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
Effect of OAV on the Rearing of Brood
Effect 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...
Can Robbing Screens Reduce Mite Immigration?: Part 1
Can 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...
Can Robber Screens Reduce Mite Immigration? Part 2
Contents 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...
Can Robber Screens Reduce Mite Immigration? Part 3
Contents 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...
Can Robber Screens Reduce Mite Immigration? Part 4
Contents 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...
Robbing Screens: Part 5–They Don’t Just Affect Robbers
Contents 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: ...
Robbing Screens: Part 6– De-Anthropomorphizing Robbing
Contents 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...
Robbing Screens: Part 7–Can They Alone Prevent Robbing?
Contents 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...
How to Perform a Mite Wash to Monitor the Varroa Infestation Rate
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...
Smokin’ Hot Mite Washin’- 2025 Update
Smokin’-Hot Mite Washin’ 2025 Update Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com Monitoring the infestation rate of your colonies One has an ethical responsibility to prevent the suffering of any livestock under their care. Most commercial stocks of honey bees, unless “treated” for varroa, will die an ugly (and preventable) death. Most colony losses are due to inadequate...
A Field Test of Apitablets
Contents Feeding Thymol for Varroa Control 1 Setup. 2 Results. 8 Discussion. 10 Consumption/Removal of the Tablets. 11 Confirmation of Consumption. 12 Conclusions. 19 Acknowledgements. 20 Citations and Notes. 20 A Field Test of Apitablets Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ April 2025 I’m often asked by developers of new items for beekeepers,...
A Trial of Some Summer Treatments
Contents Oxalic Strips (OAE) 1 Fig. 1 The bees shifted brood rearing away from the strips 4 Extended-Release Thymol 4 Conditions During the Trial 7 A Note on Our Mite Wash System 8 Results and Discussion 10 Acknowledgements 12 Citations and Notes 12 A Trial of Some Summer Treatments Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in...
The Shift Toward Bioacaricides
Contents SYNTHETIC MITICIDES. 2 BIOPESTICIDES. 3 PEST RESISTANCE MANAGEMENT. 4 SHIFTING TO “NATURAL” TREATMENTS. 5 MONITORING THE DEGREE OF MITE INFESTATION. 6 TREATMENT THRESHOLDS. 7 PHYSICAL, MECHANICAL, AND BIOTECHNICAL METHODS. 10 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER. 13 BIOLOGICALLY RESISTANT STOCK. 14 NOTES AND CITATIONS. 15 The Shift Toward Bioacaricides Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published...
Selective Breeding for Mite Resistance: Part 1
Contents COLONY COLLAPSE REDUX? 1 A SIDE NOTE ON RECENT COLONY COLLAPSES 2 WASTED YEARS 3 NOVEL HOST-PARASITE RELATIONSHIPS 3 BREEDING MAY BE SIMPLE, OR MORE COMPLICATED 4 SELECTING FOR TOLERANCE OR RESISTANCE? 4 HOW DOES VARROA’S NATIVE HOST DEAL WITH THE MITE? 5 SOCIAL APOPTOSIS 6 RE-EVALUATING SELECTIVE BREEDING STRATEGIES 6 PROGRAMS SELECTING FOR...
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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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Everything on this website is open access and freely given to beekeepers and researchers worldwide, on a not-for-profit basis. I gladly accept supportive personal gifts of appreciation from my readers. You can donate via Paypal below (or better yet via Venmo as a gift to @RandyOliverBeekeeper). I will treat all Paypal donations as “gifted grants to be applied towards beekeeping research” given by you with “detached and disinterested generosity out of affection, respect, admiration, charity or like impulses,” and not in the expectation of any goods or services. Since I am not a 501(c)(3), your gifts are not tax deductible.
Thank you and happy beekeeping!
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Supporters
ScientificBeekeeping is a not-for-profit enterprise, and I’m happy to receive notes of thanks for how information on this site has contributed to my readers’ success at beekeeping (and sometimes saved them hundreds or thousands of dollars). It is your support that allows me to devote my life to this site. All donations go towards website maintenance, bee research costs (typically tens of thousands of dollars per year), re-donations to fund research by others, and a small amount to partially offset the huge number of hours that I spend in research and writing. I guarantee that every penny is pinched and well spent!
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:
REGULAR SERIOUS DONORS
Tracy Fasanella
Brandon Hertel
* Homestead in the Hood, Colorado
DaleLesser, Michigan
Conway Veterinary Hospital
Matthew McLean, Colorado
Jim & Paulette Lynn, Iowa
Jean Knudsen
Yumei Xiong
Thomas Kirwan
Madeline Mead
Jill Lambie-ponce
RECENT MAJOR SUPPORTERS
Tualatin Valley Beekeepers, Oregon
Denis Watts
Kebin Duesman
James Jakim, Pennsylvania
Los Angeles County Beekeepers
Justin Ray
Alameda County Beekeepers Association, CA
Santa Clara Valley Beekeepers Guild, CA
Ihor Skrypka
Mike Tooley
Chatham County Beekeepers Association
Darren Tressider
Charles Clark
Victorian Apiarists’ Association
Peter Krey
Chrisensen Family Apiaries, Michigan
Nebraska Beekeepers Assoc.
Hiatt Honey LLC
Miller Honey Farms, California
Paul Hosticka, Washington
Tualatin Valley Beekeepers Association, Oregon
Merrimack Valley Beekeepers, NH
Colorado State Beekeepers Assoc.
Alameda County Beekeepers Assoc, Calif
New Mexico Beekeepers Assoc
Colonial Beekeepers Assoc, Virginia
Help Save the Bees Foundation, Nevada
James Jakim, Pennsylvania
RECENT $100+ SERIOUS SUPPORTERS
Rick Hyde
Ron Morrison
Susan Ament
Richard Reid
San Mateo Bee Guild, California
Zach Suddaby
Cara Ching, California
Vincent Aloyo, Pennsylvania
Rick Anderson, Kansas
Perry County Beekeepers Club
Lawrence Huba
Charles Reichert
Charles Clark
Charlean Andes
Always Summer Herbs, Florida
Bill Hall
David George
Dean Christie
Roy Manicke
Jersey Cape Beekeepers Association
Kansas Honey Producers Association
New Hampshire Beekeepers Association
Chester County Beekeepers Assoc, Pennsylvania
Debbie Hewitt, Maryland
Mile Hive Bee Club, Colorado
Dale Lesser, Minnesota
Santa Clara Valley Beekeepers Guild, California
Stevan Huffman, Alaska
Flower Street Farm
Cara Ching, California
Terry Barrett
Robert M Simonson
Vincent Aloyo, Pennsyvania
Byron Godard
Southern Oregon Beekeepers Association
Lawrence Chismar
Middlesex Beekeepers Association, Massachusetts
Montgomery County Beekeepers, Maryland
Charles Clarke, California
Andrew Dewey
Ralph Carter, California
Barnstable County Beekeepers Association
Mary Aho
Sonja Percival
New York Bee Wellness
Liz and Terry Huxter
David Ball
Paul W. Garges
Andrew Levi
Jim Veitch, California
Mark Simonitsch, Massachusetts
Kenneth Sallitt
Kelle Frymire
Tamiko Panzella, California
Rodd Hall, Wisconsin
James Baerwald
Jean Knudsen
Yosef Shochat, Israel
Nicolas Geant
Charles Clark
Merrimack Valley Beekeepers
Michael Cummings
Bryce Lord
Jersey Cape Beekeepers
Busy Bee Honey, Vermont
Rick Anderson
Steve Sweet, Idaho
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
Vincent Aloyo
Connecticut Beekeepers Association
Jim Lyssy
Wyoming Beekeepers Association
Tualatin Valley Beekeepers, Oregon
Yosef Shochat
Dale Lesser
Jill Lambie-ponce
Deborah Corcoran
Justin Ray
Idaho Honey Producers Association
Capital Area Beekeepers Association, PA
Mark Simonitsch, MA
Central Maryland Beekeepers Association
Roy Manicke
Kansas Honey Producers Association
Charles Bailey Jr
Richard Reed
Gregory Quinn
John Allison
Joshua Sewell
Chris Abbot, Virginia
Owyhee Honey Company
Idaho Honey Ranch
Mount Diablo Beekeepers Association, California
Charles Bailey Jr
Raritan Valley Beekeepers Association
Mike Tooley
Los Angeles County Beekeepers Association
Santa Clara Valley Beekeepers Guild
Pamela Stegemerten
Vermont Beekeepers Association
Los Angeles County Beekeepers Association
Michael Kurtz
Dan Geer
Ross Honey Company
Steven Greenwood
Julie Spezia
Stephen Lamb, California
Pam Rogers, Indiana
El Dorado Beekeepers, California
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
West Sound Beekeepers Association, Washington
Beekeepers’ Guild San Mateo, California
Omaha Bee Club, Nebraska
Joplin Area Beekeepers Association
Steve Sweet, Idaho
Bill’s Bees
Rich Blohm, New York
James Baerwald
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
Blossomwood Honey, Al
Bee Thankful Raw Honey
Skip Smith
Jean Knudsen
Jason Hough, Maryland
Tualatin Valley Beekeepers, Oregon
Craig Falls, New York
Michael Aaby, Maryland
Keith Scott
Randall Carter, Alabama
Thomas Kirwan
Nicolas Geant, California
Lee Bussy
Jean Knudsen
Andrew Dewey, Maine
Jason Wester, MIchigan
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