APIS Volume 8, Number 11, November 1990
In this issue
- Varroa Treatments-Apistan
- Beekeeping Fact Sheet-OSSA
- Florida Seedless Watermelons
- Trapping African Honey Bees
- Honey Farming in Australia
- African Bees and Canadian Beekeeping
VARROA TREATMENTS-APISTAN(R)
The new Apistan (R) strips have finally been released by Zoecon Corporation. They will carry a Section three or general-use label. This means that it will no longer be necessary to treat for Varroa under a compliance agreement, unless the specific state requires it. Florida so far continues to demand such an agreement. In addition, any instructions on the label must be followed to the letter. It cannot be overemphasized that the label on any pesticide is the law, and that it must be in the applicator's possession while using any pesticide.
A recent meeting of Florida's Honey Bee Technical Council revealed how management of Varroa is evolving. A constantly changing set of rules and regulations that effect Florida beekeepers is in place. One reason is to try to conform with the agreement signed last spring by Florida and a few northeastern states to ensure orderly movement of honey bees for pollination.
I will attempt to briefly summarize the current rules as described at the Council meeting, but be aware that they are complex and subject to be modified based on specific circumstances. Your most up-to-date source is the local bee inspector.
- In order to be certified to move bees in Florida, 20 percent of colonies must be surveyed using ether roll. If no mites are found and there is no history of mites, a mite- free certificate is issued and the bees can move. This is very rare; as a matter of course, the vast majority of colonies in Florida are considered infested with Varroa at some level. If mites are found, the bees must be treated with Apistan (R) chemical within 60 days unless prior arrangements are made before being moved.
- If bees are treated, a 12-month treatment certificate is awarded after the compliance agreement, treatment forms and proof of purchase (save your receipts) of strips have been received by the Division of Plant Industry. A post-treatment and six-month recheck may also be required. These latter procedures are to ensure that the treatment was effective.
- Bees moving out of state fall under other rules, and vary depending on the receiving state. Those complying with the eastern states' agreement are usually sampled at the five percent level with Apistan (R) strips. Depending on the number of mites found, treatment will usually be required before movement, and colonies may be subject to post-treatment and six-month checks.
OSSA BEEKEEPING FACT SHEET
A new beekeeping fact sheet has been published by USDA's Office of Small-Scale Agriculture (OSSA). It is pretty generalized and something that can be handed out at bee meetings and other educational events. According to the sheet, over 211,000 beekeepers maintain about 3.2 million colonies of bees in the U.S. Thousands are small-scale entrepreneurs, keeping bees for honey, pollen, beeswax, propolis and royal jelly production. Information on how to get bees, their management, effects of insecticides, diseases and pests and where to obtain information is included. Copies are available from OSSA, 342-D Aerospace Bldg., USDA, Washington, DC 20250-2200.
SEEDLESS WATERMELONS IN FLORIDA
An article in the July issue of Florida Grower and Rancher last July promoted the growing of seedless watermelons in Florida. The authors, D. Maynard and G. Elmstrom of the University of Florida's Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Bradenton, say that the technology for growing this fruit, as well as suitable commercial varieties, have been around for two decades. The cite that yield is often higher for seedless melons than for either the standard or icebox watermelon:
Table 1. Yields and fruit weight in Bradenton and Quincy, 1987-1989.
Average Yield Fruit Wt. Seeds
Fruit Type (Cwt/acre) (lb) (No./fruit)
Seedless 613 14.6 0-20
Standard 470 21.4 500-1000
Icebox 419 9.3 200-500In addition, the authors say that consumer demand for specialty vegetables is high and these melons provide an attractive alternative for the upscale consumer and food service industry. Only about 5 percent of commercial watermelon acreage in Florida is devoted to seedless watermelons, but plantings are on the rise.
As a first guess, it would seem that pollinating insects would play a small role in a melon that has no seeds. But the authors say that as many or more bees are needed to ensure adequate fruit yield than for the other varieties. This is because the growth hormone needed for seedless fruit comes from pollen and so normal watermelons must be interplanted to act as a pollen source. Seedless fruit tends to be malformed unless sufficient pollinizers (normal watermelons) and bee populations are present. The authors say experienced watermelon growers should plan on at least the same, and perhaps higher, bee populations than they have used in the past on regular fruit. This usually means from one to five colonies per acre or one bee per every hundred flowers in a field.
Although not emphasized by the authors, use of normal watermelon pollenizers provides the opportunity to grow two crops, seedless and normal melons, spreading the risk to the grower. This and the higher yield and price expected from seedless watermelons are valuable inducements beekeepers might use while marketing a pollination service to a grower. In the 1990s, service is what most companies are being urged to provide to customers by consultants. A good part of the service provided by the would-be pollinator is to help the grower find new ways of growing and marketing crops.
The authors provide valuable tips on recommended varieties, seed germination, pollenizer selection and field arrangement to be successful in growing seedless watermelons. I have copies of the full article available for those interested in the details. In addition, I publish Hint for the Hive 110,A Sample Pollination Contract. This and other useful information on watermelon pollination is available from county extension offices through the beekeeping database now resident on the Florida Agricultural Information and Retrieval System (FAIRS).
TRAPPING BEES
Expect more and more discussion about trapping bees as the African bee (AHB) becomes more established in the United States. The topic is receiving attention, especially with evidence coming from the University of Florida concerning limited hybridization in the tropics and subtropics. This research strongly suggests that two populations of bees may well coexist in Florida in the future. One will be managed in boxes; the other will be feral and often out of beekeepers' control.
A great challenge for those in beekeeping in this state, therefore, will be how to manage the feral population that will reduce nectar resources for, and genetically mix with, managed bees and become a potential source of stinging incidents. The bee trap is the logical tool, but we still have a lot to learn as was abundantly clear at the American Bee Research Conference in Tucson, Arizona. The following information was gleaned from talks conducted at this meeting.
What trap styles are available for detection and control of African bees? At present the paper pulp trap marketed by Scentry, Inc. appears to be the trap of choice. They recently have introduced one that will take frames, but experience with this is limited.
What about servicing traps? Experience suggests they should be run at least one to two times a week during the active (dry) season, but at six-week or one-month intervals in the inactive (wet) season. Two persons can take down about 100 traps per day. A big problem is how to dispose of the swarms found in the traps. Unfortunately, destruction of the bees is usually mandatory, and is the reason for trapping in the first place. Leaving trapped bees in black plastic in the sun will often be successful.
There are many unknowns about bee trapping technology. Are traps responsible for bringing in populations that might not be there to begin with? This has been the result in some cases when traps have been used for pest species like Japanese beetles. What level of feral bees is acceptable near beekeeping operations before they affect an operation? This threshold is not known.
Although we have much to learn, it seems reasonable to suggest that this area will continue to get study as the AHB makes its way across the coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico toward the Sunshine State. All evidence so far suggests that bee trapping is an activity beekeepers will indulge in far more than in the past.
HONEY FARMING IN AUSTRALIA
I am in receipt of information regarding honey farming from Mr. Geoff Wilson, Consultant to Greening Australia and Honorary International Secretary of the International Tree Crops Institute. According to Mr. Wilson, there is interest in honey farming in Australia. The activity would take the beekeeping enterprise into areas not yet capitalized on. "A honey- farming enterprise that provides its own year-around nectar flow from the multitude of Australian native species available, would not require heavy capital expenditure on a semi-trailer truck and processing facilities. Instead, a farmer or group of cooperating farmers could share both hives and honey extraction and processing equipment. They could also share the cost of an ancillary money making enterprise--a tourist facility combined with extraction and processing and retail sales."
As evidence for the potential of honey farming in Australia, Mr. Wilson cites a honey farmer in Florida in 1978 who owned about 1,000 acres of land planted in nectar-producing trees and shrubs. According to his sources, Mr. Wilson indicated the farmer made as much, if not more, from servicing tourist interests as he did in honey sales. Apparently, the honey farmer was located near Disney World, but that is all the information we have. If anybody knows of this activity or the person conducting it, Mr. Wilson asks them to please communicate this information to me at the APIS newsletter desk. It would not only be interesting for Australians, of course, but for Floridians as well.
AFRICAN BEES AND OUR NORTHERN NEIGHBORS
The debate continues concerning how far north African bees might establish themselves in North America. A recent article in the Ontario Beekeeping Newsletter indicates the bees are not expected to be a problem in Canada. In fact, the African bee may be a boon to Canadian beekeeping because that country now produces about $1 million worth of queens and package bees. This supply of genetic material might be in demand in areas where the African bee will be established.
In spite of the above prediction, there is evidence that the full story is not yet known. A new study by E. Southwick, D. Roubik and J. Williams indicates that African bees might be more cold hardy than previously recognized. These investigators predict that North American distribution will include most of Long Island, New York, parts of Pennsylvania, central Ohio, Illinois and Indiana and the southern borders of Iowa and Nebraska, central Colorado, northern Utah, Nevada, western Idaho and Washington state. The article is entitled: "Comparative Energy Balance in Groups of Africanized and European Honey Bees: Ecological Implications," Comparative Biochemical Physiology, Vol. 97A, No. 1, pp 1-7, 1990. Evidence from studies done by A. Dietz and colleagues in Argentina by USDA some years ago also supports the idea that the African bee can tolerate relatively low temperatures.
Malcolm T. Sanford
Bldg 970, Box 110620
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Phone (904) 392-1801, Ext. 143 FAX: 904-392-0190
http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~entweb/apis/apis.htm
INTERNET Address: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU
©1990 M.T. Sanford "All Rights Reserved
