Diseases and Pests

-  Varroa Mites
-  Small Hive Beetle
-  Bears
-  Skunks
-  Wasps
-  Diseases


Diseases and Pests

A Field Guide to Honey Bees and their Maladies (Penn State University) - The key to protecting honey bee colonies from diseases, parasites, and other harm-ful conditions is the ability to identify and deal with problems early. This publication is designed to assist beekeepers in recog-nizing the symptoms of common honey bee maladies. Some simple cultural controls are included here; however, for a complete list and discussion of manage-ment tactics and currently registered chemicals approved for the control of honey bee maladies, see the MAAREC Web site, maarec.psu.edu.

Apinae - Bee Diseases and Pests from (World Organization or Animal Health)
Introductory note on bee diseases (version adopted in May 2013)
Chapter 3.2.1.
Acarapisosis of honey bees (infestation of honey bees with Acarapis woodi)
Chapter 3.2.2.
American foulbrood of honey bees (infection of honey bees with Paenibacillus larvae) (version adopted in May 2016)
Chapter 3.2.3.
European foulbrood of honey bees (infection of honey bees with Melissococcus plutonius) (version adopted in May 2016)
Chapter 3.2.4.
Nosemosis of honey bees (version adopted in May 2013)
Chapter 3.2.5.
Infestation with Aethina tumida (small hive beetle) (version adopted in May 2018)
Chapter 3.2.6.
Chapter 3.2.7.


Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Treatment Options for Honey Bees



Pests




Introduction to Varroa Mites and Integrated Pest Management from the Honey Bee Health Coalition


                                      Varroa Population Dynamics from the UoG Honey Bee Research Centre

Tools for Varroa Management: A guide to effective varroa sampling and control
Every honey bee colony in the continental United States and Canada either has Varroa mites today or will have them within several months. Varroa mite infestation represents one of the greatest threats to honey bee health, honey production, and pollination services. When honey bee colonies are untreated
or treated ineffectively colonies can fail and beekeepers can incur major economic losses, and, ultimately, agricultural food production may be impacted. In addition, colonies with Varroa are a source of mites that can spread to other colonies, even in other apiaries, through drifting, robbing, and absconding activity of bees.  All beekeepers should remain vigilant to detect high Varroa mite levels and be prepared to take timely action in order to reduce mite loads. Effective mite control will reduce colony losses and avoid potential spread of infectious disease among colonies.  This Guide will explain practical, effective methods that beekeepers can use to measure Varroa mite infestations in their hives and select appropriate control methods. This guide is produced by the Honey Bee Health Coalition.


Scientific Beekeeping (Randy Oliver) Varroa Management
Biology and Control of Varroa Destructor (University of Hohenheim)
Sampling Colonies for Varroa Destructor by G. Reuter and M. Spivak (U. of Minnesota)
Altered Physiology of Honey Bees Infested with Varroa (Norwegian Research Council)
Alternative Strategies for Control of Varroa Mites in Europe (Apimondia)
Aspects of Varroa Reproduction as possible new control method by D. Anderson (Australian Government)

Varroa Management Decision Tool.  This tool will walk you through the decisions you need to make to determine how best to manage varroa mites.  The guide is produced by the Honey Bee Health Coalition.  "We’ve formed the Honey Bee Health Coalition to bring together beekeepers, growers, researchers, government agencies, agribusinesses, conservation groups, manufacturers, and consumer brands to improve the health of honey bees in general and specifically around production agriculture. We’re taking collaborative action to improve honey bee health by addressing multiple factors influencing bee health, including hive pests and disease, forage and nutrition, and exposure to crop pesticides."  Click here to access the tool. 

Mite-A-Thon   "Mite-A-Thon is a tri-national effort to collect mite infestation data and to visualize Varroa infestations in honey bee colonies across North America within a two week window. All beekeepers can participate, creating a rich distribution of sampling sites in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Their Varroa monitoring data will be uploaded to www.mitecheck.com." (from the Pollinator Partnership)

Varroa Mite Management Videos
Testing
Powdered Sugar Shake and Alcohol Wash (Honey Bee Health Coalition)
Varroa Sticky Boards (UoG Honey Bee Research Centre)



               4 minute alcohol wash mite test by Randy Oliver

Randy Oliver's Varroa Model for determining mite population dynamics to help in creating a mite management strategy.


Treatment
Honey Bee Health Coalition bee club presentation (powerpoint)

*HBHC = Honey Bee Health Coalition



















                                 James Ellis at the National Honey Show

The beetle is indigenous to Africa, where it is considered a minor pest of honey bees, and until recently was thought to be restricted to that continent. However, in 1998 it was detected in Florida and it is now widespread in the USA. It is called the small hive beetle to distinguish it from other minor pests of bee hives in Africa, known as large hive beetles. At the time of writing, the SHB is not thought to be present in the UK. The beetle can multiply to huge numbers within infested colonies where it eats brood, destroys combs and if uncontrolled ultimately destroys them. The resulting economic impact on the beekeeping industry in the USA has been severe. Within two years of its discovery, at least 20,000 colonies were destroyed by the beetle, costing many millions of dollars. It has also been found in Manitoba, Canada where it arrived with beeswax imported from the USA. In October 2002, it was found in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. The economic consequences to the beekeeping industry in Australia are likely to be extremely serious, jeopardising bee exports, pollination services and honey production. Normally they move down into the hive to get away from the light It is not known how the beetle reached either the USA or Australia, although in the USA shipping is considered the most likely route. By the time the beetle was detected in both countries it was already well established. The potential implications for European apiculture are enormous, as we must now assume that the SHB could spread to Europe and that it is likely to prove as harmful here as in Australia and the USA. Package bees and honey bee colonies are the principal means of spread, but it could also be transmitted inadvertently and unnoticed through swarms in shipping or air cargo, or in consignments of fruit, unrefined wax and used beekeeping equipment. Beekeeper vigilance must be heightened following the discovery of the SHB in Australia. In the future, keeping an eye out for the beetle needs to become a routine part of colony management in the UK.
SHB Biology - Producing Control Options (Australian Gov. 73 pgs)


Small Hive Beetle Videos


                 Small Hive Beetle Barrier by Jeff Williard


The heavy-duty straps and the heavy rocks were no match for the bear. This time he got the queen too and so many bees that there's nothing left. The bees did give a good fight as seen in the video and the bear had to retreat a few times, but it is all done. (Avner Skolnik)

A properly constructed electric fence is safe for people and pets  and has proven to be effective at deterring bears from apiaries (beehives), fruit trees, gardens, livestock pens, rabbit hutches, garbage containers, dog kennels, chicken coups, compost piles, storage sheds, along with numerous other uses. There is an abundant variety of applications and effective fencing designs for deterring bears. Design, construction and proper maintenance will determine the effectiveness of your electric fence. Safety is always a concern when using electrified equipment. Modern electric fence energizers have been shown to be safe for humans, animals and vegetation. The pulse rate of a modern energizer is so quick that they cannot generate enough heat to start vegetation on fire. While touching an electrified fence is unpleasant, modern energizers are safe to use around pets and children.







How to install an electric fence (Defenders of Wildlife)




Bear Fence Test (NOLS)






*For us in North America the best control of Wasps is to catch the overwintered Queens in spring.  The newly mated queens are the only members of the wasp colony to survive the winter.  You can also, dressed in your beekeeping protective gear, drown an in-ground nest or bag a hanging nest early in the morning (when most of the wasps are in the nest) and submerge it in water.  No toxins are required in these means of disposing of the nests or in traps described below.  When using traps our wasps tend to be more attracted to protein early in the season (they are feeding their brood) and sugar from late summer to fall.  Add vinegar to the sugar solution in your traps to deter the bees. To help protect our hives we reduce our entrances in late summer when the wasps leave their nests to forage so that the hive is easier to defend.  If the wasps gain entrance to the hive a robber screen is a useful defense.

"Yellowjackets are usually considered beneficial insects because they kill many pest insects and feed them to their larvae.  However, some species, such as the western yellowjacket (Paravespula pensylvanica), the common yellowjacket (P. vulgaris), and the German yellowjacket (P. germanica), can attack honeybee adults and larvae.  A typical yellowjacket worker is about 1 / 2 -inch long.  Coloration is yellow and black or white and black. Yellowjackets have annual colonies. Inseminated queens overwinter in protected locations. They emerge from late March through May, select a nest site, and build a small paper nest in which they lay their eggs.
Yellowjacket species build nests below the soil in mouse burrows or in similar sites, also between walls or in the attics of houses. Worker yellowjackets rear and feed the brood and also forage for food. The queen remains inside the nest laying eggs. Colonies expand rapidly and may total up to 5,000 workers when maximum size is attained in August or September. In the fall, inseminated queens seek sheltered spots for overwintering.  Yellowjackets eat bee brood, rob honey, and sometimes kill the queen or the colony. Weak colonies are especially susceptible. In general, yellowjackets become pests of honeybees in late summer through fall and are more serious pests in dry years."

The easiest DIY wasp trap to make is to cut the top off of a plastic bottle or jug and place the inverted top into the bottom (A picture of the trap to the right).  You can secure the union with tape and hang away from the hives. You should clean and replace the bait at least once per week.  The bait receptacle is not necessary.  This DIY project is described in detail in the video below.









Skunks





     Skunks can be a problem for beekeepers though they are usually not a major threat  and fairly easy to deter (like most issues a bigger threat to weaker colonies).  They are nocturnal visitors and evidence of their presence can be detected in ground scraping in front of the entrance, scraping on the bottom board or lower super, agitated bees, shrinking population, holes (they like to dig for grubs) and scat containing bee carcasses (Evidence of skunks in the beeyard - Ian Steppler) .  The skunks may be a benefit to you and your bees by digging up and preying on wasp nests and rodents (that may winter in the hive).  Their M.O. (modus operandi) is to scratch on the hive to bring bees out to investigate which they eat as they exit the hive.  A small percentage of skunks will scratch on the hive and eat the bees as they settle on the ground unable to navigate in the dark (lower bee fatality - Skunk feeding on ground bees (Frederick Dunn)).  

     There are several methods of skunk defense.  Raising the hive (12 inches or more) forces the skunk to stand leaving their belly exposed to stinging.  This method is effective.  In the video above Ian Steppler found placing the hives on pallets effective.  If possible raising it high enough makes the hive inaccessible.  Raising a hive that high is not a practical solution for most.  Another method is placing a 2-4 inch wide board over the hive entrance.  This method prevents the skunk eating all the bees exiting the hive.  The bees not caught will commence stinging.  Chicken wire (rolled or surrounding) around the entrance prevents the skunk eating them as they exit.  A carpet tack board or bear board under the hive entrance makes for an uncomfortable stance.  If you have an electric fence lowering the bottom wire (or adding) is effective and if you have few hives a fence buried at least a foot deep can be effective (they love to dig).  Solar powered motion detectors may work if you have the money, the sun and are not annoyed by the sound or flashing light.  I have found store bought animal repellent works on squirrels and rats for me.  It is supposed to work on skunks.  The concept is that it replicates the smell of a predator (i.e. coyote urine).  There are several d.i.y recipes for deterrent sprays using pepper, urine, vinegar and ammonia and citrus (D.I.Y Recipes).  While they can be a nuisance and washing a skunked dog is a pain a mother skunk followed by a string of baby skunks is pretty cute. 


Connecticut Wildlife Rehabilitators Association





Skunk Behavior in the Bee Yard (Mark Headings, Ohio State University)








Bee Informed Partnership Identification of Honey Bee Diseases

Inspection for bee diseases is an important part of beekeeping. Apiary inspectors and beekeepers must be able to recognize bee diseases and parasites and to differentiate the serious diseases from the less important ones. The purpose of this publication is to identify parasites, pests, and other abnormalities of the honey bee and to acquaint readers with the laboratory techniques used to diagnose diseases. We realize that different laboratory methods are used by others; where possible, those methods are described. However, we emphasize the techniques used at the Bee Research Laboratory, of the Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.Symptoms Brood combs of healthy colonies typically have a solid and compact brood pattern. Almost every cell from the center of the comb outward contains an egg, larva, or pupa. The cappings are uniform in color and are convex (higher in the center than at the margins). The unfinished cappings of healthy brood may appear to have punctures, but since cells are always capped from the outer edges to the middle, the holes are always centered and have smooth edges...

Prevention of Deformed Wing Virus by dsRNA ingestion (University of Manitoba) 
  
Nosema




Foulbroods



Identifying American Foul Brood (NSW DPI Agriculture)



AFB Holst Milk Test Randy Oliver NY Bee Wellness




Chalkbrood


Deformed Wing Virus

Dysentery

CCD
Pathogen Webs in Collapsing Honey Bee Colonies (N.C. State, U. of Maryland, U.S.D.A)
"On-site" Replication of CCD (Harvard, Worcester County B.A.)

Medications and Stress


Essential Oils

General
Why should parasite resistance be costly? (U.C. Santa Barbara and U. of Vermont)

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