Stratiolaelaps - A bug to Fight Varroa?

[Goat Man]

Okay, so say they eat all the varroa out of the hive. That is a good thing.
BUT, after all the mites are gone what happens next? Do they then turn on the
bee larvae and just keep eating? Do they go after the varroa adults or larvae? If
larvae, guess where they all are? Many questions but I am hopeful for any help
with varroa..

[Bush_84]

Good questions. The initial reports indicate that they may regulate their population according to their prey as noted on the previous page. They also apparently feed on algae and plant debris when nothing else is available.

[Ian]

they feast on mites, and then turn their tastes towards algee and plant debris ? Are they certain they dont turn to bee larvae as some point,

[Bush_84]

they feast on mites, and then turn their tastes towards algee and plant debris ? Are they certain they dont turn to bee larvae as some point,

I would suspect they are not...that is why they are doing studies. However the initial reports certainly seem reassuring. Strong hives with low varroa populations. One could come to one of two conclusions. Either they do not eat eggs or they do is such small quantities that it does not effect the bees population.

[bevy's honeybees]

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly...

Australia has had a couple of spectacular failures with introducing predators.
I'm going to let a couple of years experience build up before I decide.

I agree. First thing I thought of was our lovely Love Bugs here in Florida. They were introduced, and something went wrong, to take care of the mosquito problem. Now they are not only a terrible mess during their season, but they also ruin our saw palmetto nectar run. They land on the palmetto bloom and leave behind some kind of nasty that honey bees do not like and will not collect nectar once Love Bug has been there. My first spring with bees was a strong year for love bugs and no palmetto honey that year. Last year wasn't so great either.

[BMartin]

They come in a 1 liter canister and are shaken in.

We use Strateolaelaps aka Hypoaspis and other predatory mites in greenhouse horticulture. Using biocontrols has reduced our pesticide application by 80%. We buy Stratiolaelaps in 1 liter canisters, 25k ct for $20 and change plus shipping and the shipping can cost as much as the mites as the shipment has to go over night. From what I understand the application rate is between 250ml at the present with testing down to 50ml which would be 6250 mite down to 1250 per application. That’s 4 to 20 treatment per container. Important in using biocontrols is to be preemptive, that is, get the good guys in before the bad guys have a chance to become a problem. A little different way of thinking about pest control rather than seeing them and killing them. Although I'm not sure how it is introduced I'd probably measure out of the canister the desired mls and place it above the cluster on a piece of newspaper where the mite can establish themselves on the frames. Sprinkling on the top bars some would fall through on to the bottom board or if SBB boards are used you’d would lose some it out of the hive. I’m going to try it. Seem easy enough and it’s something that I’m always bringing in.

[c10250]

How about putting a little moss under the SBB to give them something to eat when all the varroa are gone??

[Kieck]

They were introduced, and something went wrong, to take care of the mosquito problem. -bevy's honeybees

This is off topic, but, first off, "love bugs" are flies. They were found indigenous to southern Texas and Louisiana and down into Mexico when European settlers first documented them, then seem to have expanded their range on their own to the north and east, and spreading into Florida from there. The larvae live in leaf litter and detritus on the soil surface; mosquito larvae are aquatic. The adult "love bugs" feed on nectar, and their larvae feed on decaying plant material (they are not predatory).

They land on the palmetto bloom and leave behind some kind of nasty that honey bees do not like and will not collect nectar once Love Bug has been there. -bevy's honeybees

Also off topic, but I find this fascinating. I don't recall ever hearing this sort of thing before. The flies are reported to be distasteful to potential predators. Maybe that's related to this sort of repellent effect that lingers behind them?

Seem easy enough and it’s something that I’m always bringing in. -BMartin

I got to wondering if before I got to the post above just how common these mites are in the soil and potentially wandering into beehives on their own. Many of the generalist predators wander windily searching for food.

The question remains what kind of effect putting large numbers of them into a hive would have on the hive. It's worth exploring, I think.

[JohnBeeMan]

if only the secondary food source were SHBs it could become a silver bullet.

[JRG13]

I would think there might be a balance, say if you dumped the whole container in there might be so many mites they may cause some damage but in lower numbers they're more predatory then opportunistic.

[DC Bees]

Is it possible that some of the beekeepers that do not treat and are successful at keeping there hives alive may have some beneficial microbes in there hives, which are helping to control the varoa mites?

[billabell]

We use Strateolaelaps aka Hypoaspis and other predatory mites in greenhouse horticulture. Using biocontrols has reduced our pesticide application by 80%. We buy Stratiolaelaps in 1 liter canisters, 25k ct for $20 and change plus shipping and the shipping can cost as much as the mites as the shipment has to go over night. From what I understand the application rate is between 250ml at the present with testing down to 50ml which would be 6250 mite down to 1250 per application. That’s 4 to 20 treatment per container.

How do you store them? Do they have a shelf life?

[BMartin]

How do you store them? Do they have a shelf life?

Best to use them as soon as you get them although if we are pressed for time we keep them in the refrigerator over night and then get them out the next morning. One question I have is what’s the biology behind it, as in what stage does the Stratiolaelaps consume the varroa and is there a reproductive stage in the hive. My understanding and it may be incorrect is that they feed on juvenile stages of the target pest of which the varroa juveniles are in the capped brood cell. Does it enter the cell with the female mite? We use them as a soil predator and you never find them up on the plant always running around on the surface or beneath the surface. It’s also a persistent bio.

[Bush_84]

Best to use them as soon as you get them although if we are pressed for time we keep them in the refrigerator over night and then get them out the next morning. One question I have is what’s the biology behind it, as in what stage does the Stratiolaelaps consume the varroa and is there a reproductive stage in the hive. My understanding and it may be incorrect is that they feed on juvenile stages of the target pest of which the varroa juveniles are in the capped brood cell. Does it enter the cell with the female mite? We use them as a soil predator and you never find them up on the plant always running around on the surface or beneath the surface. It’s also a persistent bio.

That is what I am wondering. If I were a betting man I'd bet that they do their thing in capped brood. Seems to make logical sense. No use trying to chase varroa in the open when you could be locked in a room with them. I also wonder how they establish a breeding population. The above emails seem to indicate that most have established a breeding population. But they are supposed to live in the soil not a hive. I wonder if they have ever used them in an observation hive. Maybe they are to small to even observe...I don't know. I was reading that they are effective for spider mites. Isn't that how hopguard was discovered?

[JRG13]

They ship with another mite inside the bottle for food, so I bet they scent out mites and would follow them into capped cells where they smell them or even chew their way in.

[Ian]

I like the sounds of that,

[billabell]

More info from Brian Spencer at Applied Bio-nomics:
I don't seem to know how to reply, or post.
Stratiolaelaps up until about 5 years ago was called Hypoaspis miles.
There are numerous mites in this large genera, but they are largely characterized as living in "litter".
They have been used for many years in poultry houses, controlling poultry mites and lice.
They cue on motion of small arthropods, and based on George's videos and experiments, they pose no risk to bees.
They bite the Varroa mite on the leg, fatally injuring it.
I personally believe that Ss colonizes the area of ground under the hives, during winter.
George is also investigating their effect on the small hive beetle.
Based on our horticultural experience, Ss should have some effect on any Arthropod that has a soil stage. For the Ss, a hive should provide the Ss with enough protection to convince it to stay in the hive, as long as there is food present.

Brian Spencer

[Haraga]

How do we order some?

[Ian]

I wouldn't rush in to buy this idea. Some study needs to be done before we pouring these guys into hives.

[Green gardener]

Re Stratiolaelaps

Hi everyone
I am new here and from the SW corner of UK. [Cornwall]
Stratiolaelaps mites have just become a talking point on the BBKA Forum.
At our local BK Club AGM we had a talk by the head BK of the Buckfast Apiary, Clare Densley. Last year she conducted a trial with these mites which produced good results.
We have since been offered these mites for use in our own apiaries.The details we have been given are the following;

Treatment is 1000 S's per hive every 9 weeks, starting late March until end of September.
They come in either 5000 /box or 10000 / box and have to be split between hives.
On delivery they must be stored at 10C and put in the hives within 7 days. It is considered that 4 treatments per season are necessary.


Cost per hive to us is around £3.50 per treatment, ie £14 per season. [not much good at maths of currency exchange so work it out for yourselves.]

The four treatments per season suggests that they only have a short lifespan so presumably would not be a threat to the colony population

At this point this is as much information as I have available. I hope this post will be of help.