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  • From: "Lewis Cauble" <lewis AT hivebody.com>
  • Cc: "'OCBA Listserv'" <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Great
  • Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2016 08:46:41 -0400

Below are the resources that I believe are very useful for beekeepers who appreciate evidence based/science based information:

 

http://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/varroa/  I believe this is one of the finest documents regarding varroa.  Tons of information in an easy to read format and the resources section will take you to more good information.  Must read!

 

http://articles.extension.org/pages/71172/honey-bee-viruses-the-deadly-varroa-mite-associates#.VAm9e0Dp8_c  The HBHC document is a bit light on virus information, so use this article to fill in the gaps.

 

http://www.ask-force.org/web/Bees/Rosenkranz-Biology-Control-Varroa-2010.pdf  Everything you want to or need to know regarding the biology of varroa.  If you want to know your enemy, this is the place to get that info.  Not an easy read but contains important info.

 

http://articles.extension.org/bee_health  Good articles about bee health.

 

http://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/pi/pdf/fieldguidetohoneybees.pdf  A nice little pocket guide to bee diseases.  Everyone should study the section on brood diseases and the section on varroa.

 

Lewis

 

 

 

 

From: ocba [mailto:ocba-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Rob Cook
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2016 8:23 PM
To: Walter Starks <walterstarks AT icloud.com>; mark powers <markapowers53 AT gmail.com>
Cc: OCBA Listserv <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [ocba] Great

 

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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