Subject: Mite workshops I have known

From: [email-masked] (Aaron Morris)
Date: Wed, 05 Jun 96 14:12:54 EDT

I mail off-list my thanks to Andy for posting the August 10 Mite
Workshop announcement and included my notes on a presentation I attended
at the Worcester County Beekeepers Association this April.  Andy
encouraged me to post them to this list, so what the hey?!  Any errors
in content are mine, I can't write as fast as the speaker could talk!
                                                         /Aa
 
               >---------------------------<
 
     Dr. Cynthia Scott-Dupree Addresses Worcester County
                          Beekeepers
 
 I  had the pleasure of attending the April 13 meeting of the
 Worcester County Beekeepers Association  where  Dr.  Cynthia
 Scott-Dupree  of  the  University of Guelph in Ontario spoke
 about Canadian Beekeeping and mites as a vector in spreading
 viruses in bees.
 
 The "Canadian Beekeeping" presentation was very informative,
 but my main interest (and that of the more than 100  attend-
 ing  beekeepers) was in hearing what Dr. Scott-Dupree had to
 say about the mites.  The conundrum faced by bee researchers
 is that it's easy to blame bees' demise  on  V-mites  or  T-
 mites  or both, but the truth of the matter is that although
 we know mites are here, scientists aren't sure what  exactly
 is  the  cause  of  bee pathology based on the effect of the
 mites' presence.  The focus of current research  is  on  how
 the  mites may act as vectors in spreading the approximately
 twenty identified bee viruses, which are hard to identify in
 the field and whose symptoms may appear as common infectious
 diseases, hence being easily misidentified.  Studies done by
 Drs. Dupree and Brenda Ball (in the UK) have indicated  that
 with  the  stock  of bees tested in their studies, there ap-
 pears to  be  no  correlation  between  tracheal  mites  and
 honeybee  viruses.   This is the good news, which could lead
 one to conclude that although tracheal mites are  a  problem
 not to be overlooked, the threat is not as nefarious as that
 posed  by varroa mites, which did exhibit a significant cor-
 relation in the spread of chronic bee paralysis virus  types
 one  and  two,  hairless black bee virus, Kashmir bee virus,
 black queen cell virus and others.  It is important to  note
 that many of these viruses are present in a hive environment
 in  all stages of bee development as non-damaging pathogens.
 However it is perhaps the manner in  which  varroa  feed  on
 honeybees that activates the viruses, helping them to flour-
 ish to the detriment of the colony population.
 
 In  the meantime while scientists continue to search for an-
 swers and solutions to the mite problems we beekeepers  need
 to  manage  our bees to reduce stressors as much as possible
 to help them remain healthy.  This includes  using  approved
 medications  such as Fumidil-B for nosema and Terramycin for
 foulbrood, and approved treatments to  combat  mites,  which
 include  grease patties, menthol and Apistan.  Of course one
 must always follow the directions when  using  these  treat-
 ments  to avoid contaminating the honey to be harvested.  In
 these mite infested times a beekeeper  may  have  to  forego
 some  of the honey crop in order to treat their bees in con-
 formance with label instructions.  The mites have made keep-
 ing bees a whole new ball game and new management techniques
 need to be developed to keep beekeepers from striking out.