Thanks Lewis for suggesting that we call out the inspector. Don Hopkins came today and inspected our two empty hives. He speculates that our bees died of starvation and it could have been contributed to by varroa mites. He tested for American Foulbrood and that was not present (thank goodness).
We are looking for bees if anyone has nucs or hears of a swarm, please let us know.
Marilyn and Harry Davis
CC: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org From: lewis AT hivebody.com Date: Mon, 2 May 2011 21:21:42 -0400 To: Subject: Re: [ocba] Testing Bees for Disease
...Or you could call one of our local inspectors, who will take the sample to our bee lab. They are able to check for varroa, tracheal mites, and nosema at the lab. The inspector may be able to identify problems in the field without sending samples off.
Lewis
On May 2, 2011, at 9:08 PM, tcrutch wrote: If you have lost bees this year, you may want to have them tested.
This email below is from my friend Debra Roberts, who is a well known beekeeper in Asheville. I suggest you keep this email for future reference. It contains information on how to get your dead bees tested if you suspect a serious problem. Believe it or not, this testing service is FREE (but you must pay for shipping to the lab).
Trisha
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Debra Roberts <debra AT fifthworldwomen.com> Date: Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 1:55 PM Subject: Honey Bee News - January 31 To: Debra Roberts <debra AT fifthworldwomen.com>
There have been some losses in bee yards this winter. If this has happened in your yard and you want to have the bees tested, here is what you can do. I talked to Bart Smith at his Beltsville Lab today because I want to send him some bees and I said I would pass all these details along to you. Please spread this info around to anyone you think might want to know. Following all these steps makes his life easier. It is a busy lab, this is a free service and he's a nice guy. Here is what Bart shared about how to submit samples to his lab: Put your dead bees in alcohol so they do not disintegrate / mold. Mine are in the freezer right now, one bag of bees per deceased hive. This is fine, but before I submit them to Bart, I will take them from the freezer and immediately put them in alcohol (my mentor says 100 proof vodka; when I asked Bart if rubbing alcohol was fine, he said yes; I will do the vodka path). You will need to send him at least 100 bees per sample. When it is time to ship, pour off the excess alcohol and put them in a double zip lock bag (so there is definitely no leaking of moisture) or put them in a jar that is then in a ziplock. The remaining moisture from the alcohol is enough to continue to preserve the bees. This is an essential step because the post office will not want you to send liquids in the mail. Bart said his preference re labeling the samples is not to use magic marker or even sharpie on the outside of the bags / jar. He said that if the alcohol seeps out, it will obliterate the words (even sharpie). He prefers that we insert a piece of paper, labelled in pencil, inside with the bees, and he said that works. Me being me, I would probably do both (but I'd use a sharpie on the outside of the second bag or jar lid and not magic marker because for sure that rubs off). It is easiest on Bart if you just send each speciman labelled Sample 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. People submit samples with the names of the hives or with words like "third hive from the east, second row" but that is not his preference. Make your own notes at home so you know exactly which hive is Sample 1, 2, etc, and keep his life simple. Turnaround time at the lab is generally just a few days (and a bit longer if the weather is warmer when more folks tend to mail samples in). Also, in the package, include your name, return address / contact info so he knows where to send the report. This service is for free, and a blessing.
Send the bees to: Attn: Bart Smith Bee Research Lab Building 476, BARC-E Beltsville, MD 20705
You can send the bees by regular mail or UPS. To keep your relationship with the post office sweet, remember to be attentive to three things: 1. Do pour off that excess alcohol so you are not mailing a "liquid". 2. Be sure you do the double packaging thing so nothing leaks. 3. Sometimes the post office may say "that's not a street address" but it is - Bart says that it is exactly their address. Thousands of samples get sent there annually. Bart's lab tests for tracheal mite and Nosema spore counts (not varroa, which you can do by your own inspection - if you need info on this, just ask me). Before you send bees out, have a good close look inside the hive (easiest on a warmer winter day). Your inspection will tell you if the bees starved, had too small a population (do you know what size the colony was going into winter?), was too moist inside the hive (inadequately ventilated), were poorly situated, etc. Those are not reasons to send the bees out for testing. Once you get your report in the mail, I would also make this info available to your circle of beekeepers and your club. We need to understand what is going on when bees die and the sharing of information is essential so we can all learn how to best support our beloved bees. If a hive of yours dies, I strongly recommend doing your best to find out why. Get help from Beltsville lab if applicable. Get help going into a dead hive if you need another pair of eyes to help do a "post-mortem". If we don't know what is happening and just "get more bees", we aren't adding to the pool of wisdom on the challenges bees (and we) are facing. And please don't give up and lose hope, if you lose a hive. It is a disheartening thing when it happens, but if we can try and figure out the cause, we help our future bees and everyone's else's colonies. blessings Debra
"A soul must never be pushed or driven, but allowed to unfold naturally, like a flower blossoming bit by bit in the sunshine".--Unknown
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