Selection and no chemicals but a too close to treatment bees In 2019, Sibylle and Wolfgang bought 3 Elgon colonies from me. They were all treated for varroa with half a dose of thymol that year. Since then, they have
More treatment free Elgon bees
Treatment-free bees – one loss March 20
Finally! No treatment! One loss! I have had a long journey to achieve treatment-free bees. I’m obviously thinking of the varroa mite. In 1989, breeding material was retrieved in Kenya: https://www.beesource.com/threads/exploring-monticola-efforts-to-find-an-acceptable-varroa-resistant-honey-bee.365571/#post-1843973 It took until 2007 before the varroa mite was
Breeding varroa-resistant bees pays off!
Breed varroa-resistant bees! The study of EurBeST states that varroa-resistant bees are important for beekeeping. In 2017, the European Commission appointed an international group of bee researchers led by the German Bee Institute in Kirchhain to find out more about
Can resistant colonies give a good crop?
Strong Varroa resistant bee colonies Some suggest that one important trait for varroa resistance is smaller brood nest and less brood rearing. That may be so for some stock resulting in lower growth rate of varroa mites. It’s also resulting
Varroa resistance – the two traits
Traits for Varroa resistance We have found in our Varroa resistant project in our local bee club that when you begin a project like this, checking the varroa level is the most important tool, if you plan to treat colonies
The road to varroa resistant bees
The local bee club in the small town of Hallsberg on 59°N 15°E invites to a meeting on breeding varroa resistant bees. Saturday Oct 24 at 10 am – 14 pm. Venue Garveriet, Bra & Begagnat in Hallsberg. WGS 84
Varroa Resistant Bees In Norway
Varroa Resistant Bees Get $1 Million In Norway Published in Bee Culture, May 2020, pages 75 – 77 Dr Melissa Oddie, a Canadian researcher, will continue her research for at least two years based on the Varroa resistant bees with
Cooperation in the Elgon area
Some years ago, varroa resistance had risen noticeably on my Elgon bees. Then I started to give away some breeder queens to the neighboring beekeepers. And they promised to graft from them to make new queens. In particular, Stig-Åke Gerdvall
Resistant bees in Wales
In north Wales, there is a group of beekeepers that do not treat honey bee colonies against the Varroa mite. They havn’t done it in years. Winter losses are lower among their bees than with those who treat. Here is
Treatment free focus in Germany
Besides detecting mites in brood and clean them from there, grooming mites from each other and bite them is also an important trait for bees fighting mites. Here a mite that has got some legs bitten. It will soon die