Varroa

I have just spent a fascinating three hours in a class room full of beekeepers at all stages - those who have been doing it for years, those hoping to start this year and others like me who started last year and have so much more to learn.  We were unable to go to Rucher Ecole last year as the dates always coincided with family coming to stay and so I was determined that this year we would do better - well, we can't really do worse than last year!  I must admit that I was just a little worried about the language - my French is good but the vocabulary surrounding beekeeping is not something I am used to talking about in French!  As it happened I needn't have worried.

Today covered three topics:  setting up your hive, varroa and the annual beekeeping schedule (which starts curiously enough in September when you effectively put them to bed for the winter, but still.)

Varroa is a nasty little mite that has the ability to reduce your colonies to zilch in a fairly short period of time.  It's a parasite that feeds off the blood of both the larvae and the bee, weakening and deforming it.  The bee is therefore able to work less effectively and consequently brings less into the hive for the young bees to eat.  The weaker the colony is, the more susceptible to disease it becomes until finally it can no longer survive and dies.  All colonies have varroa (there's a sweeping statement but it's 99% true!) and the survival of the colony rests in the control of the parasite - if you only have a few in the hive (say, less than 50) you'll probably be ok. 


You can see the nasty little bloodsuckers very clearly on the larvae in this picture

I learnt today that varroa are just like nits;  they can transfer from one bee to another even whilst the bees are pollinating the flowers.  So if you are lucky enough to have a varroa free colony there's a good chance your bees will pick it up anyway when they pollinate in areas where there are bees from other colonies.

There are several treatments available and our Beekeeping Association emphasised the importance of treating every year without fail:  prevention (in this case of it developing into a bad infestation) is definitely better than cure.  They have also done tests in France that show that if every single hive in one area is treated at the same time then the results are much more efficient.  Unfortunately, not all beekeepers treat their bees believing perhaps that the problem is small so what's the point or perhaps simply because they just don't want to put chemicals into their hives.

As Varroa has been a problem in Europe for a relatively short period of time (I think it's about 20 years) it's the older beekeepers who seem to be more attentive to the problem.  They have seen their apiaries devastated by Varroasis (the disease from the Varroa mite) and their honey production suffer accordingly.  They have seen the development of this problem from its early years and know that if something isn't done quickly there will be very few bees left. 

The next Rucher Ecole is at the end of March when we visit the school's apiary for the spring visit.  I'm hoping to open mine up before then to get an idea of what has been going on.

Comments

[Jean]

Well, they are horrible. What do I use here to battle against them? Hmmm, I think this year I will attempt the icing sugar/thymol treatment as well as the slightly more "conventional" apistan, apivar type things. Ideally all the beeks in the area should use the same product(at the same time) to get on top of the problem and of course the product should change each year.
Thank you all for your comments! More bee posts to follow as the season processes.

Jen - is it true that in Canada (or the really cold parts of it anyway) beeks kill the bees each year because they are unlikely to make it through the winter; and then restock each spring?

[Jen / domestika]

I'm delighted to find (via Entrecard) another domesticated beekeeper! Varroa mites are a big problem here in Canada, too, and they can quickly build up resistance to miticides like apistan and coumaphos. I have been using formic acid for the past few years: what treatments are you using for Varroa?

[polly peirce]

Nasty little blighter's aren't they? We have a wild hive in the flat roof of the extension to the house and funny enough we don't seem to have varroah.

Often they visit us through the light fitting in the bathroom and then clamour at the window for fresh air! Unfortunately this is often when I'm out and I find them half dead; dying of starvation or intervention by horrid little boys on the windowsill below! I always push them out the window and back to civilisation if I'm in time...

When I had my famous hive I kept an eye out for it and was lucky, but the number of times we find sick bees in gardens covered in the blighter's is all too often!They are disgusting creatures - the varroah mites, that is!

[Alison]

Those parasites look disgusting!

[Alison]

Those parasites look disgusting!

[dottyspots]

Just popping by to thank you for commenting on my blog. Your upholstery looks great - it's a skill I have a great respect for as it looks very, very difficult!

Interesting re. the bees - I was aware of the problem before (I have a friend who wants to keep bees) and apparently it's had quite an effect on honey production is some countries? I don't know what I'm more fascinated by: seeing the parasites on the bee larvae, or the bee larvae (clearly at varying stages of development) itself!