Integrated Hive Management

Honey bee diseases, pests and parasites create problems for the beekeeper and affect colony health and productivity. Pest and disease problems include mite parasites, brood and adult bee diseases, small hive beetles, and wax moths, as well as several other vertebrate and invertebrate pests. Beekeepers have traditionally utilized different approaches in dealing with these problems, some of which have involved the use of chemical treatments. However, the use of chemical treatments can significantly affect colony health, as well as create potential problems with the contamination of honey and beeswax. Recent studies, for example, have shown that both the beeswax comb and pollen stored in colonies are frequently contaminated with pesticides, some of it from miticides used by the beekeeper. What these problems indicate is a need to change our management approaches to keeping bees and to move to more sustainable practices.

Beekeepers should be thinking of using Integrated Hive Management (IHM) practices whenever possible. An IHM approach involves the use of all available tactics in the design of a program to manage pest populations so that economic damage and harmful side effects are minimized. An important component of this approach is the use of sustainable management practices with as little reliance as possible on chemical treatments. The feasibility of using IHM practices is partially dependent on the size of a beekeeping operation. What works in a small-scale operation with 10 hives is not always practical for a commercial operation.

IHM Approaches

The basic goal of most beekeeping practices is to insure healthy, strong and productive colonies and the use of IHM practices for managing diseases and pests should be integrated into normal seasonal management practices whenever possible. Specific approaches to IHM will depend on the pest or disease of concern and whether alternate control methods are available or effective. Pests of major concern for most beekeepers include the Varroa mite, the Small Hive Beetle, Nosema disease and American foulbrood.

The Varroa mite (Varroa destructor)

The Varroa mite is an external parasite (ectoparasite) of adult and immature honey bees. It is one of the most serious pests of the honey bee and a major factor in colony losses. The adult mite is reddish brown in color, has a flattened body and is somewhat oval in shape (Figure at left). The mites are small (approximately 1.5 mm in length by 2mm in width) and feed by attaching themselves to the body of the bee and sucking hemolymph. The mites reproduce in the cells of developing bees, feeding on the immature bee (see development cycle figure). The feeding activity of mites not only shortens the lifespan of the bee, but also serves to vector viral diseases such as deformed wing virus to their honey bee host. High varroa infestations increase the likelihood of colony mortality, particularly during the winter.

More detailed information on the biology of varroa mites can be found at the following links:

http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/PDFs/Varroa_Mites_PMP1.pdf
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/entomology/apiculture/PDF%20files/2.03.pdf