Beekeeping Through the Eyes of a Biologist
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Sick Bees 17a: Nosema—the Smoldering Epidemic (Part 1) Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ in March 2011 The “Invisible” Infection Something Changed This Decade Historical Prevalence of Nosema Was Nosema ceranae a Game Changer? References The latest National Honey Bee Diseases Survey found that as many as seven out of ten U.S. colonies […]
Read MoreInfection Prevalence Sequential Sampling A Neat Little Shortcut Validation Summary (completely subject to revision) More Details Next Month Acknowledgements References 2019 Quick Nosema Prevalence Assessment Method First published in ABJ February 2012 Updated March 13, 2019 Randy Oliver Since the discovery of Nosema ceranae, I and many other beekeepers and researchers have been frustrated by […]
Read MoreAuthor’s Note Samples from Within the Hive Soundbite Science Infection Rate So How Did We Get on the Wrong Track? How to Determine the Colony Infection Rate So What if I Count the Number of Infected Bees out of 10? An Assessment of Our Situation One HUGE Assumption Validation of the Method Update Sequential Sampling […]
Read MoreContents Worldwide Status and Distribution Ceranae vs. apis Coinfection Seasonality Sample Interpretation What if You’re Dealing with N. apis? Seasonality Recommendations Acknowledgements References Sick Bees 14: An Update on the “Nosema Cousins” First published in ABJ December 2011 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com In my last article, I described how to quickly sample for nosema. So what […]
Read MoreCONTENTS Worldwide Status and Distribution Ceranae vs. apis Coinfection Seasonality Sample Interpretation What if You’re Dealing with N. apis? Seasonality Recommendations Acknowledgements References Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com In my last article, I described how to quickly sample for nosema. So what do the spore counts actually mean as far as colony health is concerned? I wrote […]
Read MoreCONTENTS Equipment Needed Taking Bee Samples Processing the Samples Bringing the Spores into Focus Spore Identification Counting the Spores Care and Feeding of your Microscope Coming Up Sick Bees – Part 13: Simple Microscopy of Nosema for Beekeepers Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ November 2011–this article extensively revised in March 2019. It […]
Read MoreThe “Nosema Twins” Part 5 Alternative Treatments and Prevention © Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in April 2008 Update: see https://scientificbeekeeping.com/field-trial-of-several-nosema-treatments/ The more I learn about CCD and other colony maladies, the more I am impressed by the fact that honey bees are currently dealing with a complex of novel parasites, pathogens, vectors, […]
Read MoreThe “Nosema Twins” Part 4 Treatment © Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in March 2008 Beekeepers had a hard enough time dealing with Nosema apis. What can we do about N. ceranae? Unfortunately, we are currently not very far up the learning curve. The best we can do is to take what we […]
Read MoreThe “Nosema Twins” Part 3 –Sampling © Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in Feb. 2008 My previous articles about Nosema ceranae may have grabbed your attention. Let me be clear that I’m not trying to be alarmist—not all operations have problems with nosema. In fact, I’ve got some colonies doing poorly despite having […]
Read MoreThe “Nosema Twins” – Part 2 Detection & Microscopy © Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in Jan. 2008 Last fall, getting wind of Nosema ceranae, I carefully collected a few bees from a dozen or so hives from each yard, and sent the whole pooled sample of 500 bees off to a lab […]
Read MoreThe “Nosema Twins” Part 1 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in December 2007 Nosema ceranae update The debate continues as to how deadly N. ceranae is. I’ve been corresponding with Antonio Pajuelo (CONSULTORES APÍCOLAS (Broken Link!) http://www.pajuelo.info/). He notes that in Spain there are citations of collapses of colonies in autumn and winter […]
Read MoreField Trial of Several Nosema Treatments Progress Report by Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in Oct. 2008 2023 Update There are several products on the market claiming to reduce nosema loads and improve colony health and performance. A recent compilation of lab and field studies has been published: Evaluating the Efficacy of Common […]
Read MoreField of View Count Correlation Report to the California State Beekeepers Association by Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published inABJ in Oct. 2008 Determination of “spore count” Nosema infection level is reported in a standardized “spore count” of “average number of spores per bee,” generally given in millions (1 million = 1 x 106). The […]
Read MoreNosema Ceranae—Not Your Father’s Nosema! Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in Bee Culture Published in ABJ in Jan. 2009 Most beekeepers are aware that a new form of nosema has established itself in North America (and throughout the world). Amazingly, Nosema ceranae was able to spread worldwide without anyone even noticing until recently—it has been […]
Read MoreNosema Ceranae: Additional Reports and Ramblings Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in Oct. 2008 Allow me to swap hats, and now speak to you as a beekeeper. As I was writing this article, I was asked similar questions by a number of beekeepers. Here they are, with answers to the best of my […]
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