Summer in the Southern Hemisphere!   

Help with keeping bees
I recently visited the National UK Honey show and there were major concerns over the arrival of the small hive beetles in Europe. In Africa, the small hive beetle is more a nuisance than pest. 

Scutellata & Capensis colonies manage the small hive beetle unless they are severely weak. They have been known to propolise beetles at times to trap them. 

It is my belief that nature should be left to its natural course of things and by letting the bees live with the beetles without treatment. However, while in the UK I came across these beetle traps which are filled with some oils to attract and trap the small hive beetles. 

Generally, South African beekeepers leave the bees and beetles to their own devices. Only very weak colonies are assisted.
 
What about Varroa Destructor? 
We have somehow had Varroa Destructor introduced to our fauna for about 5 years now. Some beekeepers mistake braula for Varroa however it is here in southern Africa.

It is our standpoint to let nature take its course with regards to pests in the main. As Varroa is not indigenous to southern Africa it is tempting to use chemical treatment to tackle these new pests. 

As a large player in the bee industry in this area we condone the use of artificial methods of treatment where evidence has been shown the chemical treatments have made the varroa more resistant in any event. This leaves the bees with even more of a challenge to attempt to adapt to the new threat.

Nature works its way towards balance and we have found in RSA that varroa remains under management with Scutellata and Capensis in strong colonies. More natural methods of treatments such as placing a super frame in the brood chamber where the bees build drone comb cells only and waiting for the cells to be sealed before removing them works well. 

The varroa prefer drone cells. They enter the drone cells just before they are sealed so once this takes place the frame can be removed before the drones emerge. A much better solution than making the varroa stronger while trying to kill it.     

American Foulbrood - the indestructible

We also have American Foulbrood on our shores where are land was previously clean of this bacterial spore. It can live up to 75 years without any host or food any most surfaces. 

Legislation requires that any colonies found with AFB are to be destroyed by fire. AFB is not harmful to humans however it is deadly to bees. The spore only shows symptoms after about 2 years of infection as it is indistinguishable to the naked eye. The test of AFB is to put a match stick into a larvae cell with any white gooey substance and pull it out slowly- if the goo stretches more than 2-3cm then it is AFB.               

A recent untested method of treating the bee hives and components in the Western Cape infected with AFB is to dip them all in a drum of paraffin wax at 140-160 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes to destroy the spore.

The bees however would need to be terminated and same with the honey and comb. The spore can reside inside these carriers indefinitely and it is the main reason AFB is so deadly. It is surmised that the AFB spore made it to our shores as some parties in the bee industry are importing infected and contaminated honey which is being dumped onto the South African market.

So not only do we beekeepers pay the price of having inferior honey sold to our local market - mixed with a portion of locally harvested honey - but now we have to suffer the wrath of the indestructible spore too.

Let's talk bee training!     

We will be training again in December on the 13th with our Easy Buzzing Beginner Beekeeping course taking place in Midrand. 

We will also be running a new Advanced Bee course on Sunday 14th for those interested in taking up beekeeping as a more commercial interest. Make enquiries about further information via info@beeware.co.za.