CATCH THE BUZZ

All About Bees...

Joe Traynor, a pollination broker in California, sends out a newsletter to his beekeepers every once in awhile. Since he is in contact with so many beekeepers and almond growers and researchers and others who have information relevant to what we all do, I asked if I could use some of his information this time to share . Here are some tidbits of information that we can all use….Thanks Joe.

25-50-25

Many beekeepers subscribe to Master beekeeper Wade Taylor’s thesis: no matter what you do, 50% of the colonies in an apiary will be of good or average strength, 25% will be well below average and 25% well above average.  And if you move that top 25% to another location, it will soon revert to 25-50-25 again.

Leave ‘em room

In his pollen-trap work in almonds, Frank Eischen has found that a main determinant of how much pollen a colony collects is the readily available storage space in the hive. If returning bees (or their receivers) have to spend a lot of time looking for a place to unload, the colony will collect significantly less pollen.  Less pollen collected  translates to less brood reared down the road; thus a top-25 colony (see above) at the start of almond bloom could become a bottom-25 colony several weeks after almond bloom.

Viruses

Bees have battled viruses for eons but only recently have they had to contend with 2 virus vectors: varroa and nosema ceranae.  Some believe the a virus is causing CCD, but is it a new super virus or one or more of the “old” viruses (Kashmir, DWV, APV, et al)?  Controlling  Nosema and varroa can go along way towards suppressing the spread of a virus. Optimum nutrition is a major line of virus defense.

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Queen Problems

Problems with queens have been rampant in recent years – mainly supersedure a few weeks after being introduced.  The literature overflows with reports of queen supersedure from bees infected with Nosema apis.  Stress from confinement is a major contributor to the rapid spread of Nosema in colonies, in packages, in queen cages and queen banks. In one case no nosema apis was detected when queens and attendants were caged, but high N. levels were found 2 days later. When ordering queens make sure your supplier has a good handle on Nosema; and get the queens into your hives with minimal storage delay. Some beekeepers are having better luck with cells than with mated queens; less nosema may be the reason.

Genetics

Improved stock may be the ultimate solution to current bee problems. Some beekeepers are experimenting with survivor queens – from breeders that do not apply chemical treatments. Sue Cobey (UC, Davis) traveled to Europe and Asia this summer and is bringing back semen from promising stock.  Sue and Steve Sheppard (WA) will be testing some of this “new” genetic material.  Manipulating genes and RNA in bees and viruses (and maybe in varroa and nosema) holds promise.

Apivar and Hivestan

Canadian beekeepers recently got clearance to use Amitraz-treated strips (Apivar, from France) for varroa control. Many US beekeepers are and have been using the amitraz product, Taktic; Apivar strips may not be effective on colonies that have had multiple Taktic treatments. There is talk that Taktic may be pulled off the market and that honey buyers may implement a zero tolerance for amitraz. Another chemical, Hivestan, was supposed to have been available to US beekeepers by now but possible adverse effects on bees at above-label rates (and  possibly at label rates) is holding up its release. Beekeepers may have to sign a release that the manufacturer is not responsible for any bee loss from Hivestan (if it is ever released).  A few beekeepers are experimenting with the active ingredient in Hivestan.

Resting Equipment

CCD investigations note that when supers from collapsed hives are put on good colonies, the good colonies come down with CCD.  To avoid disease buildup in the soil, farmers will fallow fields or rotate crops. Nosema spores can last for months in empty hives. Putting equipment from dead colonies onto good colonies may be counter-productive; an economical sterilization method is needed.  Sunlight can be effective (if it doesn’t melt the comb).

This message brought to you by Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping   www.BeeCulture.com

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