Jane B. wrote:
 
<   Subject: Re: Bees crawling around
<I had crawling bees at this time, last year, before the advent of my using
<Apistan.  I thing it's been suggested that tracheal mites are the problem,
<here.  I didn't have varroa, but I had LOTS of bees on the ground.  I
<treated with Apistan, this winter, and have had no bees on the ground.
 
A clarification on this:
 
Apistan is not a treatment for tracheal mites, only varroa mites.
If tracheal mites were the problem last but not this year, without treatment
other than Apistan, I'd guess that good foraging conditions for bes (reducing
 tracheal mite population ) are more likely to have made the difference.
 
Crawling bees in spring is often considered a symptom of tracheal mites,
 rather than varroa. Colonies heavily infested with varroa often die in fall.
(Late winter or spring death of colonies, however can be a combination of
many things, varroa included. The crawling behavior may be related to mites,
 but actually caused by a micro-organism (virus, etc) infection made worse
 by the mites.)
 
 
Kerry Clark, Apiculture Specialist
B.C. Ministry of Agriculture
1201 103 Ave
Dawson Creek B.C.
        V1G 4J2  CANADA          Tel (604) 784-2225     fax (604) 784-2299
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