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Resistance – a shorter term problem

Research shows that varroa mites resistant to pyrethroids (like Apistan) need not be a long-term problem. After a suitable time gap, pyrethroid treatments can be re-introduced and be very effective again as part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) regime.

Researchers at Rothamsted have discovered the mutation in varroa mites that gives resistance to pyrethroid treatments. They have also developed a test that quickly identifies it. The test works with mites that are dead or alive and has given an insight into the frequency of the occurrence of resistant mites.

Initial results show that the resistance mechanism is far less widespread than was previously thought. After withdrawal of pyrethroid treatments, the number of resistant mites quickly falls to such an extent that pyrethroid treatments can again be highly effective.

Dr Max Watkins, Technical Director of Vita (Europe) Ltd, said: “This research confirms what we have been seeing in the field in Italy. After varroa mites resistant to pyrethroids became a threat, Italian beekeepers stopped using Apistan for a few seasons. But recently they have been using it again to great effect when alternated with different types of varroa control  treatments, specifically Apiguard.

“We are very fortunate that resistance to pyrethroids can be so short-lived. We have not lost a key treatment as was once feared — with IPM regimes, beekeepers have their varroa control arsenal replenished with the reinstatement of an easily applied, highly effective first generation treatment.

“We congratulate Rothamsted on this important discovery which will have a very positive impact in the beekeeping world.”

Why do bees make different sounds in different languages?

VitalanguagesBees buzz in English-speaking countries, but make quite different noises in other languages. How come?

 

Here’s a video from www.mentalfloss.com that explains what’s happening — even though it doesn’t talk about bees.

 

And don’t forget that the core parts of Vita’s website are available in French, Russian, Spanish (see the drop-down menu at the top) and there’s an Italian website too.

Tell us about your beekeeping year

As beekeepers start planning for the forthcoming season and before 2015 slips from the mind, we invite you to send us your completed My Beekeeping Year infographic for 2015.

Send yours to

We will publish a selection online and have some excellent bee-related prizes for the best ones.

If you don’t already have a template, you can download one for free from the Vita Gallery. If you haven’t already registered for the Gallery, it’s free and very straightforward via this link.

Turlough, Vita’s Beekeeper Blogger, has supplied his as a prompt, but we are sure there are lots of interesting examples out there!

Turlough's Beekeeping Year 2015

Turlough’s Beekeeping Year 2015

 

And if you have forgotten what weather your bees faced, here’s a stunning reminder:

Hiving Apis florea

Teaching tiny hive assembly.

Teaching tiny hive assembly.

Besides the dammer bee, India and South Asia has another tiny bee: Apis florea, also known as the dwarf honeybee.  Measuring 7-10mm long, it requires only a mini-hive, although unmanaged they nest in the open on tree branches.

The hive pictured on the right dates from the 1950s is like a miniature Apis mellifera hive used in Europe, but it just happens to be constructed with teak. I think it’s even heavier than a cedar Langstroth hive!

The owner of this hive on a coffee estate in Coorg, near Mysore, is hoping to start beekeeping, but has had no luck in attracting a colony yet. A Vita swarm lure may be in order!

Apis florea usually follow the forage and are regular absconders. In that way, they can probably avoid the heaviest of the monsoon rains and probably cleanse themselves of unwanted hive pests and pathogens every now and again.

Apis florea is a very good pollinator and will therefore thrive on the coffee blossom when it appears in a few months’ time.

The hive has obviously seen action on the estate before. A hive stands await with a specially designed trough for water at the base to deter ants.

The dwarf bee has at least one distinct trait to the western honeybee. Its dances to indicate forage locations are not on the vertical comb, but on the horizontal tops and the waggle dance is a straight run in the direction of the forage. I wonder how they cope with man-made framed hives as a result.

Apis florea hive stand with anti-ant moat.

Apis florea hive stand with anti-ant moat.

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A teak hive ready for the next coffee blossom season as this season’s Mysore coffee crop dries in the sun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turlough
Vita’s Guest Beeekeeper Blogger

The smallest honeybee?

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A dammer bee nest. The key is pointing at one member of the colony.

I thought India had four types of honeybees, but on a trip last month I discovered a fifth which is so small it is all too easy to overlook, but its honey is highly prized in Indian medicine.

Alongside Apis cerana, Apis dorsata, Apis florea and Apis mellifera (non-native), India has the dammer bee or Melipona irridipennis.

It’s very tiny (3mm long), has no sting and I was shown two nests: one in a house wall and another in an electric fuse box. I had walked past both without noticing them at all.

They can produce up to 700 gm of honey each year, but this small amount can fetch very good prices: about twenty times the price of other honeys because it is favoured in Ayurvedic medicine. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to taste any, but it is said to be not overly pleasant.

The dammer bee has no sting, but it can fend off unwanted intruders with its bite, sometimes mixed with propolis for added irritation.

As well as producing valuable honey, the dammer bee is of course a very good pollinator. Both of the nests I was shown were on coffee plantations in southern India, one in Coorg, Karnataka, and the other at Ecoscape in Tamil Nadu.

There seems to be a growing interest in dammer bekeeping and some new style dammer beehives are being developed. But as you can see below, the dammer bees have their own ideas of ideal nesting spots.

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The dammer bee nest is in the electric box above the door to my bedroom in Coorg, Karnataka, India.

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The entrance to the tiny nest can be seen at the foot of the wall at the bottom of the photo. The house is in a valley near Wayanad, southern India.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turlough
Vita’s Guest Beekeeper Blogger

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