A few years back in 2006 as part of collaboration with Betterbee Inc. and Penn State University, the idea of a tower hive set up was piloted in New York as a method of Varroa mite control. A tower hive configuration is simply two hives placed side by side. When the hives are ready to…
From time to time we are approached by beekeepers who are interested in setting up their own labs so that they can take samples of their bees and test them for Varroa mites and Nosema spores. Most beekeepers know what a Varroa mite looks like so identification usually isn’t an issue. Counting Nosema spores can…
As the weather starts to warm and flowers start to bloom, honey bee colonies start hoarding pollen and nectar to rear brood. At the same time, honey bee pests start to awaken from their winter slumbers or eclose from an egg. What are these pest interested in? Most pests feed on the bees themselves, bee…
It was a couple weeks ago that Heather, Jennie and I were talking about using drone comb as Varroa management in a colony. Drone larvae are particularly attractive to Varroa mites. By adding drone comb to a hive, a beekeeper is creating a lure for the mites in the hope that they will go to…
The Varroa mite has been proven as an efficient vector of viruses making honey bees vulnerable to many diseases. Keeping Varroa mites at low levels in colonies is key to keeping the entire colony healthy. There is a relatively simple and non-invasive way to perform a quick test for mites known as a sugar roll….
Between editing videos for this website, I’ve been checking out my University colonies to see how they are doing. Not good. We (Dr. John Skinner, Philip Moore, and I) found American Foulbrood in all UTK apiaries and are currently attempting to eradicate it, or our bees, whichever comes first. This bacterial disease is rare in…
In 1922 the Honey Bee Act was passed by Congress to prevent the importing of live, mite infested honey bees into the United States. Yes, a congressional act, on honey bees. This is serious stuff. The reason behind this act was due to the Tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi) that was reported in 1921 on the…
The holidays are over and it’s time for us to gear up for another round of sampling that will most likely begin the last full week in January. Holding yards are popping up all over Butte County and the weather has been much more enjoyable then I am used to. The bees seem to be…
This week was filled again with more report writing for the National Honey Bee Survey (NHBS). The long days in the lab leave us all dreaming of spring and summer when the field work picks up and there are plenty of opportunities to go outside and spend some quality time with the colonies. I jog…
My primary purpose for going to Hawaii was to share and show Hawaiian bee breeders the type of work we are doing with the California bee breeders, and to see if they would be interested in participating in the future. It was also to train the two women I talked about in my last post,…
