The Honey Bee Health Coalition has released a series of videos to help beekeepers promote colony health and combat costly and destructive Varroa mite infestations. The videos provide detailed step-by-step instructions on how to monitor hives for Varroa and safely treat when levels get too high. The videos complement the Coalition’s wildly popular Tools for Varroa Management Guide: http://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/Varroa . Dewey Caron, WAS representative to the Coalition, is principle author of the Tools and co-wrote and directed the video scripts, filmed at Foothills apiary in Colton, OR
“The Honey Bee Health Coalition’s Tools for Varroa Management Guide has provided beekeepers in the US and Canada with invaluable tools and techniques to confront destructive Varroa mite infestations,” said Mark Dykes, Apiary Inspectors of America. “These videos will show beekeeper real world application techniques to help correctly apply treatments.” Mark was on-camera in the video taping. Website to watch the videos: http://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/Varroa/#videos
The videos provide helpful visual aids and step-by-step directions on how beekeepers can monitor and control Varroa mites through an Integrated Pest Management strategy. Both the videos and Tools Guide cover a range of strategies and tools, including the uses of Oxalic acid, formic acid, essential oils, other synthetic miticides and non-chemical treatment options.
“Healthy bees support our world’s food supply and farmers everywhere. A single untreated colony can transmit Varroa mites to other nearby hives and threaten honey bee health across large geographic regions,” said Danielle Downey, Project Apis m, the second on-camera individual on the videos. “Beekeeping is becoming very popular, and often keeping the bees healthy is a mysterious learning curve. These important ‘how to’ videos bring the Coalition’s Tools for Varroa Management Guide to life — and will amplify its impact in the United States, Canada, and around the globe.”
The Coalition’s Tools for Varroa Management has given beekeepers the tools they need to measure Varroa mite infestations in their hives and select appropriate control methods. The guide, which has been downloaded more than 5,500 times since its release, is the newly released 5th edition. The videos are embedded within the guide for easy download. There is also a new spreadsheet for easy record keeping of your varroa management included. Spreadsheet http://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/varroa/ can be separately downloaded.