Review: Staying Ahead of Varroa Challenges and Strategies – Series 1: Varroa Management Successes and Failures

Thursday, 20 March 2025

On Saturday March 15th there was a international webinar on Varroa mite management. The webinar was organized by the Canadian Honey Council, in collaboration with the Canadian Bee Tech Transfer Programs and with support from Véto-pharma. The first webinar of this series had several guest speakers to discuss topics such as acaricide resistance management, Varroa management programs, and a panel discussion on the various Canadian provinces’ challenges and strategies for managing Varroa. Read this week’s blog to learn the highlights of the event.

Review: Staying Ahead of Varroa Challenges and Strategies – Series 1: Varroa Management Successes and Failures

The webinar “Staying ahead of Varroa: Challenges and Strategies – Series 1: Varroa Management Successes and Failures” took place on Saturday March 15th with over 200 virtual attendees across Canada, and with representation across the globe. This was the first webinar of the series with additional webinars expected in the future. The event was organized by the Canadian Honey Council, in collaboration with the Canadian Bee Tech Transfer Programs and with support from Véto-pharma.

Rod Scarlet (Canadian Honey Council) and Ulkrike Marsky (Véto-pharma) welcomed all attendees and presenters to the event and gave an overview of the webinar’s purpose. The first talk of the event was from Phil Lester (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand) who discussed integrated resistance management for acaracide use on Varroa mites. He discussed three key principles for integrated resistance management, including: alternating acaracides with different modes of action when providing chemical treatment, reducing the selective advantage of resistant individuals in a population (either increasing the pesticide uptake or suppressing detoxifying enzymes), and complementing chemical treatments with cultural and physical control measures. He also discussed the main two challenges for integrated resistance management, which include: no clear evidence of reduced reproduction of pesticide resistant mites (lack of fitness effects), and the incestuous mating system of Varroa mites which allows for pesticide resistant genetics to be maintained. Another interesting topic that was discussed is that some of the methods of integrated resistance management, such as pesticide rotation, will help slow resistance from occurring, but these practices are far less effective at removing existing pesticide resistance within Varroa mite populations.

The next talk was from Geoff Wilson (Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Provincial Specialist, Apiculture) who discussed Saskatchewan’s bee health program with a focus on Varroa mite management. Overall, Saskatchewan’s beekeeping industry has a focus on consistent and repeated messaging on Varroa mite management. The Saskatchewan government, association, tech transfer program and researchers all work to provide the same message on best practices for monitoring and treating Varroa mites. Geoff discussed the various miticides available to Saskatchewan beekeepers explaining when and how to apply the treatment, emphasizing always to follow the manufacturer instructions, and explaining how various treatments target mites based on the honey bee and mite life cycle.

Staying ahead of Varroa: Challenges and Strategies – Series 1: Varroa Management Successes and Failures

The final talk of the webinar was from Julie Ferland (Quebec Provincial Apiculturist). Julie presented a case study on the management of Varroa mites within a Quebec operation. She also discussed the history of the impact Varroa mites have had on the Canadian beekeeping industry including winter mortality and the overall number of colonies in the industry. Finally, Julie gave an overview on integrated pest management in Quebec discussing best management practices for treating and monitoring colonies

The webinar concluded with a panel discussion on managing Varroa mites within the various Canadian provinces/regions and the panelists consisted of Andrew Byers (Atlantic Tech Transfer Program),Matthew Polinsky (Manitoba Tech Transfer Program), Julie Ferland (Quebec Provincial Apiculturist) and Medhat Nasr (Saskatchewan Tech Transfer Program). The panelist discussed trends in Varroa mite levels within each province/region and spoke to mite treatment options. An important message that came from the panel discussion is the importance of frequent and representative monitoring, and to consider that current established economic thresholds are conservative with lengthening beekeeping season. Beekeepers should now consider the need for chemical treatment if mite levels are at or exceeding 1%.

Thank you to all of the organizers of the first workshop of this series. The ATTTA team will share with the Atlantic industry when future webinars are scheduled.

Connecting with ATTTA Specialists

If you’d like to connect with ATTTA specialists or learn more about our program, you can:

visit our website at https://www.perennia.ca/portfolio-items/honey-bees/

Email attta@perennia.ca