Varroa Management Archives - Scientific Beekeeping https://scientificbeekeeping.com/varroa-management/ Beekeeping Through the Eyes of a Biologist Sat, 30 Dec 2023 12:30:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Selective Breeding Progress Report 2023 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/selective-breeding-progress-report-2023/ Sat, 30 Dec 2023 11:14:46 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8355 Selective Breeding Progress Report 2023 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ September 2023 In 2017 I proposed a simplified method for commercial queen breeders to select for varroa-resistant stock, and then undertook a demonstration project to see if it would work. After six years of strong selection, we appear to be making substantial progress! […]

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]]> Drones and Varroa: Part 2 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/drones-and-varroa-part-2/ Sat, 30 Dec 2023 10:51:22 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8347 Contents Testing Hypothesis #2. 2 Let’s Do the Calcs! 11 Conclusions 11 Why Would Mites Prefer  Drones?. 12 Acknowledgements. 12 Citations and Notes 12     Drones and Varroa Part 2 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ November 2023         In the May issue of this journal, Dr. Zac Lamas presented some findings of […]

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]]> Drones and Varroa: Part 1 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/drones-and-varroa-part-1/ Sat, 30 Dec 2023 10:23:12 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8328 Contents The Proposed Hypotheses 2 Monitoring of the Mite Infestation. 3 How Best to Obtain a Representative and Consistent Sample?. 3 Testing Hypothesis #1. 4 Field Observations. 5 Results. 9 The Take Home. 15 Citations and Notes 16     Drones and Varroa Part 1 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ October 2023   […]

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]]> The Status of Our Industry Regarding Varroa Management and What Can We Do About It? https://scientificbeekeeping.com/the-status-of-our-industry-regarding-varroa-management-and-what-can-we-do-about-it/ Mon, 16 Oct 2023 21:11:03 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8306 The Status of Our Industry Regarding Varroa Management and What Can We Do About It? Part 2 First Published in ABJ August 2023 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com   CATCH UP Last month I wrote about the options (legal or unapproved) that beekeepers are taking to deal with varroa as it evolves resistance to amitraz. In this […]

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]]> A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 6 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/a-study-on-bee-drift-and-mite-immigration-part-6/ Mon, 16 Oct 2023 21:00:28 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8294 A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration Part 6 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ July 2023     In our 2018 study in the California foothills, we confirmed that bees indeed drift from collapsing colonies to other hives, even to those at considerable distance. And that drifting can result in a substantial […]

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]]> How to use Randy’s Handy mite wash cup https://scientificbeekeeping.com/how-to-use-randys-handy-mite-wash-cup/ Sat, 14 Oct 2023 00:08:23 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8291 Tips for Using the XXX cup for Monitoring Varroa TAKING THE SAMPLE Use an 18-quart dishwashing tub and a stainless-steel half cup (125 mL) measuring cup (for measuring live bees, a deep cup is more accurate than a shallow cup). Take the bee sample from a frame (or frames) adjacent to the broodnest, but not […]

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]]> The Status of Our Industry Regarding Varroa Mgmt and What Can We Do About It? https://scientificbeekeeping.com/the-status-of-our-industry-regarding-varroa-mgmt-and-what-can-we-do-about-it/ Mon, 25 Sep 2023 16:35:11 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8284 Contents Introduction: A Reality Check on the American Beekeeping Industry’s Varroa Control Predicament 2 The Lead Up. 2 The Elephant in the Room.. 2 Our Conundrum.. 3 Our Predicament 3 A Personal Note. 4 Rationalization and Lack of Unreasonable Risk. 4 How the EPA Can Help Us 4 Our Current Arsenal: The Registered Varroacides 5 […]

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]]> A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 5 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/a-study-on-bee-and-mite-drift-part-5/ Sun, 06 Aug 2023 17:21:34 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8244 Contents A Deeper Look into our Data. 1 Was Robbing Involved with Mite Immigration?. 6 Discussion on Robbing. 8 Study Wrap Up. 9 Review.. 10 Next Month. 10 Acknowledgements. 11 Citations and Notes 11     A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration Part 5 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ June 2023 […]

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]]> A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 4 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/a-study-on-bee-drift-and-mite-immigration-part-4/ Sat, 22 Jul 2023 21:39:13 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8196 Contents Distance that Worker Bees will Drift 1 Effect of Distance upon Bee Drift 4 Hive-to-Hive Variation in Captured Tags 7 Validating our Methodology. 8 Mite Immigration: Results of the Stickyboard Counts. 10 Cumulative Mite Immigration. 11 Next Month. 12 Acknowledgements. 13 Citations and Notes 13     A Study on Bee and Mite Drift: […]

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]]> A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 3 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/a-study-on-bee-drift-and-mite-immigration-part-3/ Sat, 22 Jul 2023 20:26:43 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8170 Contents The Donor Colonies 1 Tagging. 1 Results and Discussion. 2 Did the Tagged Bees Behave Normally?. 2 Progress of the Colonies. 4 Answering our Questions 4 Observations from the Donor Hives. 5 Correlation With Varroa Infestation. 6 Tag Recovery by Date. 8 Timelines of Recovery of Drifted Bees 9 Relevance to Mite Immigration. 10 […]

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