Randy and others:



I have recently had the pleasure to hear Dr. Spivak, Dr. vanEngelsdorp, Dr.

Mussen, and two BIP tech team members speak (all independently and at different venues than WAS) regarding the impact of "treatment free"

beekeepers upon the beekeeping community.





Response: I heard the same message from Dr. vanEngelsdorp last week at British Columbia Honey Producers AGM meeting.  One of the other aspects we might also consider as a contributing factor to high levels of Varroa infestation is mild winter and early season. In Alberta and across many provinces in Canada the bee season has started early in 2015. Bee colonies were quiet strong when beekeepers examined them after winter. Many beekeepers applied the LEGAL APIVAR for Varroa mite control. They applied only 2 strips per hive. They overlooked the label that asks for 1 strip for every 5 frames of bees. In most cases the treatment was under dose.  In some cases colonies required 4 strips to meet the recommended does. I wrote to all Alberta commercial beekeepers an email to remind them of adjusting the dose according to the label. Some beekeepers went back and applied more strips. Others did not. Consequently, the mite control was variable and ranged from poor to good.  As the season progressed the survived mites from under dosed treatment continued to thrive and build high population by fall.

In general poor treatment or no treatment of mites can be a serious source for reinfestation. It is challenging for those beekeepers who do a good job in controlling mites in their operations. Then once they monitor after finishing their treatments, they find several apiaries have higher infestation. In most cases these apiaries are adjacent to poorly managed (treated or not treated) bee colonies.





Lessons learned:

- apply the proper dose according to the label (1 strip/5 frames of bees)

- Check for efficacy after treatment and retreat if needed.

- Beware of your neighbours' practices



Medhat Nasr

Alberta Canada

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