Hi all
Probably most have seen the summary of the Proceedings of the American Bee Research Conference, which was generously distributed by the American Bee Journal. I am hoping to post my notes from the conference but have been slow getting to it. However, this was one of the most notable presentations. Raul Rivera gave data showing that by using every trick in the book, honey production was fully double that of the untreated controls.

> This study monitored the performance of colonies infected with Nosema ceranae for 14 months (October 2009 – December 2010) near Ville Platte, Louisiana, USA. Eight groups colonies (n = 50) were involved, i.e., 1) negative control, 2) fed only, 3) not fed, fumagillin-treated, 4) fed, fumagillin-treated, 5) not fed, amitraz-treated, 6) fed, amitraz-treated, 7) not fed, fumagillin- and amitraz-treated, 8) fed, fumagillin- and amitraz-treated. Protein patty feeding was stopped in late January 2010 and the colonies were transported to California for almond pollination. In late March 2010 they were returned to Louisiana for honey production.

> Colonies infected with >500,000 spores/bee at the start of the trial had significantly fewer colonies meet a 6-frame minimum size criterion for pollination in February 2010, irrespective of treatment received. Infections in untreated colonies peaked during winter and fell dramatically during spring and summer. Colonies treated with fumagillin exhibited significantly reduced soluble protein levels for two-three months after treatment, suggesting that this treatment has a short term negative impact. Fumagillin-treated colonies produced significantly more honey than untreated colonies or those treated only with amitraz. Colonies receiving both varroa and nosema treatments produced more honey than any other group.

Eischen, F.A., R.H. Graham & R. Rivera - IMPACT OF NOSEMA CERANAE ON HONEY BEE COLONIES: A 14 MONTH STUDY 

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