Hugh A. Smith (MSc. BSc.) Senior Plant Protection Officer Apiculture Unit March 2012

Honey Drone cells

Honey

   

Varroa destructor

is an external parasitic mite It was until recently mislabeled as

Varroa jacobsoni

.

It can only replicate in a honeybee colony. It attaches at the body of the bee and weakens the bee by sucking haemolymph . In this process the mite may also spread RNA viral agents and bacteria to the bee.

     Varroa destructor was until recently thought to be a closely related mite species called Varroa jacobsoni .

Both species parasitize the Asian honey bee, cerana . The mite species originally described as jacobsoni by Oudemans V. Apis in 1904 is part of the same species complex, but not the same species that made the jump to Apis mellifera . That jump probably first took place in the Philippines in the early 1960’s. This late identification in 2000 by Anderson and Trueman led to some confusion and mislabeling in the scientific literature.

     host; The female lays eggs in bee brood cells.

bee larvae. Males and females copulate in the cell.  cycle. period in honey bees is an important

  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Chemical Apistan™ Apiguard™ Others Non –Chemical Traps / hive designs Brood Management Stock Selection

 Resistance  Determine a colony's infestation level  Monitor effectiveness of the treatment.

 Integrated Pest Management

Prevention Inspection and monitoring Least toxic control methods (soft treatment) Last resort Drone trapping Screen Bottom Board Sticky board or sugar roll Formic acid, mineral oil Apistan or Checkmite

     Reddish Brown to Black in colour; Measures 5mm in length; 1/3 honey bees size Very hard shell; and May live up to 6mths.

    Cream to off-white in colour; Measures: ◦ Length 1.1cm; ◦ Diameter 0.16 cm Resemble the wax moth larvae but have spines; Pupate between 10 16dys

     Larvae attacks and feeds on honey and pollen; Consume honeybee eggs and larvae of all stages; Dripping of honey in the hive; Honey usually ferments and produces an unpleasant odour;and Odour repels the honeybee.

     Mechanical control traps (PVC) Bottom Board trap with honey attached Bait traps In hive treatment ◦ Outside hive treatment Soil treatment

Adult Wax Moth

   Red ants Black ants Termites

 AFB is caused by a bacterium called

Paenibacillus larvae

subsp.

larvae

.  This bacterium forms spores when subjected to stress (such as lack of nutrients);  it is these spores that actually cause the disease.

    This disease of honeybee brood affects sealed brood and has characteristic symptoms, which may include the following: Pepper-pot brood pattern Sunken, greasy or perforated, darkened cappings Roping, sticky larval remains Dark scales, difficult to remove from cells

Brood Honey

Bacteria that attacks brood – SMELLS BAD!

Cell cap sunken & open

Stick a toothpick into larva cell. You see goo instead of larva.

     The beekeeper Robbing of dead or dying infected colonies Adult bees and brood combs Imported Honey and Bee Products Reduce robbing All infected colonies are destroyed

  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Wolfgang Ritter etal; American foulbrood (AFB),

Paenibacillus

◦

larvae

studied in

in vitro

rearings, 3-1384 spores per larva at a larval age of 24-28 h. with three spores died before day 6, 30% died at day 4, 36h before the time of capping . Day 4, approximately 480 000 bacterial colonies were cultured per larvae inoculated Day 3 nurse bees removed 40% and 50 % of the infected larvae before disease symptoms are visible.

 Match Stick Test  Milk Test  Honey Sampling

 R M Goodwin etal. (1996)  ◦ ◦ ◦ An alternative means of identifying to test adult honey bees for the presence of larvae spores B. samples of adult bees can test positive for the presence of B. larvae spores without their colonies exhibiting clinical symptoms of AFB limits the value of the test in identifying hives with clinical AFB symptoms.

 Close the hive  Reduce the hive entrance to prevent robbing - take other steps if necessary  Disinfect your beekeeping equipment especially hive tool and wash hands before examining other colonies

     Contact the Apiculture Unit (The Chief Plant Protection Officer) Bee Control Act Have Disease confirmed Destroy Diseased beehive Antibiotic oxytetracycline (as the formulation Terramycin®). (NO NO FOR Jamaica)

 ◦ ◦ Chemical Antibiotics Impact of Chemical Treatment  ◦ ◦ Non-chemical Jamaica Beekeeping Act/ Regulations New Zealand Method

  Journal of Apicultural Research Vol. 38 (3-4) pp. 149-158 in 1999  ◦ ◦ ◦ Toxicity tests for adult bees no impact & degradation time in honey was about 60 days. AFB was effectively controlled by oxytetracycline hydrochloride and Terramycin but in all cases, colonies exhibited disease recurrence from five to 10 months after treatment.

     Journal of Apicultural Research Vol. 40 (2) pp. 65-69 ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ by M L Del Hoyo etal; ◦ Colonies exhibiting clinical symptoms of American foulbrood were divided into 2 groups : Shaking adult bees into a new hive; ◦ Shaking adult bees in front of the entrance to a new hive.

Honey bee and honey samples were taken before shaking and 1, 22, 44 and 66 days after shaking. Reduction in the number of colony-forming units in honey bee and honey samples Honey and honey bee samples were positive for the presence of P. I. larvae No AFB clinical symptoms detected in the honey bee colonies after 5 months,

AFB Equipment Destroyed St. Thomas Single Double Triple Quadruple Hive Covers Hive Bodies Bottom Board Frames Queen Excluders Shallow Supers Nucs Quantity 25 80 24 1 208 488 202 742 11 9 13 Estimated Values 250000 1120000 408000 22000 99840 351360 96960 53424 5280 5760 10400 $2,423,024

PESTICIDES

  

More is NEVER NEVER NEVER Better during Honey Flow!!

into a honey super

Burn

This is the only way to effectively destroy the disease. Other chemical treatments only mask the symptoms and it can return at a later time.

    

Chalk white.

Sometimes mottled with black spots Watery to paste-like.

Does not adhere to cell wall. Brittle. Chalky white, mottled or even black

     Varroa impact on colony – But dead hives were not heavily infested Chemical – 170 chemicals (Sick and healthy) No single chemical weaken bee health Fungi and bacteria – infestation low in CCD hives Isreali Acute Paralysis Virus – Produce symptoms of CCD (high in CCD hives) Others - …………..?????????

 Note: Most of the pictures used in this presentation are not the property of the presenter