8/31/2023
This is another play on a quote from Shakespeare, this time from Hamlet. It does point to one of the most contentious topic in beekeeping. Namely, bee treatment for the presence of the varroa mite.
According to this website, “varroa mites have only been in the United States since the late 1980’s when they were accidentally introduced into Florida”. Additionally, “their original host is the Asian honey bee, Apis cerana, which, unlike Apis mellifera, has natural defenses against Varroa that come from evolving together over time”.
According to this website, varroa mites “causes thousands of colony losses worldwide”. So there is definitely a real problem that has affected both commercial and hobby beekeepers.
So, what makes this issue a topic of heated discussion? In simplest terms, there a two chains of thought on the topic. One camp advocates treatment and the other doesn’t. And seemingly there is little room in the middle.
The treatment free group wants beekeeping to be as natural and as simple as possible. The motto of “let bees be bees” is used to explain this type of beekeeping. This means very few, if any, colony inspections, letting colonies swarm whenever they need to, and not using any type of chemical to control mites.
The treatment group advocates for multiple inspections throughout the season, doing regular mite counts with alcohol washing, and treating the bees once the honey harvest has been completed. (This is a very simplistic explanation).
Treatment options include:
- Formic acid
- Oxalic acid
- Thymol
- Hop beta acids
These are considered to be the soft chemical approach.
The hard chemical options include:
- Fluvalinate
- Coumaphos
- Amitraz
Interestingly enough Fluvalinate and Coumaphos are no longer recommended due to the mites developing a resistance to them. There are also these concerns, “miticide residue in wax can harm bees directly and makes bees more susceptible to nosema disease. In addition, these residues can be found in bee products, which makes them less desirable to consumers”.
This whole discussion reminds of the DuPont “advertising slogan, “Better Things for Better Living…Through Chemistry.” While I believe in the benefits of science and how it has changed our lives for the better, it has also given us forever chemicals, dioxin, antibiotic resistant bacteria. So you have to take the good with the bad. Back to the topic of mites, it appears that chemical companies are developing stronger chemicals to treat mites. But what about the side effects?
The picture below depicts the pyramid of treatment options:
I would never disagree with anyone’s choice of mite control. It’s their apiary, which makes it their business. My opinion of the matter is taken from this paper which states “varroa treatments are not without consequences and, indeed, may induce acaricide resistance in Varroa, which is why beekeepers should treat only when economic risks are real”.
In my case, I have no real economic risks, so I see little reason to treat. And I have only respect for those that both agree and disagree with me.
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