| Varroa Spread In New Zealand - Response From Tucson |
| 22 April 2000 Dee A. Lusby Lusby Apiaries DBA: Arizona Rangeland Honey 3832 East Golf Links Road Tucson, Arizona 85713 Phone/Fax: 1-520-748-0542 Email: deelusbybeekeeper@mail excel.com Subject: Reference your email Sat, 22 April 2000, 16:36:03 +1200 New Zealand Varroa To: Ron Law <juderon@ihug.co.nz> In your email where you state you have been asked by the NZ Ministry of Agriculture and NZ Beekeepers Association to undertake an economic impact report into the impact that varroa mites might have on bee pollen, royal jelly, propolis and bee venom production. You have asked me "From your experience and/or knowledge, could you please send me any information that you have regarding this. I've been asked to do a 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 year analysis." Response time required: Information to be collated within the next three days. Estimated date to respond therefore NLT 25 April 2000 if not sooner. RESPONSE: Having been through both Trachael Mites and Varroa Mites and come back, the following is forwarded: Trachael Mites: Was then in the process of retrogressing our hives down from 5.44mm foundation sizing to 5.0mm - 5.1mm range. Period was: 1986 forward. Crash occurred 1988-89, climb back began with stabalization in 1990 and by 1993 numbers were back to near normal at approximately 900+ colonies. Began with 1,000 - 1,100 colonies. Bottomed out at approx 395-400 colonies. Varroa Mites: Was still adding 5.0mm - 5.1mm foundation when downswing started again, slowly at first, then gaining speed from about 1994 forward. This time began with approximately 900+ colonies. 1993 was a good wet year. In 1995 La Nina started to take effect adding much stress. In the fall of 1996 we had to make a choice after carrying water to colony locations for 2-1/2 years and dropping down in numbers to a little over 400 colonies. We decided no matter how bad the environment was, the bees had always survived before, therefore we decided to fine tune our hives further to match the environment. The lack of water and little natural forage helped to bring on much secondary disease even though we used no chemicals, drugs and antibiotics. (Dropped even use of PDB for honey super storage around 1995). Decision was made to retrogress down again further to 4.9mm foundation beginning the spring of 1997. Hives were living with varroa, but production was now practically zero on all hive products; and high stress of carrying water and limited forage with La Nina was bringing on high levels of secondary diseases, namely chaulk, AFB, EFB and para-foulbrood. Disection of mummies in cells of dead worker bees showed mummies with varroa attached when pulled out with tweezers. Shook down hives old style, like AFB shakedown, in May of 1997 with a limited honey flow, on new un-drawn foundation. By August approx 250 colonies remained. Sampling was done for Varroa level by Tucson Bee Lab in September 1997 and results were pulished in ABJ in a Letter to Editor December 1997 after only five months of being on 4.9mm comb. (Suggested reading, no subsequent testing has been done, though requested.) In the spring of 1998 we bottomed out at approximately 104 colonies having survived the shakedown and the winter. All colonies surviving were on 2-4 frames of drawnout 4.9mm foundation, with feeder packs sustaining them through the winter, with a policy to either kill or cure to get down to straight survivership only and cut out the weak genetics. We have now climbed back steadily ever since in numbers. Only traditional beekeeping methods have been employed with no use of drugs, essential oils, or chemical treatments. With the shakedown, we stopped the use of propolis patties we were using in place of TM. Secondary diseases cleared up for the most part, so now we can look at an average of 300+ colonies and maybe find only a few frames to pull of any disease, to fill maybe one deep super if we are unlucky. Colony numbers are now back up to between 450-500 colonies and at the rate we are drawing out foundation, hope to be well over 600+ colonies this year. The comeback has been slower than expected with both mites in the area as we felt we should have reached this goal a year ago. To augment, all available feral swarms are located and are absorbed into our outfit, to help give us the widest dispersal of genetic material available to work with. We have gone for straight survivability, then building of variability, while increasing colony numbers without the use of drugs, chemicals or essential oils. Now between 450-500 colonies, we have achieved basic colony numbers in three major geographic local areas of Southern Arizona. This fall of 2000 we will finally start breeding again for selection for desired characteristics we wish to fine tune to add to survivability. Our colonies are now finishing drawing out the fourth deep super and in some cases the fifth. We expect to be back to extracting honey sometime in May 2000 and make our first decent crop with black ink since 1995. We have not trapped pollen also since the Varroa hit. Do not know if we will now resume trapping pollen or start making nucs for others next year. Many have been calling us to see if we will sell brood nest conversion packages of 3-4 frame nucs, with extra 4.9mm foundation, to complete a 1-2 box brood nest. That decision still has to be made. Some limited statistics I can give you on production are:
We have with the help of BEE-L encouragement, and a Mr. Barry Birkey, who has a great web site and given much support, posted our beekeeping theory and actions for biological beekeeping on the internet for all to read. We are standing on full biological methods using naturally sized foundation to fit ones own region without the use of chemicals, drugs, and essential oils. We believe that what we have been through shows that breeding alone is not the solution. We figure comb matching natural environment is 1/3, diet is 1/3 due to stress induced without ample, and breeding is 1/3. For those beekeepers in New Zealand wishing to read the full biological theory and what it requires, go to Mr. Barry Birkey's web site at: www.beesource.com and pull up Lusby under Point of View. As a final note. Suggest survey of colonies in New Zealand to see what size manufactured foundation is in use. Anything larger than 4.9mm I do not feel you will survive on without much difficulty and treatment. Survey of climate and latitude and altitude zones for New Zealand would show to us that probably 4.8 - 5.0 is your comb size range, but only you can tell by accurate measurement of your feral population to see what they want to naturally build and survive on. Respectfully Submitted: Dee A. Lusby |
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