Utah Beekeepers Combat Bee Stressors
By: Andy Alcantar
Bee colonies continue to experience collapse, but Utah beekeepers are fighting the principle stressors affecting bee communities. Information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that although bee population data correlates with the changing of the seasons, the number of Utah bee colonies in 2017 show overall growth when compared to the same data points of 2016.
Stephen Stanko, former president of the University of Utah Beekeeper’s Association, says that there is a growing demand for bees from consumers. Poor nutrition, pesticides, pathogens, and diseases are the major stressors affecting bee colonies, he says. The Varroa mite is the biggest challenge to Utah colonies.
According to Stanko, the Varroa mite, or Varroa destructor, is a mite that attacks bee colonies by clinging on to the bees’ bodies and later attacks the inside of the hive by attacking the bee larva and pupa.
The breeding patterns of the mites also correlate with the deaths seen with bees.
Once a hive is infected, the mites can cause total hive death. Since mites are carried around and humans also transport them, other colonies can also become infected. Stanko says,
“Commercial beekeepers that are facing difficulty can apply for relief from the federal government, but that relief does not apply to small beekeepers.”
There continues to be growing interest in beekeeping, however. It isn’t very difficult to get into the practice. To start a new colony, it costs about a few hundred dollars and some education about how to keep bees and help them grow. Stanko says beekeepers can expect to work on their colonies about 30 minutes to an hour, every two weeks, which isn’t a lot.
Even with a shortage of bees, small beekeepers are not asked to provide the bees they have to orchards. Commercial operators are the ones hired by big farms in many different businesses like almond farms and apple farms.
“Commercial beekeepers provide up to 1000, even 10,000 hives to different growers. They charge about $200 a hive meaning that some companies made as much as $800,000 dollars last season in pollination services.”
Pesticides, by comparison, can be a big stressor but are not nearly as damaging as the Varroa mite. It is the combined effects that beekeepers are trying to avoid.
Steven, who works at White Lake Farms, says everything we do affects bee populations. The pollution we create and the pesticides we use add to the stressors bees face. Steven says,
“Encroachment of development is our biggest challenge. We try to find the least contaminated space when it comes to chemicals and pollution.”
For example, they like to use spaces that are generally more rural and open. Steven and his team also love to educate consumers about their products and educate people who are interested in learning how to start beekeeping. He also reminds customers that the raw honey contains some of the solids from the beehives and contain more vitamins and minerals that processed honey does not. Raw honey also contains antioxidants. They also sell unfiltered honey and honey with the honeycomb intact.
Michael Stevenson, president of the Utah Beekeeper’s Association, says that there are a lot of options for pesticides to fight Varroa mite, but not all of them work. Two of the most common and effective treatments are “Apivar” strips and oxalic acid. There are slow release options that can be placed in between frames.
“The oxalic acid comes in crystals that can be vaporized by burning them with wands and are then blown into the hive.”
For his purposes, formic acid works better than oxalic acid. There are also gel pads that are available to buy, he says.
“Beehives have a very complex organization to them. There is a certain type of bee called drones which are different from worker bees. Drone broods are preferred by mites.”
These drones have bigger cells so beekeepers will allow one drone frame to become infected with the mites, and then pull out the frame and freeze it to kill the most mites. Although some people say these chemicals are an added stressor to the bees because bees do not like them and run away from the chemicals, Michael argues that the chemicals are removing stressors especially the mite, and therefore reduce stressors and help colonies become more healthy and productive. Mr. Stevenson says people can get more information on these products on manlakeltd.com and dadant.com.
Utah beekeepers are managing Varroa mites and although the numbers can be high, beekeepers in other states such as Arizona and Arkansas have seen Varroa mites infect up to 98.8 percent of colonies. Not only does this affect the honey that is in demand but it affects the growers who need pollination services.