It’s not about mites any more
“If one more speaker starts yapping about Varroa mites, I’m gettin’ up and walkin’ out!” The grumbler sitting next to me in the audience didn’t know me and didn’t know I was the next speaker. And yap I...
View ArticleBooklet review | Splits and Varroa
Splits and Varroa: An introduction to splitting hives as part of Varroa control by William Hesbach. Copyright © 2016. Northern Bee Books, West Yorkshire, UK. Paperbound. When a colony is without a...
View Article“Let the mites be mites” is no longer an option
If I could change the direction of modern beekeeping, I would insist on responsibility. The more I read about the health crisis of honey bees, the more I think we beekeepers have created our own...
View ArticleThe lifestyles of wild and healthy honey bees
Thomas Seeley’s article on Darwinian beekeeping has unleashed a fury of discussion among beekeepers. Of particular interest are the ways in which feral colonies handle parasites and pathogens. Feral...
View ArticleWhy are my bees crawling in front of the hive?
We call them crawlers. They can appear any time of year but are most prevalent in the fall. They inch along the landing board, cling to blades of grass, or struggle among twigs and small stones. On...
View ArticleVarroa mite seeking a taste of royal blood
Just days after I mentioned how rarely we see varroa mites on bees, Bryan Bender sent this fascinating photo of a mite riding his queen. It’s an amazing catch. Not once I have ever seen this in person,...
View ArticleTreat your bees, but hold the lithium
This week my inbox is choked with questions about using lithium to treat varroa mites. Although I don’t know a thing about lithium, I feel compelled to answer. If you haven’t heard, a paper was...
View ArticleBees head-down in cells: did they starve?
When you find circles of honey bees head-down in cells, does that mean they starved? Were head-down bees licking the bottom of the cells to get every last morsel of honey? A reader raised these...
View ArticleUsing oxalic acid vaporization when brood is present
A reader wrote that she was confused about scheduling oxalic acid vaporization treatments when brood is present. Some folks advised her to use three treatments five days apart, another advised three...
View ArticleThe mites are the same old mites
Each time I think I’ve written my very last post on varroa, something else comes up. This time, it was a question about how to treat for mites now that we know mites eat fat bodies instead of...
View ArticleOpposing views of mite management: data vs date
I have always believed in data-based bee management: Gather whatever information you can find and then make decisions based on what you learned. For varroa mites, this means taking samples, counting...
View ArticleOxalic acid best practices: safely treat for varroa
Help your honey bees thrive in spite of the mite. Follow these simple steps to assure their health and yours. The post Oxalic acid best practices: safely treat for varroa appeared first on Honey Bee...
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