Colony Health & Varroa
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
Oxalic Acid Dribble and Sublimation Updates
Update 28 Oct 2018 Beekeeper Nick Kingan let me know that there’s a nice livestock syringe available from Tractor Supply that can be adjusted to dispense 5 mL per squeeze. I find the squeezing of this sort of syringe to be tiring to my hand if I’m treating a large number of hives, but...
Simulation of sugar dusting against varroa
Knowing the intrinsic rate of reproduction of the honey bee colony and of varroa, the proportion of mites that are phoretic at the time, and the efficacy of a powdered sugar dusting at removing those phoretic mites, one can create a spreadsheet that will calculate the estimated effect of repeated sugar dustings. I’ve done so,...
A Test of Hopguard II As A Late-Summer Mite Treatment
A Test of Hopguard II As A Late-Summer Mite Treatment Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ in December 2014 Introduction This summer my sons and I struggled with varroa in our operation; seems that we should have focused on mite control a couple of weeks earlier than usual. I kicked myself for allowing the...
Messin’ With Varroa 2014
Messin’ with Varroa Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in Jan 2015 Some years we’re in the business of raising bees; in others we seem to merely be raising food for the varroa mite. When I returned in late November from speaking on the subject of mite management at several conferences, to my dismay...
No Negative Effect From Extended Exposure To Amitraz
No Negative Effect From Extended Exposure To Amitraz Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in July 2015 Why are we hearing of elevated rates of queen loss and poor survivability of colonies these days? Could it have anything to do with sublethal effects of the commonly used miticide amitraz? Introduction Last spring I ran...
Mite Washer; Still Improving
Mite Washer; Still Improving Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in August 2015 The quickest and most accurate way to monitor varroa levels is by the alcohol wash. After the publication of my “improved” washer design, I’ve gotten some great suggestions from readers. Unless you monitor for varroa, you have no idea as to...
Oxalic acid Powerpoint presentation
Updated 15 January 2016 Updated oxalic acid ppt presentation Since the EPA registered oxalic acid for the use in beehives (as far as I know, Brushy Mountain has the only registered product to date), I’ve been flooded with questions about using it (since I’ve used it steadily in my operation for over a decade). Therefore,...
Other resources on varroa management
There are a number of other resources for reliable information on varroa management, some of which I’ll include links for: The Honey Bee Health Coalition released this summary of mite management tools in 2015. Free download at Tools for Varroa Management
Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline: Part 10- Summer Downsizing and Varroa
Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline: Part 10 Summer Downsizing And Varroa Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in March 2016 At this point in time, the desperate intensity of spring buildup has long since passed, swarming season is over, and the colony has had its chance to use the main honey flow to put...
Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline: Part 11 – Varroa and Late Season Collapse
Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline: Part 11 Varroa and Late Season Collapse Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in April 2016 I’m writing this article shortly after moving my hives to almond pollination. The supply of strong, healthy hives was short this season, but that came as no surprise. I’d heard reports from all...
A Test of Late-Summer Varroa Treatments
A Test of Late-Summer Varroa Treatments Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ June 2016 Last summer, deep in extended drought, we California beekeepers struggled with varroa. And I realized that I had long been using (and recommending) a mite treatment application based upon hearsay rather than actual data—shame on me! By trial and error,...
The Varroa Problem: Part 1
The Varroa Problem: Part 1 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in November 2016 Legend has it that King Sisyphus was condemned to the maddening task of being forced each day to roll a huge boulder to the top of a hill, only to watch it roll back down again, and then to repeat...
The Varroa Problem: Part 2 – The Coevolution of the Bee, Varroa and DWV
The Varroa Problem: Part 2 The Coevolution of the Bee, Varroa, and DWV Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in Dec 2016 In order to solve The Varroa Problem, we need to understand the biology of how it was created, and what perpetuates it. A Time To Work Together I’m a strong proponent of...
The Varroa Problem: Part 3 – A Creation of Our Own Doing
The Varroa Problem: Part 3 A Creation of Our Own Doing Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ in Dec 2016 The Varroa Problem didn’t just happen—we created it, and we unintentionally perpetuate it. And we will continue to prolong the agony until we, as a community, finally say “Enough!” and start to work...
The Varroa Problem: Part 4 – Mite-Resistant Bees- Pipe Dream or Plausible?
The Varroa Problem: Part 4 Mite-Resistant Bees—Pipedream or Plausible? Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ January 2017 I imagine that some readers may be thinking, “Randy lives in cannabis country with the rest of the fruits and nuts in California—what’s he been putting into his smoker?” And I’m glad to hear that, since smart...
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Ulster County Beekeepers Association
Jan Lawson
Honey Bee Club of Stillwater, Minnesota
Black Hills Area Beekeeping Club, South Dakota
Richard Ozero, Alberta
Paul Yanus, Vermont
Suddabees Honey LLC
Dean Christie
New Hampshire Beekeepers Association
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Michael Kurtz
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Ross Honey Company
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Mike Stoops
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Neil Nordquist, California
Richard Hyde, California
Bonnie Bee & Co., California
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Laura Risk, Colorado
Capital Area Beekeepers Association, Pennsylvania
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Steve Sweet, Idaho
Bill’s Bees
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Debra Morey
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Thomas Dahl
Vince Aloyo, Pennsylvania
Charles Bureau
Help Save the Bees Foundation, Nevada
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Ghislain De Roeck, Belgium
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Robert Holcombe, Rhode Island
Alex Naumenko, Florida
Honey Bee Club of Stillwater, Minnesota
New Hampshire Beekeepers Association
Merrimack Valley Beekeepers, New Hampshire
Blossomwood Honey, Al
Bee Thankful Raw Honey
Skip Smith
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Lee Bussy
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Andrew Dewey, Maine
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