Subject: First Varroa Problem

From: Nate Saal <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 17 Jun 1996 00:07:18 -0700

Unfortunately, it looks like I've just been initiated into the Varroa 
club.  Oh, Joy!

So, I could use some advice from some veteran beekeepers.

I've only got two hive, one of which is infected.  I'm certain that I 
caught it early, since I requeened the hive about a month ago and only 
the new bees have the mites (I lost the queen when I pulled some 
frames to start the second... I think I transferred her by accident).  
Anyway, the hive is in its second year and had no known problems 
previous to the requeening.  The connection between the requeening and 
the first appearance of the mites gets me thinking... could I have 
gotten a bad batch of bees with the queen?  Is there any seriously 
implemented regulation on queen bee distribution to avoid the spread 
of mites??  Should I contact the queen supplier?  Of course, I know that 
there is no way to know for sure where the mites came from, but the 
timing sure makes me wonder.

So, I'm going to add Apistan to both hives (no honey supers this year). 
 I read about putting a collector with sticky paper at the base of the 
hive.  Is that something that I can buy, build, need??  Should I do 
anything else??

I'm really concerned about introducing Varroa into the area (if it 
really did come from the queen supplier).  I know of two bee trees that 
sit several hundred feet from my hives that lived there before I started 
beekeeping in the area.  Of course, I can't really treat them with 
Apistan but is there something I should do to avoid the possible spread 
into the wild population (unless that's where it came from).

Help.... thanks.

Nate

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From: Ulli Hoeger <[email-masked]>
Date: 17 Jun 1996 16:13:09 GMT

Hi Nate,

If you really get the mites a month ago with your new queen and 
the handfull of nursing bees than there is no need to start the 
treatment in the next 2-3 month, because the Varroa population is 
in the moment to weak to effect your collonies.  It take some 
time for them to grow dangerous, and there is no need to give up 
the honey season.
In Germany the mites are present in all hives, and the beekeepers 
do Varroa treatment in fall or winter, depending on the method 
they use, after the honey season.  So, if you got only a small 
number of mites in your hive there is no need to start treatment 
immeadly. Do it after honey harvesting, because if you give no 
room for collecting honey you will get problems with swarming 
bees very soon. They will have no more room for breeding, 
because you can´t stop them from collecting nectar and they will 
store it in the breeding room.
If there are serious numbers of mites in your hives, and you want 
to start a treatment now, than it might be an idea to think about 
methods which make no trouble with the honey:

1.-the mites reproduce only in sealed broodcells, and they prefer 
drone (male) brood (longer time of development).  A way to reduce 
the mite population during the honey season is to cut out frames 
with sealed drone brood (burn them!), or, if your bees had no 
sealed brood for a period of 1-2 weeks (maybee they had no queen 
for htis period) remove the first frame with sealed broodcells 
>from  the new queen.  Most of the mites should be in these cells 
for reproduction.
2.-formic acid is very effective in Varroa control.  It is known 
that residues of formic acid in honey are reduced during 2 month 
to the natural amount of formic acid in honey. A short time 
treatment with formic acid for 2 weeks (for example in a honey 
break) will control the mites and have only a small temporary, or 
no effect on the later collected honey.  Another positive point 
of formic acid is, that you get the mites also in the brood 
cells. 
If a mite treatment can wait to the end of the honey season I 
would recommend 1., otherwise I would think about 2..

with best regards

Ulli

P.S. You can get the mites from your beekeeping neigbour, bees 
visit other hives very often for robbery or in case of navigation 
errors etc (or drones from other colonies!). and transfer the 
mites. It will take some time to see the first mites on the bees, 
because they have to build up a population.  You will never be 
able to find a single mite in a hive (most of them are inside 
the broodcells).  I would prefer this explanation, because it 
will take more time than a month to build up a visible Varroa 
population in a hive if there are only a few starter mites 
transfered with a new queen and their nursing bees (or did you 
add a large number of bees to your hive (packet-bees)?)

I hope you are able to get throug my cruel english and will find 
a way to live with the mites, because they will never leave you 
forever (You might kill 99% with apistan or others, but 1% is 
suffcient to built up a new population).