Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Avoiding Varroa Mites
First, purchase strains of honey bees resistant to varroa mites. Russians are very tolerant
of varroa populations. Not perfect, but not bad (see page 47 for more information on
these bees). Several suppliers are selling strains of bees called Survivor Bees, local/re-
gional bees, or resistant bees. The names vary but the result is the same. These strains
have been selected for and have been living without chemical treatments for any mal-
ady, including varroa, for years. They, too, are not perfect, but their star attribute is that
they all have a genetic trait called
varroa sensitive hygiene
(VSH). This enables work-
ers in the colony to seek out and find capped cells of workers that have varroa in with
them, open the cell, and remove the pupa that is there along with the mites inside. The
adult female mite may escape and find another cell, but by removing the pupa, the bees
have stopped her from reproducing and removed her offspring from the equation.
If you purchase Russians, Survivors, VSH, or any line that claims to have some var-
roa resistance, you have to decide: Do you do anything to reduce mite populations in
colonies headed by these bees? If you do, you reduce mite pressure, you enable these
tough bees to continue as before, even stronger. If you don't, however, you are not help-
ing find the perfect mite-resistant bee.
But is that necessary? If you are not producing queens for future use in your apiary,
your queen should do what she's supposed to do, and you will act accordingly to keep
your bees alive. The easier it is to keep bees (because they are resistant to pests and dis-
eases) the more likely you are to continue to keep bees. And that's where this discussion
began, remember?
If you do nothing, some colonies may die from varroa infestations. Nature will prune
out the weakest and the worst, but not as many will die. And they won't die as fast or
as often as those colonies that do not have bees resistant or tolerant to varroa. It can be
a tough call, but then any decision worth making is not easy.
If you choose to let nature take her course and let your bees and varroa shoot it out
my work here is done. You may, in one or two years need to replace your bees. Maybe
it will be longer and maybe not at all. If, however, you choose to lend a hand, there are
some things you can do that will help these tough bees.
