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.
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