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
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 […]
Read MoreThere 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
Read MoreUpdated 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, […]
Read MoreMite 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 […]
Read MoreNo 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 […]
Read MoreMessin’ 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 […]
Read MoreA 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 […]
Read MoreKnowing 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, […]
Read MoreUpdate 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 […]
Read MoreAn Improved, but Not Yet Perfect, Varroa Mite Washer Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com Originally published in ABJ in Oct 2013 Update 4 July 2022 for the benefit of Aussie beekeepers. The simplest version of a mite wash cup is with two 16-oz clear plastic cups and a piece of tulle fabric: We no longer use alcohol. […]
Read MoreBEEKEEPER-FUNDED RESEARCH Does Oxalic Acid Treatment of Nucs Affect Honey Production? Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com Originally published in ABJ Dec 2013 Last year I ran two trials to see whether I could take advantage of the brief window of opportunity which occurs 19 days after starting nucs with queen cells, during which the mites are forced […]
Read MoreMonitoring Mites by Sampling Frame-to-Frame Consistency of Samples Mite Recovery of the Alcohol Wash Sticky Boards Natural Mite Drop vs. Alcohol Wash Discussion Experimenting with MAQS Strips References and Footnotes Mite Management Update 2013 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ August 2013 It’s that time of year again to get a jump on varroa […]
Read MoreSimple Early Treatment of Nucs Against Varroa Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ April 2013 Starting the season with a low level of varroa allows a colony to get a jump on the mite and its associated viruses. I tested a simple method for incorporating varroa management into nuc production. Introduction When I try […]
Read MoreTable 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 […]
Read MoreAn 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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