Subject: Acarine

From: Sacha <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 13 May 1996 22:17:34 +0000

I live in Jersey, Channel Islands, Britain.  My single hive, 
flourishing right up until the end of the summer and producing 100lbs. 
of honey as its record last year died right out. I had it tested and 
the answer was Acarine though the colony exhibited none of the classic 
symptoms and we are concerned that the colony may have been weakened 
by Acarine but finished off by picking up agricultural spray that has 
gone undetected by analysis. Another major beekeeper lost 15 out of 40 
hives but unfortunately didn't have them tested.
We found bees in varying stages of decomposition, the top layer of 
which were healthy looking and intact and had died while capping 
comb.They had fed themselves well all winter and there was plenty of 
honey left.  
Does anyone have any information on the effects of Acarine on a very 
large and healthy colony from October to April and whether Acarine 
combined with some poison or other agent, has killed off colonies? If 
some what poison?
We had very little varroa in my colony and Acarine is almost unknown 
in this Island.  Any ideas anyone?  Many thanks.   [email-masked]

From Bill Mackey Thu May 23 13:50:19 EDT 1996
Article: 4390 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping
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From: Bill Mackey
Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping
Subject: Re: South Carolina losses
Date: 13 May 1996 13:33:42 -0700
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In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] says...
>
>Interested in hearing abou winter losses in South Carolina, especially
>from mites or other disease/pests

testing

---

From: "Theodore V. Fischer" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 12:25:14 -0500

> in this Island.  Any ideas anyone?  Many thanks.   [email-masked]

This sounds very much like the experiences I and many of my fellow American 
beekeepers have been having due to the varroa mite.  I lost many strong hives that 
produced record yields last year, and they died out leaving much of their winter stores of 
honey intact in the combs.  I believe that Acarine disease is that which in the US is 
commonly known as tracheal mite infestation, isn;t it?  If so, it would not be unusual to 
have some of it in your bees as well.  My advice: re-establish your hive, and treat spring 
and autumn with fluvalinate treated strips, or whatever else is approved in your region for 
varroa control.

It seems unlikely to me that your bees would have been poisoned, since the die off 
occurred in the fall and winter, when crops would not have been sprayed.

---

From: [email-masked] (Pollinator)
Date: 15 May 1996 23:53:50 -0400

In article <[email-masked]>, "Theodore V. Fischer"
<[email-masked]> writes:

>It seems unlikely to me that your bees would have been poisoned, since
the
>die off 

    That depends:   It is quite possible that a poison could be stored
away with pollen.  I've seen this with microencapsulated and powdered
insecticides that are brought in and stored.  The bee that carries them
in, is relatively unaffected, but when it is fed to young bees making
royal jelly, or to brood, it causes a lot of loss.  I have taken frames of
pollen from winter deadouts after they had stored away poison, used them
in the spring in healthy nucs.  The brood pattern immediately begins to
look like a failing queen.

    I have also seen bees that were knocked down late in the season, (by
non-residual materials that were used while bees were foraging), with no
time to rebuild population. No poisoned pollen was stored; it was simply
too small a cluster to make it through winter.  I have walked fields after
such a spray, and seen entire field forces lying on the ground, a bee
here, a bee there.........

    I suspect there is a synergistic effect here.  Perhaps you might lose
10% of your hives to tracheal mite; you might lose 10% to pesticide
damage.  Put them together and you might expect 20% loss, but in actuality
it could be 50, 60, or more.  Now add in the effects of nosema,
chalkbrood, stressful weather, etc.........  (Or rather *multiply* in, the
effects......)

[email-masked]    Dave and Janice Green,  PO Box 1200,  Hemingway,  SC
29554

Practical Pollination Home Page
http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html

[email-masked]                                   Dave Green
Practical Pollination Home Page    
http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html  
PO Box 1200, Hemingway, SC    29554