Although it is believed to be confined to the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, the Asian parasitic brood mite, Tropilaelaps clareae, is a pest that has many beekeepers on edge. It is one of the parasites specifically mentioned in the Honeybee Act of 1922 and it is considered to be more menacing than Varroa […] Read more
So what is a mite anyway? Generally, a mite is an invertebrate animal in the class Arachnida—a name that comes from the Greek word for spider. Like most other arachnids, mites have eight jointed legs. A simple leg count is probably the easiest way to tell an arachnid from an insect. Insects—including bees—have six legs. […] Read more
HopGuard is a new pesticide designed to kill Varroa mites. Although the product is not yet registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), three states have joined together to request a Section 18 Emergency Exemption to use the product in honey bee hives within the boundaries of those states. The Washington State Department of Agriculture, […] Read more
Hardly a day goes by when someone doesn’t mention colony collapse disorder to me, either in person, in an e-mail or comment, or on the phone. “I hear they found the cause of CCD!” is a statement I’ve heard dozens of times over the last few years. I’ve deliberately avoided writing about it—partially because I […] Read more
Talk of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) tends to bring out two groups of extremists—the group that believes the demise of honey bees will completely destroy our ecosystem and the group that says, “Good riddance, honey bees are not native anyway.” It is true that honey bees are not native to the Americas. If all the […] Read more
Contrary to rumor, comb honey does not have to be frozen before it is eaten. If you like, you can eat it warm and gooey right out of the hive. However, comb honey is often frozen to protect it from wax moths. Wax moths—also known as bee moths, wax millers, or web worms—live and reproduce […] Read more
At least, it should be. For those of you who don’t know what an extender patty is, it is a grease patty that is laced with either Terramycin or Tylosin. Both of these antibiotics are designed to control outbreaks of a deadly bacterial bee disease called American foulbrood (Paenibacillus larvae). AFB is a disease which […] Read more