Thank you to everyone for watching and supporting our videos! If you have any questions about our videos, please check out our list of FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS on our website, which can be found at honeybee.uoguelph.ca/videos/frequently-asked-questions/
I’m happy to see this updated videos. Definitely will help me in my apiary. The beekeeper that mentor me told me to always do treatment every year at the end of the summer no mater what the levels of varroa are. What’s your take on that Paul? I will appreciated any words of wisdom.
Hi Alfredo I monitor our university hives and treat as necessary in the fall only. We try to hit a balance of keeping the mites low enough but also selecting for mite resistance(a long term goal). Only twice in last 10 years were the mite levels low enough that I didn't need to do an early fall treatment. I did do a late fall treatment with oxalic acid these two years. I sell nucs from my own hives and every hive gets a new queen cell every year. That way they all go through a brood less cycle which knocks the mites numbers down. I treat these colonies every year in the fall regardless of monitoring results to ensure very low levels for my customers in the spring.
Where do varroa mites live, before they get on the bees? I've searched several different ways of phrasing this question. Every single answer starts with the spread of the mites from one colony to another. I want to know where varroa mites lay in wait, to jump on a bee in order to infest a clean (miteless) hive. For example, I know that hive beetle larvae burrow underground and pupate. Once they emerge, they fly around looking for a beehive if the one they came from is no longer there. So the short answer to "where do hive beetles live before they enter a colony?" Is they live underground, until they emerge. So, again, where do varroa mites dwell, before they enter a colony?
Hi There Varroa are what is termed an 'obligative' parasites. They can only live on bees so there is no other place for them to 'lie in wait'. They origininate in south east Asia where the native bee apis ceranae evolved resistance mechanisms. Thanks for the thought provoking question.
@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre that being said, it raises another question in my mind... how, if they are an obligative parasite, did they come to be? The bees and mites had to be separate at some point, before encountering each other for the first time. But then again, if the varroa mites can't live without the Bees, how could they have existed in the first place? It's a bit of twisted logic. Almost like the question "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" In this case, which came first, the honey bees or the parasites? Lol
I am a beekeeper in BC. Just wondering if there is a way I could purchase some of your Buckfast queens. I like the docility I am seeing in your videos.
Hi Rick We are sold out for this year but email infohbrc@uoguelph.ca next March. We sell in Canada but don't export. You could try Munro Honey or Ferguson Apiaries for Buckfast stock but they may be sold out too.
For those of us installing packages this spring what does Paul think about OAV and when to treat? Would it be too hard on a new package to treat before they could establish brood? What are your suggestions?
We don't use package bees here and only use OA as a drip in the late fall. It works when bees are clustered in cold weather. OAV might be better in the spring when bees aren't clustered. 0 brood is key as you note. Good luck IOwride.
You can use a spray bottle mixed with sugar water and oxalic acid, spray the bees while in the package with a sugar water mixture first then spray them after a few hours with the sugar water acid spray
I know this is about the mites and it was another great video by u folks. I have a question about the bee boxes u are standing next to do they have drawn comb in them is that the way u store them and do u have problems with moths and hive beetles Thanks
Hi Frnaces Those are active hives we are standing next to. We store comb in cool locations and try to get it all on hives in the warm months to keep wax moth at bay. No small hive beetle here yet.
I am considering Varroa as being the No.1 killer for bees. I am a new beekeeper and in this autumn I have also applied treatments for varroa mite. I was surprised by the large quantity of varroa killed by the treatments, a couple of hundreds. Seems like in my region (Europe/Romaina) we had an epidemic of varroa, a lot of bees were affected.
Hi zumi-zum Yes Varroa are the #1 cause of bee mortality. Some years are worse than others but you'll need to do something every year to keep the levels down.
Africanized bee are more resistant but I haven't seen research that supports feral bees being more resistant. I'll ask my boss Dr. Guzman about africanized resistance mechanisms. If you don't hear back from me please ask again in a week.
Some of them will just fall off, but you need to shake with bees, it is demonstrated in this video : ruclips.net/video/CIHexu7M5wI/видео.html Original set is expensive and have small one use CO2 bottle, my friend created his own version of it, he printed that plastic cup on 3D printer and he uses CO2 bottle for sodastream (it is larger and refillable) with reduction valve mounted on it.
Well, yes you can, but the alcohol wash is more reliable. If you sample 200 bees, and target a save mite infestation of approx 2%, every mite counts. (As you expect a maximum of 5 mites to be in your sample)
From what I understand, bees naturally attempt to control mites four different ways. Swarm, ie brood break, biting, mites bleed to death, hygienic behavior, ie removal of mites in larvae, and last but not least, grooming, bees remove mites and hopefully make it bottom of hive. In my six years of beekeeping, I have never treated and have relied on grooming and screened bottom boards that are closed, never open ever, cause I likewise am in a colder climate, NW Ohio. I have about 75% winter survival rate and have productive hives. I am expanding my apiary this year because of the excellent success with my current system. I think we need to look at the strength of natural systems instead weakness in man influenced systems. We will never overcome the mite problem until we embrace on the successes of the few instead of embracing on the failure of the many.
Hi Jeff That's a good summary of resistance traits. We are working on breeding bees for resistance to mites and on developing naturally based controls including cultural controls. If I didn't treat for mites all our colonies would be dead in 2 years- even the ones that have a small amount of resistance. I know as we've run experiments that show this in our conditions. We breed from colonies with low mite population growth rates and treat hives with levels above threshold to keep our hives alive. That way we can still work towards resistance and not let a significant proportion of our hives die every year. Your method is another way to go. I sell a lot of nucs to people that don't treat their hives. Unfortunately it's the same people every year. It seems like you are having good success Jeff. All the best.
Point is make your queens dont buy junk queens from anyone selecting queens over 5 years I can say my bees are super resistent also no medication if any have issue with varoa I simple let them die after spending money buying online queens they die like a crap winter survival was 70 percent losses took me 3 years to figured out what is issue all of you needs stop using medication and let weak hives die from survival stock in spring make new one queens and paid attention during mating to area be clear from other junk drones least 5 milles radius this will bring you to have super resistent queens my queens also kick out hive beetle on screen board bee business is very good if you know what you doing those researchers are just money makers they dont tell you true point is what I told you and your loses in beekeeping will be history always let weak hives to die if issue with varoa is present my bees also not using any insulation during wintering only on top news paper I have experience in Europe 10 years never had any loss there or issue with mating queens in USA had issue first 3 years I had start with 100 hives queens was junk came from California etc never ever buy queens produce yours work on genetics
Very clear and short video. I found it weird that you folks were touting your own varroa research findings so strongly, when it seems pretty commonly known in the literature. Randy Oliver, Scientific Beekeeping has a very nice mathematical model that he shares as open source software. I’ve found it very predictive of colony survival likelihood’s, and it would be nice if other folks took a closer look at it and made modifications. In any case, keep up the good work. I very much enjoyed having the addition of academic researcher into the fold of the video. In my neck of the urban woods, we have a plethora of non treatment beekeepers that literally cling to notions that evolution will solve the mite problem. I think there’s some probability that the “mite problem” will get resolved through evolution but it’s really hard to listen to folks talk about having significant infestations and referencing things like Welsh beekeepers with through the roof mite populations and healthy bees as examples of the benefits of non treatment. Clearly the bulk of the evidence indicates otherwise. So the debate rages, all in the name of helping bees, on both sides.
Hi Charles Paul Kozak doesn't work here at the University. He works for our provincial government so was just giving us a plug where he could. We did do a major study in 2007 demonstrating that varroa is our #1 problem and that is what Paul was referring to. Long term we all hope that bees develop resistance. I can't in good conscience let all my hives die in the meantime. We breed from colonies with low mite population growth and treat in the fall to keep them alive. Thanks for your comments Charles.
We have the non-treatment beekeepers in my area. All these bee havers do is cause the rest of us trouble. Our hives are robbing them out in the fall and dying out as a result. It was realized too late last season as the bees slowly drifted off when it was 28 degrees F out. Even after treating the hives and keeping the mites under control. the viruses in the comb have killed so many hives in our area. A beekeeper in our club presented the problem of viruses related to varroa. He found research (I'm looking for it) that shows viruses can live in comb for up to fifteen years. IF hives are dying as a result of deformed wing, parasitic mite syndrome, etc. DON'T re-use the comb until it's been irradiated. Irradiation will sterilize the comb of disease and yes even American Foulbrood. If irradiation isn't available then burn the comb, or throw it out. Start over with new frames and foundation. I'll be toasting the boxes this week in preparation of new packages. There is nothing else we can do. I may move the bee hobby upstate where there are less beekeepers causing us issues.
@Old chunk of coal. You're wrong. The new acid treatments don't develop resistance. besides there are natural ways to control mite populations without causing resistance or chemical residue in the honey and wax.
Thank you to everyone for watching and supporting our videos! If you have any questions about our videos, please check out our list of FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS on our website, which can be found at honeybee.uoguelph.ca/videos/frequently-asked-questions/
All of you have continued to do an excellent job explaining key techniques involved in beekeeping. Thx
Thanks Robert. Glad they are helpful.
I’m happy to see this updated videos. Definitely will help me in my apiary. The beekeeper that mentor me told me to always do treatment every year at the end of the summer no mater what the levels of varroa are. What’s your take on that Paul? I will appreciated any words of wisdom.
Hi Alfredo
I monitor our university hives and treat as necessary in the fall only. We try to hit a balance of keeping the mites low enough but also selecting for mite resistance(a long term goal). Only twice in last 10 years were the mite levels low enough that I didn't need to do an early fall treatment. I did do a late fall treatment with oxalic acid these two years.
I sell nucs from my own hives and every hive gets a new queen cell every year. That way they all go through a brood less cycle which knocks the mites numbers down. I treat these colonies every year in the fall regardless of monitoring results to ensure very low levels for my customers in the spring.
Where do varroa mites live, before they get on the bees? I've searched several different ways of phrasing this question. Every single answer starts with the spread of the mites from one colony to another. I want to know where varroa mites lay in wait, to jump on a bee in order to infest a clean (miteless) hive.
For example, I know that hive beetle larvae burrow underground and pupate. Once they emerge, they fly around looking for a beehive if the one they came from is no longer there. So the short answer to "where do hive beetles live before they enter a colony?" Is they live underground, until they emerge.
So, again, where do varroa mites dwell, before they enter a colony?
Hi There
Varroa are what is termed an 'obligative' parasites. They can only live on bees so there is no other place for them to 'lie in wait'. They origininate in south east Asia where the native bee apis ceranae evolved resistance mechanisms. Thanks for the thought provoking question.
@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre that being said, it raises another question in my mind... how, if they are an obligative parasite, did they come to be? The bees and mites had to be separate at some point, before encountering each other for the first time. But then again, if the varroa mites can't live without the Bees, how could they have existed in the first place? It's a bit of twisted logic. Almost like the question "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" In this case, which came first, the honey bees or the parasites? Lol
@@thenotsurechannel7630 will surely get to answering that right after we figure out which came first...chicken or egg.
Wow!! That was such a good prompted book report.
Hi Steven
Yes I think the other Paul did a good job of explaining the topic.
Thanks :)
I am a beekeeper in BC. Just wondering if there is a way I could purchase some of your Buckfast queens. I like the docility I am seeing in your videos.
Hi Rick
We are sold out for this year but email infohbrc@uoguelph.ca next March. We sell in Canada but don't export. You could try Munro Honey or Ferguson Apiaries for Buckfast stock but they may be sold out too.
For those of us installing packages this spring what does Paul think about OAV and when to treat? Would it be too hard on a new package to treat before they could establish brood? What are your suggestions?
We don't use package bees here and only use OA as a drip in the late fall. It works when bees are clustered in cold weather. OAV might be better in the spring when bees aren't clustered. 0 brood is key as you note. Good luck IOwride.
You can use a spray bottle mixed with sugar water and oxalic acid, spray the bees while in the package with a sugar water mixture first then spray them after a few hours with the sugar water acid spray
Have you ever used a powder sugar test to monitor the mites?
Hi Pamela
We've tried but found it didn't give us accurate results. I find sticky papers to be the best method.
ha folks did u do a video about spring management what u folks do in the spring thanks
Hi Frances. We should do a seasonal management video. Good suggestion, I'll add it to the list.
I know this is about the mites and it was another great video by u folks. I have a question about the bee boxes u are standing next to do they have drawn comb in them is that the way u store them and do u have problems with moths and hive beetles Thanks
Hi Frnaces
Those are active hives we are standing next to. We store comb in cool locations and try to get it all on hives in the warm months to keep wax moth at bay. No small hive beetle here yet.
I am considering Varroa as being the No.1 killer for bees. I am a new beekeeper and in this autumn I have also applied treatments for varroa mite. I was surprised by the large quantity of varroa killed by the treatments, a couple of hundreds. Seems like in my region (Europe/Romaina) we had an epidemic of varroa, a lot of bees were affected.
Hi zumi-zum
Yes Varroa are the #1 cause of bee mortality. Some years are worse than others but you'll need to do something every year to keep the levels down.
Why are wild bees more resistant to varroa than domesticated varieties?
Africanized bee are more resistant but I haven't seen research that supports feral bees being more resistant. I'll ask my boss Dr. Guzman about africanized resistance mechanisms. If you don't hear back from me please ask again in a week.
Which mite treatment method do you prefer?
Hi John
We use a variety of treatments but our standby for now is Apivar.
UoG Honey Bee Research Centre I have always done OA vaporizer but I think I’m going to switch to twice a year Apivar.
Thank you
Our pleasure Lenore!
Good information. Thanks
You are welcome Danny. Thanks for the feedback.
Is bald brood associated with Varroa mite or due to low in-hive bee population? I love your Channel
Thanks Vaclav
We have a CO2 device but haven't used it enough to recommend it yet. Seems like it would be better than alcohol as it's less destructive
Hi Pradeep
Thanks I'm happy to hear you find our videos helpful. I should learn more about bald brood I rarely see it and don't know what causes it.
tanks
You are welcome Aziz.
You can use carbon dioxide instead of alcohol, it's cleaner job, but equipment for it is more expensive.
Do the mites just fall off the bees? I have a tank of carbon dioxide I use for brewing.
Some of them will just fall off, but you need to shake with bees, it is demonstrated in this video : ruclips.net/video/CIHexu7M5wI/видео.html
Original set is expensive and have small one use CO2 bottle, my friend created his own version of it, he printed that plastic cup on 3D printer and he uses CO2 bottle for sodastream (it is larger and refillable) with reduction valve mounted on it.
Well, yes you can, but the alcohol wash is more reliable. If you sample 200 bees, and target a save mite infestation of approx 2%, every mite counts. (As you expect a maximum of 5 mites to be in your sample)
What a coincidence you two have the same last names, too. :-)
From what I understand, bees naturally attempt to control mites four different ways. Swarm, ie brood break, biting, mites bleed to death, hygienic behavior, ie removal of mites in larvae, and last but not least, grooming, bees remove mites and hopefully make it bottom of hive. In my six years of beekeeping, I have never treated and have relied on grooming and screened bottom boards that are closed, never open ever, cause I likewise am in a colder climate, NW Ohio. I have about 75% winter survival rate and have productive hives. I am expanding my apiary this year because of the excellent success with my current system. I think we need to look at the strength of natural systems instead weakness in man influenced systems. We will never overcome the mite problem until we embrace on the successes of the few instead of embracing on the failure of the many.
Hi Jeff
That's a good summary of resistance traits. We are working on breeding bees for resistance to mites and on developing naturally based controls including cultural controls. If I didn't treat for mites all our colonies would be dead in 2 years- even the ones that have a small amount of resistance. I know as we've run experiments that show this in our conditions. We breed from colonies with low mite population growth rates and treat hives with levels above threshold to keep our hives alive. That way we can still work towards resistance and not let a significant proportion of our hives die every year. Your method is another way to go.
I sell a lot of nucs to people that don't treat their hives. Unfortunately it's the same people every year. It seems like you are having good success Jeff. All the best.
Point is make your queens dont buy junk queens from anyone selecting queens over 5 years I can say my bees are super resistent also no medication if any have issue with varoa I simple let them die after spending money buying online queens they die like a crap winter survival was 70 percent losses took me 3 years to figured out what is issue all of you needs stop using medication and let weak hives die from survival stock in spring make new one queens and paid attention during mating to area be clear from other junk drones least 5 milles radius this will bring you to have super resistent queens my queens also kick out hive beetle on screen board bee business is very good if you know what you doing those researchers are just money makers they dont tell you true point is what I told you and your loses in beekeeping will be history always let weak hives to die if issue with varoa is present my bees also not using any insulation during wintering only on top news paper I have experience in Europe 10 years never had any loss there or issue with mating queens in USA had issue first 3 years I had start with 100 hives queens was junk came from California etc never ever buy queens produce yours work on genetics
Very clear and short video. I found it weird that you folks were touting your own varroa research findings so strongly, when it seems pretty commonly known in the literature. Randy Oliver, Scientific Beekeeping has a very nice mathematical model that he shares as open source software. I’ve found it very predictive of colony survival likelihood’s, and it would be nice if other folks took a closer look at it and made modifications. In any case, keep up the good work. I very much enjoyed having the addition of academic researcher into the fold of the video.
In my neck of the urban woods, we have a plethora of non treatment beekeepers that literally cling to notions that evolution will solve the mite problem. I think there’s some probability that the “mite problem” will get resolved through evolution but it’s really hard to listen to folks talk about having significant infestations and referencing things like Welsh beekeepers with through the roof mite populations and healthy bees as examples of the benefits of non treatment. Clearly the bulk of the evidence indicates otherwise. So the debate rages, all in the name of helping bees, on both sides.
Hi Charles
Paul Kozak doesn't work here at the University. He works for our provincial government so was just giving us a plug where he could. We did do a major study in 2007 demonstrating that varroa is our #1 problem and that is what Paul was referring to.
Long term we all hope that bees develop resistance. I can't in good conscience let all my hives die in the meantime. We breed from colonies with low mite population growth and treat in the fall to keep them alive. Thanks for your comments Charles.
We have the non-treatment beekeepers in my area. All these bee havers do is cause the rest of us trouble. Our hives are robbing them out in the fall and dying out as a result. It was realized too late last season as the bees slowly drifted off when it was 28 degrees F out. Even after treating the hives and keeping the mites under control. the viruses in the comb have killed so many hives in our area. A beekeeper in our club presented the problem of viruses related to varroa. He found research (I'm looking for it) that shows viruses can live in comb for up to fifteen years. IF hives are dying as a result of deformed wing, parasitic mite syndrome, etc. DON'T re-use the comb until it's been irradiated. Irradiation will sterilize the comb of disease and yes even American Foulbrood. If irradiation isn't available then burn the comb, or throw it out. Start over with new frames and foundation. I'll be toasting the boxes this week in preparation of new packages. There is nothing else we can do. I may move the bee hobby upstate where there are less beekeepers causing us issues.
@Old chunk of coal. You're wrong. The new acid treatments don't develop resistance. besides there are natural ways to control mite populations without causing resistance or chemical residue in the honey and wax.
@Old chunk of coal. You need to research beekeeping and understand what I wrote.
Wow both of you have the same name 😅
and same initials!