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As the managed honey bee industry continues to grapple with significant annual colony losses, the Varroa destructor mite is emerging as the leading culprit. And, it turns out, the very nature of modern beekeeping may be giving the parasite the exact conditions it needs to spread nearly beyond control. In an article published yesterday in […]
via How the Varroa Mite Co-Opts Honey Bee Behaviors to Its Own Advantage — Entomology Today
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In the UK where Integrated Pest Management has been advocated for several years then colony losses are around 10%. 50% colony losses really points to a flawed management system.
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Thanks for the comment. First I want to say I agree with your comment – at least for the most part. IPM has been taught intensively here for some years now yet we are not making significant progress. My personal statistics for the last three years reflect losses of 10%, 10%, and 20%. There are other considerations here, but absent in the UK, in addition to poor management methods, that contribute to increased losses such as climate areas that do not provide brood breaks, a large migratory beekeeping industry, and an absolutely skyrocketing interest exceeding the capacity of current mentoring and education capabilities for this difficult craft.
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