Our beekeeping season and our bees are literally wrapped up for this year! Hives are braced against the upcoming winter weather and we now wait till spring to see how well we have managed our hives. This week we will take a short break from our usual discussions on honey bee health, disease and pest management to answer an important question. What to buy our beekeeping friends and family as a gift to celebrate the upcoming festive season?
Hot off the press!
Read below to find out more about Nosema infection in our region’s beehives
in a recently published paper by the ATTTA team. This paper shows significant
results! Nosema is an important disease
and this work gives us additional information specific to our region.
Evaluating Efficacy of Fumagilin-B® Against Nosemosis and Tracking Seasonal Trends of Nosema spp. in Nova Scotia Honey Bee Colonies *
The efficacy of the antimicrobial Fumagilin-B® against
nosemosis was evaluated in both spring and autumn feeding treatments following
label directions in seventy-two honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies across
three apiaries in Nova Scotia, Canada. The seasonal trend of Nosema spp. spore
loads was also tracked in these same colonies throughout a thirteen-month
period (February 2018 – March 2019). We found the spring Fumagilin-B® treatment
to be effective at significantly suppressing Nosema spp. spore levels below the
recommended treatment threshold. There was no effect of Fumagilin-B® treatment
in the autumn based on low spore levels at this time. We detected a drastic
increase in Nosema spp. spore loads as May progressed but a decline in spores
in summer (June–September). By October, there was another increase in spore
levels, but this increase did not exceed the economic treatment threshold.
Across seventeen collection periods in both control and Fumagilin-B® colonies,
74% (25) of samples tested positive for Nosema ceranae, while 26% (9) contained
no Nosema spp. spores. No Nosema apis spores were detected during this trial.
Our results indicate that Fumagilin-B® is an effective management practice in
the spring, but colonies should still be monitored in the autumn. Our data also
support that the Nosema species profile is shifting to be exclusively N.
ceranae and the treatment threshold for Fumagilin-B® may need to be updated to reflect
this, as the threshold was originally developed for N. apis.
*McCallum, R., Olmstead, S., Shaw, J., & Glasgow, K.
(2020). Evaluating Efficacy of Fumagilin-B® Against Nosemosis and Tracking
Seasonal Trends of Nosema spp. in Nova Scotia Honey Bee Colonies, Journal of
Apicultural Science (published online ahead of print 2020), full text available online.
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| Nosema spores viewed under microscope. Photo: J. Shaw |
Five best gifts for the beekeeper on your Christmas list?
1. Membership to a provincial beekeeping association!
If you know a beekeeper who is not a member of their
provincial beekeeping association, this would be the best gift you can give! Our professional associations work extremely
hard to support our beekeepers.
Membership provides access to additional information and training, cost
savings for meetings and workshops and an opportunity to be a part of the
bigger beekeeping community. Contact the
beekeeping association in your province for details.
2. Beekeeping Book(s)
Lifelong learning is an overused expression but nonetheless
it still applies to beekeeping. All good
beekeepers read and study about their craft towards a fuller understanding of
the complexity of beekeeping. Check their
bookshelf and if your beekeeper does not have a copy of Honey Bee Diseases
& Pests (capabees.com), that should be number one on the list. Otherwise, there are lots of great beekeeping
books all available online. Check out
Amazon or whichever online bookstore you prefer.
3. Magazine subscription
Bee Culture and the American Bee Journal are
great publications. Although they are
not specific to our region, much of the information is relevant and they keep beekeepers up to date on contemporary issues. These journals are compulsory reading for all
beekeepers!
4. Beekeeping clothing
Bee jackets are hard wearing but still many of us keep them
well beyond their useful life. A new bee
jacket or veil is always something that your beekeeper will appreciate. Check out your local beekeeping supply store
for the full range available to find just the right one!
5. Bee Belt
This is one of those really useful items which many
beekeepers will not necessarily buy for themselves. They can be purchased from your local
beekeeping supply store and a necessity for keeping track of your hive
tool. Once you start using a beekeeping
belt you will never go back to lost hive tools again!
Stocking stuffers
Hive tool – Somewhere in the world there are mountains of
odd socks and hive tools! Wherever they
end up, your beekeeper can always use a replacement!
Honey – Believe it or not beekeepers are always interested
in trying any unusual or different types of honey.
Oxalic Acid – Not the most glamorous gift but a bottle of
oxalic acid is inexpensive and fits in a Santa sock. Useful as part of a IPM Varroa control
program.
Disposable gloves- Maybe in short supply during the pandemic
but covering your hands reduces stings.
Also the best option for biosecurity.
Varroa Shaker – This is the most useful tool in the box for monitoring
Varroa mites. These are relatively
inexpensive and should be used by all beekeepers to monitor for mites as part
of a IPM program.
Foulbrood testing kit – These are diagnostic kits which
allow for the identification of EFB and AFB.
Another very useful tool for all beekeepers to have to hand!
Drybrow Sweatbands– Beekeepers are one of the only people
who put on extra clothing during the heat of summer to go to work. These ingenious little devices are excellent for
keeping sweat out of your eyes on the hottest beekeeping days.
Mead – All beekeepers will appreciate this gift during the
holiday season and great local mead is now available across our region. A bottle in the sock of your favorite
beekeeper may be the best shared gift this year.
Face Mask with Honey Bee Themes – Yes, these are available
from a number of suppliers online! A
gift that will keep your favorite beekeeper safe during the current crisis.
Connecting with ATTTA Specialists
If you’d like to connect with ATTTA specialists or learn more about our program, you can:
visit our website at https://www.perennia.ca/portfolio-items/honey-bees/
Email abyers@perennia.ca
Thanks for following along with our blog and keeping up with the ATTTA buzz & don't forget to subscribe!