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Beekeeping best management practices

Article  in  American Bee Journal · June 2016

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Peter Borst
Cornell University
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B
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able to disagree on almost anything,
especially colony management. This
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Harder still to encapsulate what we know
into Best Management Practices (BMP)
which are simple enough to understand and
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comprehensive enough to be worth printing.
Best Management vs. My Management
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documents and will present the best and
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ment calls on when to divide colonies, when
to put on supers, when to move the hives
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these can be incorporated into any docu-
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be put into a brochure.
On the other hand, there are some things
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These are the things that belong in a BMP
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much. I would break them into two main
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cally, crop growers and other land holders.
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June 2016
most. Without healthy hives, the venture is
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But as we are engaged with other people
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act responsibly. This means not creating a
nuisance with our beekeeping operations,
no matter how important we think we are. It
also means not jeopardizing their activities
by being oblivious to their rights, such as
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Many states and provinces have put to-
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document. These are not cut in granite, they
need to change as knowledge, conditions
and recommendations change. Also, the em-
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aggressive bees is discussed at length.
Honey Bee Health Issues
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they are burdened by parasites, bacterial
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might be true, but epidemics have also al-
ways occurred and when they rage through
your apiaries, they can be costly and ruinous.
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was written by Paul Kozak, Ontario Provin-
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denses into two pages the key management
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honey bee colony. Many will not be able to
survive; the goal is to get as many as pos-
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where we can make the most impact. See
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1. Ensure honey bee colonies
ŚĂǀĞƐƵĸĐŝĞŶƚĨĞĞĚƐƚŽƌĞƐĨŽƌ
winter.
2. Ensure honey bee colonies are
populous going into winter.
3. Monitor pest and disease lev-
ĞůƐ;ƉĂƌƟĐƵůĂƌůLJǀĂƌƌŽĂͿ͘
4. Manage varroa mite levels in
honey bee colonies during the
season.
5. Wrap or insulate honey bee
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honey crop. For many, it might be pollinat-
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points might seem secondary to that, but
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records, like many beekeepers. I just did
things as needed, according to the season,
or the situation. I have met beekeepers
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increases in value as time goes on. On the
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history I have noticed one key point. In the
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keepers to downsize their holdings prior to
winter. Now, it seems like we try to keep
every hive alive. Experienced beekeepers
can tell at a glance which colonies really
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Queen Management
One thing Paul does not mention is queen
management. It is pretty clear that some
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should obtain quality stock in some way
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On the other hand, we hear a lot that
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were very real distinctions between honey
bee populations. Presumably, these popula-
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VR ORQJ WKH\ GHYHORSHG FOHDU GL൵HUHQFHV
0DQ\RIWKHVHGL൵HUHQFHVDUHUHIHUUHGWRDV
adaptations, produced by natural selection.
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about.
African Bees
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tion in managed colonies. Pennsylvania
has published “Voluntary best management
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sylvania.” In the accompanying text box are
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Pennsylvania AHB Best
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In the event that a county in
ǁŚŝĐŚ/ŬĞĞƉďĞĞƐŝƐĚĞĐůĂƌĞĚ
a non-EHB suspect or detected
area I will:
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trapped in the county or
ƌĞƉůĂĐĞƚŚĞƋƵĞĞŶƐŽĨĂůů
swarms caught or trapped
ǁŝƚŚƋƵĞĞŶƐƉƌŽĚƵĐĞĚĨƌŽŵ
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2. Maintain at least one bait
trap in each apiary.
3. Requeen and destroy all
drone brood in colonies
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95% certainty).
4. Provide the name and con-
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queens.
5. Depopulate all colonies
determined to be a pure or
hybrid race other than EHB.
6. Not establish an apiary with-
ŝŶϱϬĨĞĞƚŽĨĂŶLJƉƌĞͲĞdžŝƐƟŶŐ
animal permanently teth-
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7. Not manage or disturb
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using machinery within the
immediate vicinity.
coming established but the colony was only
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introduced queens were still alive in
the AHB colonies. Thus, while queen
acceptance might be relatively high in
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queens. They may be old or they may be
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hard to predict what a queen is going to do
during the months where you are not able to
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Most experts agree that a queen in her
second or third year is much more likely
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is actually a recurring problem that many
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Recommendations
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re-queen regularly, and/or re-queen colo-
nies that express aggressive or hostile be-
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queen in a vicious hive, there is the problem
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AHB colonies during stage-1, many
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the population to be comprised pre-
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introduced queen.
Furthermore, the comparable queen
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duced EHB or AHB queens in AHB
colonies in this and previous studies
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queens could occur at a relatively high
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vary greatly in quality and longevity. The WZR VWDJHV  DFFHSWDQFH GXULQJ WKH ¿UVW Whether a queen is accepted and
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breeders is to obtain their stock or to get DIWHULQWURGXFWLRQZKHQWKHTXHHQZDVEH- D൵HFWHG E\ VHDVRQ 4XHHQ UHMHFWLRQ

668 American Bee Journal

 Genetic testing is expensive and incon-
clusive. For example, the genetic makeup
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URSHDQ VXEVSHFLHV , GRQ¶W XVH WKH WHUP
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or the savannah. Nadine Chapman wrote
in 2015:

WƌŽƉĞƌƐŵŽŬŝŶŐŽĨƚŚĞŚŝǀĞĞŶƚƌĂŶĐĞ
ďĞĨŽƌĞŽƉĞŶŝŶŐ
during stage-1 or -2 was highest in the
summer introductions, and lowest in
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However, there is risk involved with
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invade European colonies especially
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queened. The usurpation swarms most
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is perhaps the best time to re-queen
colonies, EHB hives need to be closely
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mitochondrial DNA sequencing, as
will each subsequent generation aris-
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is no reliable low-cost genetic test for
detecting Africanized honeybees avail-
able (Chapman).
Laws that are written to prohibit non-
European bees based on genetic testing are
practically useless, inasmuch as they permit
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pean.” Personally, I have sent several sam-
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US state by now, since queen bees are being
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highly aggressive bees should be eliminated
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to attempt to requeen them, you run the risk
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WƌŽƉĞƌ ƐŵŽŬŝŶŐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶŶĞƌ ĐŽǀĞƌ
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or nothing to put bees near nectar bearing
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per apiary site.
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practices need to be sensitive to the many
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Management is to adjust recommendations
to the situation, and not be too restrictive
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What’s in a Name?
Whether or not the bees in question are
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the criteria should be based upon behavior.
ŚĞĐŬŝŶŐŚŽŶĞLJƐƚŽƌĞƐ
June 2016
aggressive colonies, which can pass these
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Bees and Agriculture
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in a non-agricultural region, this may not
come up, but many beekeepers depend on
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growers tried to keep beekeepers away
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jackets and other wasps.
In the early 1900s growers began to re-
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but they began to use insecticides on their
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trol insect pests involved techniques such as
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in courts to get the growers to stop killing
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A grower has complex equations to work
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neglects to protect his crop, he may not have
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A concrete example:
7KH SURYLQFH RI 4XHEHF SURYLGHV
BMPs to their beekeeping indus-
try through Agriculture, Pêcheries
et Alimentation Québec (MAPAQ).
0$3$4SURYLGHV%03VIRUSHVWLFLGH
application. These BMPs encourage
growers to communicate with bee-
keepers in order to prevent exposure
RIKRQH\EHHVWRSHVWLFLGHV4XHEHF¶V
beekeeping industry is working to-
wards improving communication
between growers and beekeepers pro-
viding pollination services.
This initiative is represented in the
Fédération des Apiculteurs de Québec
and 0$3$4¶VSURYLVLRQRIDFRQWUDFW
to be used during pollination service
negotiations. This contract ensures
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bees to pesticide application. Growers
will also have the opportunity to con-
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tract. (Eccles).
Summary
Researchers at Penn State have stayed
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management. In particular, I would like to
commend Maryann Frazier and Christina
669
 Grozinger for their support of the projects
and people that make this a successful and
ongoing process. In their recent publication
entitled “Overwintering honey bees: biol-
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main points:
1. Only strong colonies with
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steps to protect bees from
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The chief criticism that can be leveled at
these BMPs is that so much of it seems ob-
vious. But that is the problem: What may
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has to be presented to the beekeeping public
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from information overload. Too much infor-
mation can be as bad as too little.
Special Considerations
Most of these BMPs have healthy, pro-
ductive colonies as a goal. While one should
never lose sight of the fact that honey bee
health is our responsibility and productiv-
ity is a clear indicator of health, there are
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other things to be considered in the keeping
of honey bees.
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menters, tinkerers. They have collected
bees from many sources, tested out new and
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mon project is the comparison of bees from
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of characteristics, including productivity,
health, but also temperament, adaptability,
and suitability for our particular region or
management technique.
By treating all colonies the same, we sup-
press the very distinctions we are looking
for. Both the researcher and the commercial
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ences between colonies by using the same
queen sources, equalizing strength, etc.
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do not perform equally nor do they respond
identically to the same environmental con-
ditions. Rather than homogenize the hives,
an enterprising beekeeper may in fact do the
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characteristics fully by avoiding the “one
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without it no new discoveries could be made.
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if the goal is to keep bees for enjoyment, for
the challenges, simply WR ¿QG WKLQJV RXW –
there are many ways to do this. Just remem-
ber, what you do can have an impact on other
people, so keep bees responsibly.
References
Chapman, N. C., Harpur, B. A., Lim, J.,
Rinderer, T. E., Allsopp, M. H., Zayed,
A., & Oldroyd, B. P. (2015). A SNP test
to identify Africanized honey bees via
proportion of ‘African’ ancestry. Molecu-
lar ecology resources, 15(6), 1346-1355.
DeGrandi-Hoffman, G., Gilley, D., &
Hooper, J. (2007).7KHLQÀXHQFHRIVHD-
son and volatile compounds on the accep-
tance of introduced European honey bee
(Apis mellifera) queens into European
and Africanized colonies. Apidologie,
38(3), 230-237.
Döke, M. A., Frazier, M., & Grozinger, C.
M. (2015). Overwintering honey bees: bi-
ology and management. Current Opinion
in Insect Science, 10, 185-193.
Eccles, Les. Melanie Kempers, Daniel
Thurston, Raquel Mijares Gonzalez.
(2015). Honey Bee Best Management
Practices: Canadian Industry Gap Analy-
sis and Harmonization.
Hoyt, Murray. (1966). The World of Bees.
New York, Coward McCann.
Kozak, Paul. (2014). Best Management
Practices (BMP) for Ontario Beekeepers’
in Advance of Winter.
Pennsylvania Apiary Advisory Board.
(Undated). Voluntary best management
practices for maintaining European honey
bee colonies in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
American Bee Journal