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  • From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • To: Rob Cook <crookkohler AT bellsouth.net>
  • Cc: Walter Starks <walterstarks AT icloud.com>, mark powers <markapowers53 AT gmail.com>, OCBA Listserv <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Great
  • Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2016 21:37:23 -0400

Rob,

Yes, there are volumes of research and publications on varroa population dynamics. They are very well understood. There are even publicly-available computer programs where you can do your own simulations.

As a start, renowned commercial beekeeper, author and citizen scientist Randy Oliver has an excellent website (http://scientificbeekeeping.com/) where he delves deeply in to these sorts of questions. His site is a major exception to my constant admonition to stay away from beekeeping sites that don't end in "edu" or "gov". One article in particular that I think you'd be interested in is <here>.

The short answer is no, there currently aren't any practical bait systems to fight mites. Given an understanding of bee and mite biology, it doesn't seem likely that this approach would ever bear fruit. And since the mites ride on the bees, their conditions (temperature etc.) are exactly the same as the bees'; modification of their conditions adversely affects the bees as much or more than the mites. But there are several existing commercially-available mite treatments that are very efficacious, briefly described <here> and <here>. They do an excellent job of control when timed properly and applied appropriately.

In addition to the article Walter mentioned, also take a look at "Know Thy Enemy" <here>. (Sorry, this site doesn't end in "edu" or "gov" either but hopefully it will inspire you to look further!)

Randall

On 3/14/2016 8:23 PM, Rob Cook wrote:
1555547287.2121537.1458001395145.JavaMail.yahoo AT mail.yahoo.com" type="cite">
Hi Everyone,

Are there any papers out there, or someone's experience, with testing even on a weekly basis to know what the population dynamics of Varroa can be?

How does temperature, or other physical conditions of the hive, affect them?
Is there any bait for them? I am new to all this so just learning.

Rob Crook


On Monday, March 14, 2016 7:22 PM, Walter Starks <walterstarks AT icloud.com> wrote:


IMO, not testing for Varroa is a mistake. I can perhaps understand not testing thousands of hives, but I think a random sampling should be done. For hobby beekeepers there really isn’t any reason not to test. It’s the best way to know if your treatments are working before the hive dies out.

I test mine in early spring, mid summer after removing supers and in the early fall. If I treat I’ll test again when the treatment is finished.

Treatment schedules are variable depending on whether or not you plan to harvest honey, treatment used, etc. Randall has a very good article here with details.

Right now is a good time to test and treat (if needed).



___________________

Walter Starks


You never can tell with bees. ~ Winnie-the-Pooh




On Mar 14, 2016, at 4:15 PM, mark powers <markapowers53 AT gmail.com> wrote:

Good paper.  Last fall I had relatively low varroa counts and decided to give 4 thymol treatments to our two colonies in September anyway.   One of our young mentees then gave a great presentation that demonstrated that her counts had skyrocketed after thymol.  I prepared to do a sugar shake the next day, with dread.  I didn't even get to the shake.  The removable board under the screen had numerous mites.  I immediately treated with formic acid.  Each day I saw fewer mites on the board when I pulled it out, until none were obvious.  The weaker of my two hives did not survive February, with a small softball-sized cluster remnant. My other has lots of bees, but needs a queen, since it seems I have a virgin who is only laying drone.  I saw and phographed her, so there doesn't seem to be a laying worker.  I also saw supercedure cells in November.  So if anyone has a lead on an immediate fertile queen, I'd be grateful. I didn't find any mites on a sugar shake Saturday.  I also froze two frames of drone brood and reinstalled them today.

I am writing this mainly to ask for ideas on a schedule of pre-emptive treatments.  I realize this doesn't eliminate the need to monitor, but I was impressed by the commercial beekeeper who spoke to us and indicted that he doesn't test, only treat.

Mark Powers



On Wed, Mar 9, 2016 at 9:56 PM, Lewis Cauble <lewis AT hivebody.com> wrote:
Great article from BIP.  I have been having many conversations just like this in the mountains.  https://beeinformed.org/2016/03/08/why-did-my-honey-bees-die/

Lewis



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