APIS Volume 11, Number 8, August 1993
In this issue
- African Bees on the Move
- Varroa--A Moving Target
- 1992 Production Statistics
- A Chalkbrood/EFB Connection
- Agricultural Ethics
- Love that Soapy Water
- Apicultural Visual Aids
AHB ON THE MOVE
There have been several articles in the press on the movement of the African bee (AHB). The first death attributed to this insect was reported in Texas and several confirmed finds near Sasabe make Arizona the second state to be officially invaded. This will put the bee on California's doorstep soon. That state has developed a logo and several information programs for its citizenry. We in the east, however, cannot become too complacent. The migration has finally reached Houston, Texas, about 100 miles from the Louisiana border.
VARROA--A MOVING TARGET?
A major problem with Varroa is that the target (controlling the mite's population) continues to move. Beekeepers, therefore, must keep ahead of the mite by continually revising their strategies to detect and control this parasite. Originally, in Florida, it was thought that Varroa could be chemically controlled once a year. This has been revised by many operators to every six months. Now apparently the schedule may have to be amended again.
Take one Florida beekeeper's experience. Colonies treated from January 18 to February 25 were moved to citrus and averaged 100 pounds of honey. The colonies were then moved to gallberry about May 5th and began collapsing due to Varroa in early July.
Possible reasons for this are:
- Treatment was not effective--post-treatment check suggests this was not so; no mites were found in ether roll after strips removed.
- Strips were not left in long enough--again, post- treatment check refutes this.
- Colonies were heavily reinfested from nearby apiaries or wild colonies--the beekeeper believes not many untreated colonies were located in nearby locations, but it is possible that infested colonies were present and/or some hives were missed during treatment. 4. Mite populations rebounded far faster than expected--perhaps this was due to continuous brood rearing (a superabundance of drone brood?) in colonies building up prior to orange and then before gallberry. In addition, the bee population may have been highly susceptible to damage by mites.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident according to several Florida bee inspectors I spoke to during a recent training conference in Gainesville. They recommend checking colonies for Varroa infestation levels at least every 60 to 90 days or risk colonies dying earlier than one might expect. Varroa is not a forgiving organism; all nearby colonies must be treated without exception if reinfestation is not to occur.
There's also indication that the target continues to move in relation to pesticide resistance. In the October 1992 APIS, I reported an Italian study indicated that fluvalinate was losing its effectiveness. Two papers in the January-February, 1993 L'Apicoltore Moderno, the Italian beekeeping journal published at the University of Torino, add fuel to this speculation.
The first indicated a high incidence of Varroa and alarming mortalities of colonies in several areas of Italy in the fall of 1992 in spite of routine fluvalinate treatments. The second reported on a study of 72 hives which showed that definite resistance to Fluvalinate (Apistan (R) strips) has shown up in northern Italy. A reason suggested is the use of fluvalinate- soaked wooden strips by beekeepers before Apistan (R) became available. This practice may have left high residues of fluvalinate in wax, contributing to the development of resistant populations of mites. The same result might occur, although probably less rapidly than using wooden strips, if Apistan (R) plastic strips are left in colonies for long time periods.
SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL HONEY MONTH
The National Honey Board reports that Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy has declared September as National Honey Month. Beekeepers are asked to share the "good news about honey" with local media (newspapers, radio, television). A press kit including clip art, recipes, tip sheets and other items is available from the Board, 421 21st Ave. #203, Longmont, CO 80501, ph 303/776-2337.
The National Honey Board is also asking for comments concerning a revision of the official definition of honey being proposed by the Board's Product and Research Development Committee. Beyond the simple definition, typical honey composition, types of honey and honey products are also discussed. If you would like a copy of this proposal, contact the Board directly.
Finally, the Board has redesigned its newsletter. The summer, 1993 issue contains an immense amount of information. It begins with a beekeeping success story by the Booth family, packers of Cheyenne Honey. There are also articles on the Board's efforts to explain the new nutritional labeling law and a description of the typical honey consumer. Mr. Binford Weaver, the current Chairman, also discusses the current relative position of honey, up 7% in volume sales versus jams and jellies (2% drop), syrup (unchanged), sugar (4% drop) and substitutes (up 4%). If you don't get the newsletter, ask the Board to put you on the mailing list.
1992 PRODUCTION STATISTICS
Often I get questions about Florida honey production. Some of the answers have been published in the February 1992 Honey Report, Florida Agricultural Statistics Service, 1222 Woodward St., Orlando, FL 32803, ph 407/648-6013. These statistics provide a historical perspective of beekeeping in the state. Colony numbers are down, dropping from a high of 360,000 in 1981 to 220,000 in 1992. Yield per colony, however, is up (104 pounds/hive) almost reaching the high (not all years are listed in this report) of 105 pounds/hive reported for 1988. Total production was 22,880 pounds with an average price of $.53 cents per pound.
Only California had higher honey production in 1992 (31,490 pounds), but colony numbers there were 470,000 with an average yield of 67 pounds/colony. Highest averages per colony were reported by Hawaii (138 pounds), Montana (110 pounds) and Louisiana (107 pounds). After California and Florida, only North Dakota (21.8), South Dakota (20.4), Minnesota (17.1) and Texas (10.6) reported over 10 million pounds of honey produced. The total U.S. crop produced by 3.03 million colonies was 220.5 million pounds, averaging 72.8 pounds per hive and a price of 55.8 cents per pound.
A CHALKBROOD/AFB CONNECTION
Dr. H. Shimanuki, our featured speaker at this year's Florida Beekeepers Institute, and colleagues at the Beltsville Bee Lab in Beltsville, Maryland were highlighted in a recent spread in Agricultural Research, the information organ of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (July 1993). In conjunction with their efforts to diagnose diseases in samples sent in by the beekeeping industry, Beltsville researchers noticed a decline in European foulbrood samples from New Jersey bees (1980-1990) while the number of chalkbrood samples remained constant.
Further investigation has shown that Ascosphaera apis, the causative organism of chalkbrood disease, produces a substance that inhibits growth of bacteria causing both American and European foulbrood. This material has been isolated and could provide the basis for a new, inexpensive control for both foulbroods. Thus, like the bees themselves, the microorganisms found in the nest also are interrelated in a complex community.
AGRICULTURAL ETHICS
In May 1989, I wrote in this newsletter about the business of ethics. The next year, the American Beekeeping Federation took up the subject and it was well received by the membership. Now Dr. Jeffery Burkhardt, Department of Food and Resource Economics, has written a lengthy analysis of what he calls a new growth industry, "ethics talk." Ethics, Dr. Burkhardt says, means, at a gut level, proper conduct. It is usually concerned with interpersonal (or inter-group) relations.
Two key questions, according to Dr. Burkhardt are where do ethics rules come from and what is their content. Ethics rules, it seems, are constantly evolving according to circumstances. Their content usually revolves around the concept of "harm." What constitutes "harm," and to whom are key issues that must be decided before ethical responsibilities become clear.
Agricultural ethics, therefore, Dr. Burkhardt says, are concerned with "what kinds of harm, to what people should agriculturalists avoid." Much debate must go into these ideas and ethics talk is involved in these deliberations, driven by both "external" and "internal" criticisms which are calling for a rethinking of values historically associated with agricultural research and education.
Three main issues in Florida generating ethics talk, according to Dr. Burkhardt are natural resource (especially water) protection, agricultural technology (especially biotechnology) and international trade policy and competition. With reference to beekeeping, a number of specific issues, including pesticide use, honey adulteration and health claims about honey bee products may come under the ethics rubric. Expect to see more about ethics in the future, especially the talking part. As Dr. Burkhardt concludes: "...we might be able to prevent unforeseen yet possible harms to one another, and to maximize unknown yet potential mutual goods or benefits." If you wish to explore this topic further, I will send a full copy of the paper on request.
LOVE THAT SOAPY WATER
It was a year ago that I reported in this newsletter about firefighter training relating to bee emergencies. That article also included a suggested letter to local fire chiefs. The training video I discussed in that letter has been released for some time. It is "Controlling Honey Bee Emergencies," produced by the A.I. Root Co. and is now available in the IFAS Audiovisual Library as VT 378, as well as through the A.I. Root Co., Medina, OH 44256, ph 216/725-6677.
A testimonial to information presented in the tape is found in the July, 1993 issue of Bee Culture. At the end of May, a trailer load of bees (672 single colonies) fell off a truck on U.S. 71 North, two miles from Mountainburg, Arkansas. This was a true emergency including injured persons trapped in cars, stung rescue workers (four seriously) and closure of a major highway for 26 hours. Fortunately, a nearby fire chief already knew that soapy water in fire truck pumpers should be used to control honey bees, as outlined in the program.
Both the chief and another beekeeper who directed the efforts to effectively deal with the situation would literally have been up a creek without a paddle if it weren't for the material (especially that soapy water) presented on the tape. As the beekeeper said, "The video showed emergency procedures for a bee accident almost identical to the one that happened on Highway 71...at the time I saw it I thought I'd probably never need that information in a million years...I've found out different."
APICULTURAL VISUAL AIDS
The IFAS audiovisual library continues to be a valuable resource for county agents and beekeepers in Florida. ENY 112 Extension Apicultural Visual Aids, that discusses tapes/motion pictures (a total of thirteen) available through this facility, has recently been updated. Two more are now being added, they are VT 378, mentioned above, that concerns honey bee emergencies and VT 379. The latter is entitled: "The Queen Bee: Finding, Marking and Clipping." It is produced by the University of Illinois and shows Mr. Gene Killion, Extension Specialist in Beekeeping at that institution, discussing one of beekeeping's most elementary skills, finding and employing methods to later identify the queen. Certain rules apply to securing use of these tapes. It will invariably be more efficient to secure them through your local county Cooperative Extension Office. A copy of ENY 112 is also available from county agents or this office.
Malcolm T. Sanford
Bldg 970, Box 110620
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Phone (904) 392-1801, Ext. 143 FAX: 904-392-0190
INTERNET Address: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU
