From: Wilkes Journal-Patriot
Jule Hubbard
Varroa mites are the most devastating honeybee parasite and the key to having healthy hives is keeping their numbers low, said an N.C. Department of Agriculture official during a recent program at the Wilkes Agricultural Center in Wilkesboro.
“July is a critical time to knock varroa populations down to preserve bee colonies,” added Greg Fariss, one of four NCDA bee inspectors.
Leave a Comment July 26, 2016
From: North Queensland Register
For more than 10 years now the national government and its agencies have worked to raise awareness about the threat of Varroa mite. At many forums horticulture has been warned of the ramifications about when (not if) Varroa mite establishes in Australia. We now have the first evidence from Biosecurity Queensland that this devastating pest is here.
While we are dealing with Varroa jacobsoni rather than Varroa destructor, the experts say it is just a matter of time before jacobsoni will cause as much damage as destructor.
Leave a Comment July 25, 2016
From: Cox’s Honey
In recent years, Colony Collapse Disorder has been blamed on a couple of factors. The first factor, and one that research has proven correct, is neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoids are chemicals found in agricultural pesticides. The second factor is the varroa mite, a microscopic parasite that attaches itself to bees, that feeds off their host and off of the honey bees’ brood.
Leave a Comment July 22, 2016
From: The Guam Daily Post
The University of Guam College of Natural and Applied Sciences (CNAS) is uncovering some very interesting information about honeybee health in the Mariana Islands.
Chris Rosario, research associate with the Western Pacific Tropical Research Center at CNAS, has been surveying bees on Guam and in the region as part of the Honeybee Health Survey funded by USDA-APHIS.
Rosario has been sampling domestic and feral hives to verify the presence or absence of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, which uses its piercing-sucking mouthparts to feed on the blood of honeybees and their larva.
Leave a Comment July 21, 2016
From: ABC News
by David Chen
Tests on an Asian honey bee hive found in the backyard of a house in the Townsville suburb of Annandale have confirmed the presence of the potentially destructive pest.
Another hive, which also had the mite, was found last month at the Port of Townsville.
Leave a Comment July 20, 2016
From: Michigan State University | Extension
by Erin Lizotte, Michigan State University Extension
Like many plants, chestnuts are sensitive to the saliva of potato leafhoppers that is injected while feeding. Damage to leaf tissue can cause reduced photosynthesis, which can impact production, affect nut quality and damage the tree.
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. . . Neonicotinoids (e.g., Admire, Nuprid, Porvado and Assail) are longer lasting and narrow spectrum, making them a solid choice for management.
Leave a Comment July 19, 2016
From: Bee Culture | The Magazine of American Beekeeping
From Coloss
The four species of Varroa: a. V. jacobsoni dorsal view; b. V. jacobsoni ventral view; c. V. destructor dorsal view; d. V. destructor ventral view; e. V. rindereri; f. V. underwoodi. Photo: Denis Anderson.
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Confirmation from the federal and Queensland governments and industry sources that the two mites in a feral Asian honey bee hive in Townsville, 830 miles north of Brisbane, were jacobsoni means Australia has again dodged the Varroa bullet.
Leave a Comment July 18, 2016
From: Journal of Apicultural Research
Almudena Ceperoa, Raquel Martín-Hernándezab, Carolina Bartoloméc, Tamara Gómez-Morachoacd, Laura Barriose, José Bernalf, María Teresa Martínf, Aránzazu Meanag & Mariano Higesa*
Leave a Comment July 15, 2016
From: Pest Control Technology
Leave a Comment July 14, 2016
From: ABC | Rural
No further detections have been made since an Asian honeybee hive containing two mites was discovered last week, prompting Biosecurity Queensland to declare the latest outbreak can be eradicated.
The varroa mite is considered the greatest challenge facing world beekeeping, with Australia so far the only continent not to be infested with the deadly parasite.
Leave a Comment July 13, 2016
