Honey Bee Health Coalition Unveils Videos to Help Beekeepers Combat Devastating Parasites

PRESS RELEASE 
[Keystone Policy Center, Nov. 28, 2016]

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 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.