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
Beyond Taktic® -Beekeeper-Funded Research
Beyond Taktic® Beekeeper-funded Research Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ January 2017 The miticide Taktic has been the savior of the commercial bee industry since the early 2000s. But it may be time to move on. I’ve been experimenting with a promising potential replacement. Our Situation As I recently pointed out, there are signs...
The Varroa Problem: Part 5- Striking a Deal with Varroa
Contents selective breeding. 1 There’s no free lunch. 2 The good news. 2 What needs to change. 2 Striking a Deal with Varroa. 3 Other mechanisms and traits. 4 Progress can be fast. 5 knowing your enemy. 6 The strategy for subduing varroa. 6 The bees’ tactics. 7 Using models. 9 wrap up. 11 aknowledgements....
The Varroa Problem: Part 6a – Bee Breeding for Dummies
Contents It’s been thirty painful years. 2 Breeding is merely Human-directed evolution. 3 Bees are still pretty wild. 4 Natural and artificial selection. 4 Assessment methods. 5 The Bond method (you get what you wind up with) 5 the bond method, but without the Needless carnage. 8 Getting down to the nitty gritty. 9 Define...
A Test of Using CO2 for Bee-Friendly Mite Monitoring
A Test of Using CO2 for Bee-Friendly Mite Monitoring First Published in ABJ April 2017 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com Beekeepers who monitor the varroa level in their hives tend to be more successful at keeping their colonies alive and healthy. But no one likes having to sacrifice bees to take mite counts. So when I heard...
The Varroa Problem : Part 6B – Small-Scale Breeding
Contents Let’s work together. 1 For the hobbyist: Be part of the solution. 2 Work cooperatively. 3 Responsible beekeeping. 6 Mite bombs and drift of mites. 8 Wrap up. 9 Notes and citations. 9 The Varroa Problem Part 6b: Small-Scale Breeding First published in ABJ April 2017 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com I’m fully aware that...
Extended-Release Oxalic Acid Progress Report – Part 1
Extended-Release Oxalic Acid Progress Report Part 1 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ July 2017 In January I wrote about an exciting extended-release application method for oxalic acid [[1]]. I’m currently collaborating with the USDA Agricultural Research Service and the EPA to get this application method added to the current label for oxalic acid. ...
The Varroa Problem: Part 7- Walking the Walk
The Varroa Problem: Part 7 Walking the Walk Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ May 2017 I’m not one to tell any beekeeper what they “should” be doing—it’s up to nature, the market, personal preference, and history to determine what works. In my last two articles, I’ve discussed ways to go about breeding...
The Varroa Problem: Part 8 – Regulatory Cascades, Varroa Tolerance, and a Moon Shot
The Varroa Problem: Part 8 Regulatory Cascades, Varroa Tolerance, and a Moon Shot Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ June 2017 In writing this series, I skipped ahead over some details so that I could publish my suggestions for setting up a breeding program for mite resistance in time for this season’s queen...
The Varroa Problem: Part 9- Knowing Thine Enemy
The Varroa Problem: Part 9 Knowing Thine Enemy First published in ABJ August 2017 Updated Dec 2021 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles”– Sun Tzu. We are all beekeepers; we are also all varroa keepers (some of us better...
The Varroa Problem: Part 10-Smokin’-Hot Mite Washin’
The Varroa Problem: Part 10 Smokin’-Hot Mite Washin’ Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ September 2017 If you had asked me even a month ago as to how many of your hives to sample for varroa, I’d have suggested using Katie Lee’s plan of 8 hives per apiary [[1]] (in truth, we’ve rarely...
The Varroa Problem: Part 11- The Math of the Mite
The Varroa Problem: Part 11 The Math of the Mite Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ October 2017 I’ve previously written about how the seasonal buildup and decline of the honey bee colony is a function of the birth and death rates of the workers [[1]]. Varroa follows a similar buildup and decline...
Extended-Release Oxalic Acid Progress Report #2
Extended-release Oxalic Acid Progress Report #2 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ October 2017 There has been a huge amount of interest in the extended-release application of oxalic acid for controlling varroa. I and my collaborators have been working hard to collect the data necessary get this treatment approved for use by...
The Varroa Problem: Part 12- Building a Model
The Varroa Problem: Part 12 Building a Model First published in ABJ November 2017 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com In my last article, I showed the basic math of varroa buildup during the period of broodrearing, and the subsequent decline of the mite population when no broodrearing was taking place. My simple graphs were illustrative of...
The Varroa Problem: Part 13 Using the Mite Model
The Varroa Problem: Part 13 Using the Mite Model First published in ABJ December 2017 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com It’s been nearly 25 years since I saw the first varroa mite in one of my hives, and it’s been a wild ride since then. Not only for our bees, but also for the business of beekeeping,...
The Varroa Problem: Part 14- Virus Dynamics and Treatments
Contents The problem with waiting too late to treat. 1 Virus dynamics and miticides. 3 The question of timing. 3 the proportion of mites that are in the brood. 5 Efficacy of treatments. 8 The problem with the bombs. 8 Coming next. 10 Acknowledgements. 10 Notes and Citations. 10 The Varroa Problem: Part...
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I appreciate the notes of support that I receive from all over the world. Seeing who is donating, their locations, and the little notes that come with contributions help to let me know how I should direct my research and writing. In appreciation, and in order to show who is supporting my research and writing, I honor below those who have recently made substantial donations:
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Jersey Cape Beekeepers
Busy Bee Honey, Vermont
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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
Jane Sebring
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Charles Bailey Jr
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Owyhee Honey Company
Idaho Honey Ranch
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Charles Bailey Jr
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Mike Tooley
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Pamela Stegemerten
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Michael Kurtz
Dan Geer
Ross Honey Company
Steven Greenwood
Julie Spezia
Stephen Lamb, California
Pam Rogers, Indiana
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Bill Mares, Vermont
Mike Stoops
Adam Bagerski, Oregon
Dorothy Hammett
Janine Cohen, California
Neil Nordquist, California
Richard Hyde, California
Bonnie Bee & Co., California
Merrimack Valley Beekeepers Association, New Hampshire
Laura Risk, Colorado
Capital Area Beekeepers Association, Pennsylvania
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Beekeepers’ Guild San Mateo, California
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Joplin Area Beekeepers Association
Steve Sweet, Idaho
Bill’s Bees
Rich Blohm, New York
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Kip Glass, Missouri
Charles Vorisek
Carlos Perez, California
Debra Morey
Margaret Varney
Chester County Beekeepers Association, Pennsylvania
Thomas Dahl
Vince Aloyo, Pennsylvania
Charles Bureau
Help Save the Bees Foundation, Nevada
Aaron Bergman, Florida
Alan Herzfeld, Idaho
Eli’s Bees, California
Ghislain De Roeck, Belgium
Buncombe County Beekeepers, North Carolina
Robert Holcombe, Rhode Island
Alex Naumenko, Florida
Honey Bee Club of Stillwater, Minnesota
New Hampshire Beekeepers Association
Merrimack Valley Beekeepers, New Hampshire
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Bee Thankful Raw Honey
Skip Smith
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Andrew Dewey, Maine
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