Tom Barrett asks about Integrated Pest Management Theory. It is not a
theory, but put into practice by much of production agriculture. Here is a
note about its use for Varroa control from the pages of APIS:
http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~mts/apishtm/apis96/apoct96.htm#3
INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT FOR VARROA
In keeping with the essential oils theme, the person doing a good deal of
research in this area, Dr. Nicholas Calderone, formerly
part of Dr. H. Shimanki's Beltsville research team and now on the faculty
of Cornell University has provided some insight. A
synopsis of his work presented to the Canadian Association of Professional
Apiculturists (Hive Lights, Canadian Honey
Council, May 1996) was republished in The Speedy Bee (July 1996, Vol. 25,
No. 7, pp. 1-2). The emphasis of his remarks
was not on oils, however, but on using Integrated Pest Management (IPM),
which uses both chemical and non-chemical means
to control Varroa.
Dr. Calderone's IPM strategy is to use a mix of methodologies to control
Varroa populations. One is the use of what he calls
"natural products" many of which can be called "oils." These include tymol,
eucalyptus, camphor and menthol. Research using
this treatment showed good results in the fall, when most mites were on
adult bees and little brood was present. When more
brood was present, however, the treatment didn't work as well, although it
still had some effect. The difference in amount and
kind of brood, depending on the season of the year, is always a key issue
in Varroa control (see October 1994 APIS).
Two other methods used in conjunction with the natural products suggested
by Dr. Calderone are mechanical. The first is the
use of sticky boards. It seems that mites naturally fall off bees all the
time and can return, unless they are physically trapped
(stuck) on the boards. The final control measure is trapping mites in drone
brood. In this method, drone foundation is inserted
into the brood nest. When drawn out and populated with drone brood, the
comb is removed and destroyed along with the
mites that are trapped inside the sealed cells.
According to an article in Bee Science (Vol. 4, No. 1, 1996, pp 1-13 ),
"Bio-technical manipulations used in Vietnam to
control Varroa jacobsoni and Tropilaelaps clareae in colonies of Apis
mellifera," the latter method listed by Dr. Calderone
is used when no chemical use is possible either because of cultural or
economic reasons. In Vietnam, for example, corners of
worker comb are cut off or empty frames are placed into colonies. When
these are drawn out and populated with drone brood
(preferred by Varroa over worker brood), they are removed and destroyed. In
a variation of this technique, destruction of
brood in conjunction with new queen introduction to provide a break in the
brood cycle is also practiced.
Whether using essential natural products, essential oils, pesticides or
mechanical control methods, The IPM principles discussed
by Dr. Calderone above should always be kept in mind. This is especially
true for chemicals. Employing any such substance
exclusively and/or to excess for Varroa control may lead to resistance and
subsequent loss of the material as an effective
control agent (see November 1994 and February 1995 APIS). A key ingredient
in most IPM programs is sampling bee
populations to determine the number of mites present. Only when this number
exceeds a certain level is it generally considered
wise to employ control measures (see October 1989 and February 1993 APIS).
This is further complicated, however, by
possible rapid reinfestation from nearby untreated apiaries (see March 1993
APIS)
Harry Goudie asks if there are requirements to report AFB. In Florida
if AFB is found by an inspector, the colony is burned no questions asked.
There is a small compensation. Requirements to report AFB are not part of
the law to my knowledge. For Florida bee regs see:
http://doacs.state.fl.us/~pi/bees.html
Tom Sanford
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Dr. Malcolm (Tom) Sanford, Extension Apiculturist, University of Florida
Bldg. 970, P.O. Box 110620, Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Ph. 352/392-1801 ext. 143 Fax 352/392-0190
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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