Honey Bee Health Coalition Varroa Management
Honey Bee Health Coalition Unveils Videos to Help Beekeepers Combat Devastating Parasites
Videos Complement Coalition’s Tools for Varroa Management Guide, Provides Step-By-Step Demonstrations of Utilizing an Integrated Pest Management Strategy of Monitoring and Treatment
KEYSTONE, CO, Nov. 28, 2016 — The Honey Bee Health Coalition released a series of videos today to help beekeepers promote colony health and combat costly and destructive Varroa mite (Varroa destructor) infestations. The videos can be found on the Coalition website at www.honeybeehealthcoalition.org/Varroa and provide detailed step-by-step instructions on how to monitor hives for varroa and when levels get too high, safely treat. The videos complement the Coalition’s wildly popular Tools for Varroa Management Guide.
“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 that will help them correctly apply treatments.”
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. The videos cover a range of strategies and tools, including the uses of formic acid, essential oils, and other synthetic miticides.
“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. “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, has been updated 4 times with continued refinements and details.
About the Honey Bee Health Coalition
The Honey Bee Health Coalition brings together beekeepers, growers, researchers, government agencies, agribusinesses, conservation groups, manufacturers and brands, and other key partners to improve the health of honey bees and other pollinators. Its mission is to collaboratively implement solutions that will help to achieve a healthy population of honey bees while also supporting healthy populations of native and managed pollinators in the context of productive agricultural systems and thriving ecosystems. The Coalition is focusing on accelerating collective impact to improve honey bee health in four key areas: forage and nutrition, hive management, crop pest management, and communications, outreach, and education.
Through its unique network of private and public sector members, the Coalition fosters new partnerships, leverages existing efforts and expertise, and incubates and implements new solutions. The Coalition brings its diverse resources to bear in promoting communication, coordination, collaboration, and investment to strategically and substantively improve honey bee health in North America.
A list of Honey Bee Health Coalition members can be found at www.honeybeehealthcoalition.org.