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
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 […]
Read MoreThe 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 […]
Read MoreThe 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 […]
Read MoreExtended-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. […]
Read MoreContents 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 […]
Read MoreA 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 […]
Read MoreContents 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 […]
Read MoreContents 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. […]
Read MoreBeyond 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 […]
Read MoreThe 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 […]
Read MoreThe 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 […]
Read MoreThe 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 […]
Read MoreThe 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 […]
Read MoreA 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, […]
Read MoreUnderstanding 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 […]
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