This Month in the Bee Yard
January
There are many different techniques used in managing honey bee colonies. If you have a system that works for you, then keep using it. If you have a system that you would like to improve on, then read, talk to other beekeepers and study various other methods. The methods and suggestions outlined in these monthly articles are merely additional inputs that you may want to consider.
During the month of January, about the only thing that can be done in the bee yard is to check and make sure that the entrance reducer is still in place on each colony and that each entrance is open and not clogged with dead bees.
With nothing happening in the bee yard, this is an ideal time to order supplies, make repairs, assemble new equipment and get everything ready for the season ahead.
On a warm sunny day with calm winds, walk around the bee yard and observe the activity at the entrance of each hive. Examine more closely those hives with no activity. Close the entrance of any hive that has died out and check for brood diseases before moving that equipment to another hive for clean up. If the bees are flying and carrying pollen, then that colony is alive and most likely raising brood.
In my last Bee Ready article in the November 2002 ACB Newsletter; I quoted a few words spoken by Tom Glenn of Glenn Apiaries during the EAS Meeting at Cornell University in August 2002. His words quoted from the October 2002 issue of Bee Culture were as follows: "The time has come, according to Mr. Glenn, for beekeepers to 'get off the pesticide treadmill.' ….. the future lies in the committed, amateur beekeeper, who will no longer tolerate chemical treatment, and who must lead the way in the brave new world of 'stewardship' of honey bees through genetic selection for tolerance to pests and diseases." This article continued and a part of the next paragraph is as follows: "Beekeepers can facilitate selection in a number of ways, according to Mr. Glenn, who quoted the well-known saying, 'A small group of committed citizens can change the world.' They can help accomplish this by influencing the genetics of a bee population one hive at a time, as every colony is a possible participant. In addition, he urged those present to take up queen rearing themselves, for he said there is no better time than now to engage in an activity that is considered one of the most intricate and interesting the beekeeping craft has to offer." Now in 2006, a little over three years later, Tom Glenn who operates the Glenn Apiaries in Fallbrook, California offers several queens that are quite tolerant of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Three of those queens are listed below and described in words partially gleaned from Tom Glenn's web site – http://members.aol.com/queenb95.
Minnesota Hygienic Italian Queens – These queens offer good resistance to American foulbrood, chalkbrood and some resistance to Varroa. They are gentle and excellent honey producers. Developed by Dr. Marla Spivak at the University of Minnesota.
Russian Varroa Resistant Queens – USDA scientists have imported a strain of honeybees from Russia, which are naturally resistant to Varroa mites. The imported queens were selected from bees, which had been exposed to mite infestation for nearly a century. Dr. Thomas Rinderer is Research Leader of this team.
Suppressed Mite Reproduction (SMR) Queens – USDA ARS scientists Dr.John Harbo and Dr.Jeffrey Harris have defined and tested this trait that suppresses the reproduction of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. They have enhanced this naturally occurring trait through selection to produce highly Varroa resistant bees. SMR queens that are free mated, however, retain only about 50% of this resistance.
This is where we stand as we start another new and exciting year. I say exciting because a few of the researchers are definitely trying to get off the pesticide treadmill. More of them are looking at using the honey bee's inherent defenses through genetic selection, rather than chemical intervention. I say this because Dr. Marla Spivak is presently introducing the SMR traits into the Minnesota Hygienic stock so they will be more resistant to the varroa mites, the USDA ARS is continuing to breed Russian stock for increased mite resistance, honey production and winter survival and Dr. Harbo and Dr. Harris are studying a second trait in bees that would complement the SMR traits in that stock.
This second trait being studied for the SMR stock has been dubbed "percentage of mites in brood" or P-MIB. PMIB affects mites while they are outside and SMR affects mites while they are inside a brood cell. Their objective is to assemble a hybrid bee that is completely resistant to mites, including tracheal mites, and has desirable commercial qualities like good honey production. That is an honorable and challenging objective but if I were a betting person my money would be on the square of John Harbo and Jeffrey Harris. kgp