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SARE Research Synopsis
Research on the efficacy of drone brood removal for the management
of V. destructor in colonies of the honey bee A. mellifera
L. was funded by Northeast SARE, USDA and the Organic Farming
Research Foundation (Santa Cruz, CA). Experimental colonies were
treated with CheckMite+ in the fall. The following spring, quantities
of bees and brood were equalized, but colonies were not retreated.
The brood nest of each colony consisted of 18 full-depth worker
combs and 2 full-depth drone combs housed in two, 10-frame hive
bodies. Each worker comb had < 12.9 cm2 of drone cells. Drone
combs were kept in the second and ninth positions of the upper brood
chamber.
Standard management practices were used throughout the season,
including the addition of honey supers above a queen excluder. Colonies
were randomly assigned to one of two groups. In the control group,
drone combs remained in place throughout the season. In the treatment
group, drone combs were removed on June 16, July 16, August 16 and
September 16 and replaced with empty drone combs (16 June) or with
drone combs removed on the previous replacement date. In the early
fall, the average mite-to-bee ratio was significantly greater in
the control group than in the treatment group (figure
1).
Drone brood removal did not adversely affect colony health as measured
by the size of the worker population or by honey production. Fall
worker populations were similar in the two groups. Honey production
in treatment colonies was greater than or similar to production
in control colonies. These data demonstrate that drone brood removal
can serve as a valuable component in an IPM program for V. destructor
and may eliminate the need for other treatments on a colony-by-colony
basis.
Research on the efficacy of screen bottom boards for the management
of V. destructor in colonies of the honey bee A. mellifera
L. was funded by Northeast SARE, USDA and the Organic Farming
Research Foundation (Santa Cruz, CA). The study extended over three
years.
In the first year, 64 colonies were randomly assigned to one of
two groups: a treatment group in which colonies received screen
bottom boards and control group in which colonies received regular,
solid bottom boards. Equal numbers of colonies from both groups
were randomly assigned to four apiary sites for evaluation. In both
the second and third year, 32 colonies were randomly assigned to
one of two treatment groups, but colonies were kept in a single
apiary each year. Mite-to-bee ratios were estimated in the early
fall each year.
The average mite-to-bee ratio in the treatment group was not significantly
greater than the corresponding ratio in the control group in any
year (figure 2). Screen bottom
boards did not adversely affect colony health as measured by the
size of the worker population or by honey production. Fall worker
populations were similar in the two groups. Similarly, seasonal
honey production was similar in the two groups. These data demonstrate
that screen bottom boards do not provide any benefit as a mite control
tactic during the honey producing season.
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