Bee Tidings is a cooperative publication of the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension and the
Nebraska Honey Producer's Association. The newsletter announces events of interest to beekeepers, provides
timely advice, and summarizes current research that beekeepers can use. A newsletter subscription includes
membership in the Nebraska Honey Producer's Association (NHPA).
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Participants learned much from speakers and each other's experiences during the Nov. 21 joint annual meeting of the Nebraska Honey Producers and Nebraska Beekeepers. Nebraska Honey Producer Association officers for 1999 are:
The 1999 meeting has been scheduled for Nov. 19-20 at the Holiday Inn in Grand Island. Susan Cobey (who runs an artificial insemination service and maintains breeding stock for the New World Carniolan line of bees) will be conducting a workshop on breeding bees and stock maintenance. If you are not a member and wish to join, contact Dave Remmenga. If your membership is not current Dave would also like to hear from you.
The Nebraska Honey Producers Association serves as a united voice for Nebraska beekeepers in matters that impact beekeeping. With all the cosmic perils that beekeepers face (and there seems to be no end to them), strong associations can accomplish a lot for the common good. Too many Nebraska beekeepers are not active participants in their state beekeeping organization. If you are one of the aforementioned, you are missed. Be sure to attend the next annual meeting and bring a beekeeping neighbor. The usual crowd will be glad to see you, and who knows what we can accomplish by working together.
A special thanks is due Dennis and Michelle Stenner for their work in obtaining items for the silent auction. It was a lot of fun, and covered most of the meeting costs.
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| Paul Jackson from Texas A&M University presented the history of bee smokers and exhibited his world-renowned collection of smokers during the annual joint meeting of the Nebraska Honey Producers and Beekeepers groups. | |
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| Reed Koeppe, NPH president, recently traveled to Brazil with Partners of the Americas. He is shown surrounded by miles of nectar-yielding brush. The state of Piaui Beekeeper's Cooperatve packages honey in individual serving packages.. | |
The small hive beetle continues to wreak havoc with honey bee colonies in Southeastern costal areas, but it has yet to be a major problem in other areas despite its presence. We are beginning to learn more about the biology of this curious beetle from recent studies conducted by Drs. Frank Eischen, Patti Elzen, Jeff Pettis and Mr. James Baxter, USDA scientists assigned to investigate the problem.
Dr. Eischen recently demonstrated that while the beetles prefer beehives, they will eat some fruits and some reproduction can occur on fruit. Cantaloupe and pineapple were two of the most attractive alternate sites for feeding and reproduction. This makes it unlikely that the beetle can ever be eliminated by removing bees from an area. Dr. Elzen demonstrated that beetles will feed on bee eggs as well as stored pollen and nectar and brood. This may contribute to the colony population decline as bees guard and patrol areas occupied by brood but pay little attention to areas of the comb containing eggs. Her findings may explain how beetles initially weaken infested colonies.
Mr. Baxter found that coumaphos strips stapled to cardboard and placed on the bottom board provides excellent control of both adult and larval beetles. He recommends removing the cardboard covering to expose the corrugations, stapling the strip to the exposed corrugations, and placing the cardboard with the corrugated side down on the bottom board. Dr. Pettis examined how far beetle larvae go from the hive to pupate. (They pupate in the soil.) He found most larvae 0 to 12 inches from the hive, some at 36 inches, and none at 72 inches. Eighty percent of the pupae were found in the first 4 inches of soil. No pupae were found deeper than 8 inches. Mr. Baxter reported that beetles could be controlled by treating the soil around the hive with GardStar (a 40% permethrin drench produced by Y-Tex Corporation). The product is labeled for fire ant control, and the manufacturer is seeking to add the small hive beetle to its product label.
Following is a discussion of products currently available for varroa control and those which may become available.
Apistan (fluvalinate) is a synthetic pyrethroid miticide first developed for use on ornamental plants. It is packaged for beekeepers in a plastic strip, ApistanTM Wellmark. Three strip concentrations are available: 10% strips are used to treat colonies, 2.5% strips are used to treat package bees, and 1% strips are used to treat caged queen bees and their attendants. Package bee and queen strips should be left in place three to four days (usually accomplished when they are in transit).
For treating colonies, one strip should be applied for every five frames of bees and brood. They should be suspended in the brood nest for 6-8 weeks. When properly applied they are 98-100% effective on susceptible mite populations. Care should be taken to avoid exposing the strips to sunlight because they will rapidly degrade under ultraviolet light. Apistan strips can be used any time except when bees are storing surplus honey for harvest. It is essential that strips are positioned so they contact with the bee cluster. Improper placement can result in poor control. Apistan does not control tracheal mites.
In 1995, varroa resistance to fluvalinate was reported in Italy. In 1998, resistance to fluvalinate was detected in several U.S. states. Apistan remains an effective miticide for most varroa populations, but recent studies indicate that resistance is spreading and beekeepers should monitor their colonies to be sure it is working.
Dr. Jeff Pettis (USDA Beltsville) developed a resistance monitoring kit that can be used to determine if Apistan will be effective before applying treatment. The protocol calls for assaying two groups of adult bees in separate pint jars using sections of 2.5% and 10% fluvalinate strips stapled to note cards. The assay requires no specialized equipment, and can be performed by beekeepers. A complete description of the test can be found in the American Bee Journal, July 1998, pages 538-541.
Coumaphos beehive strips received Section 18 (emergency use) registration in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina on Jan. 6, 1999. Thirty-six states (including Nebraska) have pending Section 18 applications. The strip is manufactured by Bayer Corporation and will be distributed by Mann Lake Supply. Varroa populations exhibiting resistance to Apistan responded well to the coumaphos beehive strips in tests conducted by Dr. Patti Elzen, USDA toxicologist. In addition to controlling varroa, coumaphos beehive strips also will control the small hive beetle. As with Apistan, direct contact with the cluster of bees is required for mite control. Strips should be removed after the prescribed treatment period. While coumaphos beehive strips provide excellent control of varroa, they do not control tracheal mites.
Nebraska Honey Producer's President, Reed Koeppe, and Secretary, David Remmenga, are working with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture to make the strips available in Nebraska this spring. If all goes according to plan, eventually the strips will be available for general use (Section 3 label); however, the emergency use label was the only way to make them available this spring.
Formic acid gel packs are being prepared for distribution by Better Bee, a beekeeping supply dealer located in New York. The packs contain 65% formic acid in a gel-like matrix. Mann Lake Supply (Hackensack, MN) has submitted a registration packet to the EPA to produce a 90% formic acid gel pack. The Better Bee product should be available soon, and Mann Lake Supply is prepared to make their product available as soon as they receive EPA approval. Formic acid gel packs provide excellent control of tracheal mites. While the gel packs kill a lot of varroa mites, they are not as effective as Apistan and coumaphos beehive strips. Beekeepers who use formic acid gel packs may need to treat more frequently than beekeepers who use either of the two strip products.
Beekeepers who have experienced control problems with Apistan should rotate to the coumaphos beehive strip or formic acid gel pack. We do not know how long Apistan r esistance will persist in a varroa population in the absence of Apistan treatment. Hopefully, the mite population will revert to being susceptible to Apistan after the strips are replaced with an alternate control. Ongoing studies by Dr. Patti Elzen, USDA toxicologist, will provide a good indication of what can be expected. Rotating treatments between several products is the best way to preserve the efficacy of all products.
Essential oils - Currently, one essential oil-based product is available for varroa control in Europe. Api-Life VARTM LAIF is a porous vermiculite tablet impregnated with a blend of thymol (76%), eucalyptol (16.4%), menthol (3.8%), and camphor (3.8%). Thymol clearly exhibits varroacidal properties, but the value and purpose of the other essential oil ingredients has not been clearly established. The compound works as a fumigant and is applied in saturated absorbent blocks placed over the brood combs. Its effectiveness is limited by temperature. At high temperatures it can exhibit bee toxicity.
Some essential oils naturally occur in honey, and there are fewer barriers to registering them as miticides than when registering synthetic pesticides. The mode of action of essential oils is unknown, and different essential oils may have different target sites. Essential oils vary greatly in their toxicity to bees and mites. Beekeepers should be sure that any recommendations for using essential oils be research-based and approved for use in beehives. Some essential oils are highly toxic to bees and can injure colonies.
These naturally occurring compounds are an attractive class of compounds for developing novel varroacides due to their biodegradibility, selective toxicity to arthropods, and their use as flavoring and fragrance ingredients in food products. Some of them bind to target sites in varroa mites and are more toxic to mites than bees. Their efficacy is limited by their temperature sensitivity and the small margin of safety between the concentrations that will kill varroa and injure bees. Studies to identify their target site(s) and mode(s) of action are needed to develop them as varroacidal tools for beekeeping. Essential oils examined to date have not provided consistent control under a range of conditions. Synthetic analogs of essential oils may offer the best opportunity to develop a new compound specifically to control varroa mites in beehives.
Natural Products Smoke - Beekeepers routinely use smoke to calm their bees before opening the hive. Tobacco smoke increases mite fall and has been used for both detection and control of varroa. More recently, Dr. Frank Eischen, USDA bee research scientist, demonstrated that creosote bush and grapefruit leaves produce a smoke that can knock down 90% of the mites in test cages. However, excessive exposure to natural product smoke can harm bees. Also, mites are not usually killed by the smoke and may recover if not removed from the colony by a sticky board or other mite trapping device. Mites in brood cells are not affected by natural product smoke. While natural product smoke is not an approved treatment for varroa, there is no legislation prohibiting their use as smoker fuel. With careful attention to bee safety, the smoke of some natural products may be helpful in retarding varroa population growth in colonies.
Anti-varroa bottom boards - A French beekeeper, Jean-Pierre Le Pabic, has devised a bottom board that may help reduce varroa injury. He suggests that in a standard bottom-board-equipped colony, mites that fall from bees are able to easily reattach themselves to another host bee. He designed a bottom board consisting of 12 tubes that run lengthwise with a space between them that permits mites to fall to the bottom, but through which bees cannot pass. He reports that mite populations remain low in hives fitted with this bottom board due to the inability of varroa mites to climb back up to where they can reattach to a new host. Anyone who has worked with sticky boards knows that numerous mites drop to the sticky traps whenever colonies are examined or smoked. This novel approach to varroa control may help reduce beekeeper's dependence on chemical treatments. You can learn more about Monsieur Le Pabic's bottom board on the Internet at: http://www.apiculture.com/ plateau-anti-varroas/ . The article is in French, but the illustrations clearly show the design.
Beginning beekeeping short courses have been scheduled for the Lancaster County and Douglas County Extension Offices. In two evening sessions, participants will learn basic bee biology, behavior and handling techniques. In a subsequent hands-on session at the University of Nebraska Apiculture Laboratory, individuals will assemble hives, install package bees, open and examine established colonies, see honey and wax handling equipment, and learn to prepare the crop for market. These workshops are designed to give new beekeepers the skills and experience necessary to successfully start and care for a honey bee colony.
What: Two three-hour classroom sessions and a six-hour hands-on lab.
When: Lancaster County evening sessions: 6:30-9:30 p.m. March 15-16. Douglas County evening sessions: 6:30-9:30 p.m., March 17-18.
Hands-on Lab: The lab for both sessions will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 10 at the Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead. It will include a pot luck lunch. Members of the Nebraska Beekeepers Association will help participants with their first colony inspections.
Cost: $15, includes reference materials and refreshments.
Supplies: Bee supplier catalogs will be provided. Participants will be able to order hive supplies and protective equipment during the classroom sessions and pick them up at the hands-on laboratory session. Supplies also can be shipped directly to an individual's home. Guidance will be provided in helping participants order the equipment they need.
How to register: Detach and return this registration form with a check for $15 per person to the county extension office where you would like to participate. Make checks payable to Lancaster County Cooperative Extension or Douglas County Cooperative Extension.
Beginning Beekeeping Shortcourse Registration
Enclosed is my $15 registration fee. Please send registration forms to the county office
listed below where you would like to attend the workshop.
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| Name(s): ____________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: ________________________________________________ Phone: ______________________________________________________ |
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For more information, contact: Dr. Marion Ellis, Department of Entomology, University of Nebraska, 210 Plant Industry Bld., Lincoln, NE 68583-0816. Phone: 402-472-8696. Email: mellis3@unl.edu
Improve your beekeeping skills at advanced level workshops scheduled for this summer. Participants can choose between the Master Beekeeping or the Queen Rearing workshops, both to be held July 22-24.
| Summary of Workshops | |
| When: | July 22-24 |
| Where: | Apiculture Lab, Agricultural Research and Development Center, near Ithaca. |
| Cost: | $85 per person for either workshop. Includes five meals, refreshments, training manual and cap. |
| Lodging: | Available in Lincoln and Wahoo. A list of facilities and their rates will be sent to all registrants. A van will leave Lincoln at 7:30 a.m. daily for participants who need transportation. |
| Program: | The programs include classroom and hands-on training. Daily sessions will be followed by a cookout and team problem-solving exercises. |
The program includes lectures and hands-on training on all aspects of beekeeping. The workshop is designed to provide beekeepers with the knowledge they need to be successful beekeepers. In addition, participants will receive training in pollination and bee biology, Internet resources, marketing, and presenting beekeeping information to youth and public media.
Trainers will include: Drs. Marion Ellis, Ackland Jones, and David Keith, and Mr. Alfred Stark, all of the University of Nebraska; Mr. Charles Simonds, Nebraska State Apiarist; Mr. Bob Cox, Iowa State Apiarist; Mr. Bob Reiners, South Dakota State Apiarist; Mr. Cecil Sweeney and Ms. Joli Winer, MidCon Agrimarketing; and Ms. Sharon Gibbons, Beekeeper, Ballwin, Mo. The workshop is limited to 70 participants.
Dr. Marla Spivak, University of Minnesota Research and Extension Apiculturist, will conduct the Queen Rearing Workshop. She will be assisted by her research associate, Gary Reuter. The workshop is limited to 20 participants and will include extensive hands-on training in all aspects of queen rearing.
Master Beekeeper Certificates and pins will be awarded to participants who complete the training, take home exercises, and service unit requirements. Service units may be met by speaking to schools, civic groups, or bee clubs about bees, beekeeping, pollination, or hive products. Units also may be met by working at an educational exhibit, helping a young person prepare state or county fair entries, attending a state or national beekeeping meeting, or participating in a radio, newspaper, or television interview.
Registration is limited, and applications will be accepted on a first-come basis. Both workshops provide high quality training experiences with low participant-to-trainer ratios. The workshops will be concurrent, so register for only one. Some sessions will be combined, but most of the time the two groups will be separated.
Registration for Master Beekeeping OR Queen Rearing Workshops
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| Name(s): ____________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: ________________________________________________ Phone: ______________________________________________________ |
Please circle one:
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| Mail registrations to: Beekeeping Workshops, 210 Plant Industry,
University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0816. Make checks payable to the University of Nebraska. |
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For more information contact:
Bee Tidings is published jointly by University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension and the Nebraska Honey Producer's Association six times a year. A subscription includes membership to the association. Subscriptions are for one year and begin with the November issue.
To subscribe to Bee Tidings, send a $10 check made out to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln along with your name, address, and phone number to:
| Bee Tidings | Box 830918 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Lincoln, NE | 68583-0918 |
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