inadequate range of registered products. Keep […]
Read MoreContents My Preliminary Findings 1 Preparation. 2 Application. 4 Colony Response to the Treatment 6 Final Inspection. 13 Effect Upon Varroa. 15 Is it Worth Preparing Your Own?. 15 Remaining Questions to Answer 15 There’s a Reason that EPA Registers Miticides! 16 Citations and Notes 16 Extended-Release Thymol Blocks Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in […]
Read MoreThe Elephant and the EPA Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ April 2024 A related pair of issues are coming to a head: (1) The “elephant in the room” that nobody wants to talk about –– that the EPA is feeling increasing pressure to ramp up enforcement against beekeeper use of unapproved treatments, […]
Read MoreContents Formic Vapors and their distribution. 1 Experiment #1: Applying Formic Pro on the bottom board, with a temporary top entrance. 2 Results. 5 Experiments on queen loss due to formic. 6 Experiment #2: Can you remove, and then reintroduce the queen?. 7 Experiment #3: Is it the formic or the bees that kill the […]
Read MoreGood News from the EPA! Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ January 2024 Last month I wrote about a letter that I written in July to the EPA, asking for clarification as to whether they actually had authority under FIFRA to justify restricting beekeepers from using generic oxalic acid (and other natural […]
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