Integrated Hive Management Sustainable Beekeeping

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Integrated Hive Management Sustainable Beekeeping
Rick Fell Department of Entomology Virginia Tech
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Honey Bee Problems

• High colony losses
• Colony losses during winter - average 30
• Colony collapse disorder - relatively small, lt
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• Parasitic mites, particularly Varroa
• Queen problems - queen failure, replacement
• Diseases - Nosema, viral diseases (DWV, IAPV)
  American foulbrood
• Colony health - nutrition problems, pesticide use
• PPB

- Piss Poor Beekeeping
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Integrated Hive Management

• The use of all available tactics in the design of
  a program to manage (not eradicate) pest
  populations so that economic damage and harmful
  side effects are minimized.
• Goal should be to move toward sustainable
  management practices with as little reliance as
  possible on chemical treatments.
• The use of chemical pesticides has led to the
  contamination of beeswax and hive products.

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Understanding and Defining Pests

• The pest status of an insect or other organism
  depends on the type of nuisance or injury that it
  inflicts, and the population levels of the pest.
• To make wise management decisions regarding a
  pest, we must have an understanding of the
  relationship between numbers and damage.
• Presence or absence of a pest is not sufficient
  by itself - Has been a problem for beekeepers.

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Is the Damage Caused by a Pest Always Important?

• No - not all injury is either economically or
  physiologically important.
• Physiological importance Some level of pest
  activity is not detrimental to the bee colony.
  Above some point, the bees and colony may become
  stressed. If there is a low level of infestation,
  there is often no need to worry
• Question of damage needs to be factored into
  management decisions

Are tracheal mites a threat in the summer?
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Damage and Treatment

• If injury is important, when should treatment
  occur?
• Economic Threshold Level of injury in which
  treatment must be initiated to prevent economic
  loss.
• Economic Injury Level Level of injury where the
  cost of damage equals the cost of control.
  Control costs include
• cost of miticide or other control measure
• costs of applying the control
• other related costs (e.g. equipment depreciation)

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Variation in Population Levels of a Pest
Pest population density versus time.
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Economic Levels of a Pest
EIJ cost of control equals cost of damage
averted (usually expressed in terms of population
density)
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Economic Levels of a Pest
Economic Threshold
ET population density that should trigger
management action
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Pest Management Goals
Economic Threshold
Pest populations with effective management
Utilize practices to keep pest populations below
the economic threshold
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Pest Management in Bee Hives Knowing Pest
Populations is a Key Factor
Sampling is an important component of integrated
hive management for pests such as varroa and
tracheal mites, small hive beetles, wax
moths Colony inspections for disease are also
important
Varroa sampling with sticky boards
Frame with diseased brood
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Extension Publication 444-103 Sampling Methods
for Varroa Mites
http//www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/entomology/444-103/444-
103.html
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Pest Management Tactics Used in Integrated
Management Systems

• Mechanical and Physical
• Cultural
• Genetic
• Biological
• Legislative and Regulatory
• Chemical

What tactics can we adapt for honey bee pests and
disease control/management?
WW
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Mechanical and Physical Control

• Hand destruction
• Mechanical exclusion
• Temperature / Environment
• Traps

Screen bottom board
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Wax Moths

• Wax moths do not kill colonies, primarily a pest
  of stored equipment and weak colonies
• Control stored comb must be protected
• Fumigation
• paradichlorobenzene crystals (PDB)
• Exposure to CO2 fumigation
• Non-chemical control
• Exposure to freezing temperatures
• Storing equipment in lighted areas

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Cultural Control
The manipulation of management systems or
specific production practices to reduce pest
populations or disease levels.
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Cultural Control

• Inspections
• Strong Colonies
• Sanitation
• Prevent robbing
• Comb replacement
• Not mixing equipment
• Selection of apiary sites
• Use of entrance reducers
• Destruction of diseased colonies
• Use of resistant bee stocks

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Supplemental Feeding to Improve Colony Nutrition
Pollen shortages may increase need to feed pollen
supplements in the spring
Feeding sugar syrup to increase brood rearing
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Comb Replacement

• Comb used for brood rearing becomes darker (and
  more brittle) due to accumulated fecal material,
  propolis, and pollen.
• Other materials may accumulate, such as fungal
  and bacterial spores, pesticides (especially
  miticides), contaminants
• Larvae spin cocoons that remain in the cell after
  adult emergence, accumulation leads to decrease
  in cell size

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Benefits of Comb Replacement

• Comb replacement on 3-5 year cycle benefits a
  colony
• Increased brood production in new comb
• Studies show colonies with new comb have a
  greater area of total brood
• Weight of emerging bees higher with new comb
• Older comb harbors contaminants and diseases
• Older comb associated with increased incidences
  of chalkbrood, nosema and AFB
• Miticide residues can be high in old comb

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Genetic Manipulation
Host Resistance altering the genetic
component of the host to increase
resistance to pests or disease. Autocidal
Control genetic manipulation of pest
populations by introducing lethal genes,
genes which affect development, or by
reducing reproductive capacity.
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Pest and Disease Resistant Bees

• Russian Bees - USDA release
• ARS Primorsky stock from Eastern Russia
• VSH Varroa Sensitive Hygiene
• Hygienic Bees
• New World Carniolan (Sue Cobey, Ohio State Univ)
• Minnesota Hygienic Bees - M. Spivak

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Biological Control
The manipulation of parasites (parasitoids),
predators, or pathogens to manage the density of
pest populations.
Development of fungal pathogens Discovered
strains of two fungal species that are pathogenic
to Varroa
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Regulatory and Legislative Control
Quarantines to exclude potential pests or prevent
the spread of established pests. Honey Bee
Importation Act of 1922 Quarantine Against
Movement Africanized Bees
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Chemical Control

• 1. Still a component of pest management
  programs.
• Need to move away from a calendar based treatment
  to a more biologically sound basis of use when
  needed. Treat no more than 1x year.
• Need to alternate chemical based treatments to
  reduce the development of resistance
• Do not use Checkmite (coumaphos) in hives

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Can Beekeepers Use IPM Approaches to Management?
Coumaphos for Hive beetles
Formic acid, menthol for mites
Apistan for Varroa mites
Terramycin and Fumidil-B for Diseases
PDB for Wax moths
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Can IPM Tactics Be Combined for Effective
Management of Varroa?

• Keith Delaplane et al. examined the potential of
  using an approach which combined hygienic queens,
  screen bottom boards and apiary isolation
• Studies were conducted over long term periods (68
  and 87 weeks) using package colonies and
  overwintered hives
• Results support previous studies indicating that
  screen bottoms helped reduce mites, as did
  mite-resistant queens. Apiary isolation was
  insignificant.
• An IPM approach can delay the development of
  treatment thresholds in Varroa.
• Negative effect noted screen bottom boards
  reduced honey and pollen stores in one study.