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  • From: annallys Goodwin-Landher <annallys AT hotmail.com>
  • To: Alwyn Smith <alwyn.smith AT gmail.com>
  • Cc: Lewis Cauble <lewis AT hivebody.com>, OCBA Listserv <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Great
  • Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2016 19:04:54 +0000

No place in the email did I say that "Varroa is not a problem"


What I said is it is not the enemy nor is it the major problem we face about bees.  It is part of several problems bringing bees down. 


Better to be informed, educated and know our history of how we got into this mess, then make decisions rather than be led around the nose by industry whether it's through research, the USDA or the companies that have a vested interest in us staying ignorant so they can attend to their bottom line....  



Annallys Goodwin-Landher
annallys AT hotmail.com





From: Alwyn Smith <alwyn.smith AT gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2016 10:48 AM
To: annallys Goodwin-Landher
Cc: Lewis Cauble; OCBA Listserv
Subject: Re: [ocba] Great
 
Please stop this nonsense. This discussion is about Varroa. Every article that Lewis just provided is supported by peer- reviewed journal articles, unlike your post challenging the importance of varroa. 

There is no hocus-pocus here. Varroa mites are a real problem. If you doubt it, do a sugar shake test on your bees. 
Then read the resources provided and learn from them. 




On Tue, Mar 15, 2016 at 10:13 AM, annallys Goodwin-Landher <annallys AT hotmail.com> wrote:

First, always look at the stakeholders in any organization.  Here are those active in the Honey Bee Health Coalition Highlighted companies have an investment in continuing to poison insects including the honey bee.  I didn't take the time to research all of the companies.  All those highlighted are invested in the continuing use of pesticides.  Please notice that no organic organization is listed.


the Agricultural Retailers Association
-the Almond Board of California
-the American Beekeeping Federation
-the American Honey Producers Association
-the American Seed Trade Association
-Apiary Inspectors of America
-BASF
-Bayer CropScience
-Browning Honey Company
-Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists
-the Canadian Honey Council
-Canola Council of Canada
-Conservation Technology Information Center
-CropLife America

-CropLife Canada
-Ducks Unlimited
-DuPont
-Eastern Apicultural Society of North America, Inc
-Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association
-Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association
-Land O’Lakes, Inc.
-Levin Family Foundation
-Monsanto Company
-the National Association of State
Departments of Agriculture
-National Association of Wheat Growers
-National Corn Growers Association

-NOD Apiary Products
-Oregon State Beekeepers Association
-Pheasants Forever
-Pollinator Stewardship Council
-Project Apis m.
-the Saint Louis Zoo’s WildCare Institute Center for Native Pollinator Conservation
-Syngenta
-United Soybean Board
-the University of Maryland’s Department of Entomology
-the U.S. Canola Association
-Western Apicultural Society


Second, google honey bee health.  Monsanto comes up first,


Third, realize that the funding agencies for any research play with statistics.  When I worked as a grunt in NIH research, the coding systems were "tweeked" changed three times to get a 40% enrollment rate rather than the actual 10% enrollment rate.  This happens all the time.  What we in America call good solid research is often funded by the companies with a vested interest in outcomes and then appropriately manipulated for those outcomes


Fourth, In the USof A we create scapegoats for problems to distract us from the real problem inherent in the way our government promotes doing things.  Varroa as the enemy, same as saying Islamist are the enemy, communists are the enemy, hippies are the enemy, etc. 


Educate yourself about how varroa operates but get off the soapbox that varroa's the enemy.  If there's any enemy it's humankind and ongoing escalating use of more and stronger pesticides, crazy chemical based treatments for bees, and destruction of habitat and forage.


Annallys Goodwin-Landher
annallys AT hotmail.com





From: ocba <ocba-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org> on behalf of Lewis Cauble <lewis AT hivebody.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2016 8:46 AM
Cc: 'OCBA Listserv'
Subject: Re: [ocba] Great
 

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!

Tools for Varroa Management. This Guide explains practical, effective methods that beekeepers can use to measure Varroa mite infestations in their hives and select ...

 

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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