Randy wrote:
Tom Seeley has clearly demonstrated that the bees don't need anything from us.  It is only when we artificially keep them in apiaries that they as a species are at risk.  It is the beekeepers that are having problems.

Since you have invoked Tom's work, I will address it directly. I have known Tom for many years and have as much admiration for him as anyone. I have been very intrigued by the progress he has made toward understanding colony dynamics. However, this is still a work in progress. Further, there is a very big difference between the article he wrote for the ABJ and the PLOS one.

In the latter he suggests how his results might be incorporated into beekeeping practice:

The results of this study point to a management practice whereby colonies could be housed
in large hives, manipulated for honey production, not be treated with miticides, and yet not
succumb to Varroa and associated viruses. Specifically, this study suggests that splitting colonies—
a practice in which the queen and a portion of the adult bees and brood are removed
from a colony and placed in another hive to produce an additional colony, meanwhile the original
colony rears a replacement queen—might be an effective way to reduce mite populations
in large colonies managed for honey production. The splitting of a colony results in a
broodless period in the colony, and this may limit the infestation rate of Varroa in managed
colonies in the same way that swarming evidently does in wild colonies. It may also, however,
depress a colony's honey production. We suggest that further research should be done on the
use of colony splitting as a non-chemical method for reducing Varroa in managed honey bee
colonies.

I wrote to Dr. Seeley and asked him:

I was wondering why you did not include this information in the ABJ version?

His response:

I didn’t mention the idea of splitting colonies as a means of mite control b/c I don’t know of any rigorous test of this.   Maybe you have seen a study? Doing a study exactly along the lines that you suggest needs to be done.   And yes, I think a key part of it is letting the "orphaned" colony rear a new queen, that is, to not give it a new queen, so that there is a good break in the sealed brood.

It would also be good to see how this works for various size colonies, both little ones like in nature, and big ones like beekeepers like for honey production.   Timing may also be important, in that May and June are perhaps a lot better than July and August.  What ever the timing of the manipulation,  I’d monitor the mites with sugar roll monthly, throughout the summer.   

¶

So, there you have it. I will say this: last year I split all my colonies in May and June and by July the mite levels were over the limit. Again, any procedure that focuses only on mite build-up and ignores the summer influx, misses the problem.

PLB

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