Scientific Beekeeping

Beekeeper-funded Research A Test of Thermal Treatment for Varroa Part 2 First published in ABJ April 2021 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com Last month I covered the theory of using thermal treatment (hyperthermia) to control varroa, and some of the designs of devices on the market.  I’d like to now answer some questions regarding thermal treatment. I The post A Test of…

calculation of nosema spore counts using hemacytometer Randy Oliver, ScientificBeekeeping.com From Cantwell 1970, assuming that each sampled bee is diluted with 1 mL of water.         Average spore count per bee is then: Average count per single small square x 4,000,000. Total count per large square (16 small squares) x 250,000. Or The post Calculation for nosema…

Beekeeper-funded Research A Test of Thermal Treatment for Varroa: Part 1 First published in ABJ March 2021 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com   Last month I wrapped up the report on my testing of mite treatments suitable for application during a honey flow.  A number of beekeepers have also asked me about using thermal treatment.  I found The post A Test of…

Crystals from oxalic acid vaporization on bees’ bodies Randy Oliver February 2020 In order to determine how OA crystals settled on bees’ bodies after an OA vaporization, I set a graduated microscope slide and a number of dead bees under a 16-oz inverted plastic cup.  I injected OA vapor briefly into a hole at the The post Oxalic crystals on…

Mite Control While Honey is on the Hive Part 4 First Published in ABJ February 2021 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com   In the three previous articles in this series, I showed the results of my field trial of summer mite treatments. Now let’s go a little further with extended-release oxalic acid (OAE).   A Note on The post Mite Control While…

Mite Control While Honey is on the Hive Part 3 First Published in ABJ January 2021 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com   In my two previous articles in this series, I showed the formal results of my field trial comparing summer mite treatments.  We also have additional findings from other yards in which we applied extended-release OA.  The post Mite Control While…

Mite Control While Honey is on the Hive Part 2 First Published in ABJ December 2020 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com   Last month I covered the setup of my field trial of summertime mite treatments, including experimental extended-release oxalic acid in glycerin.  I’ll now share the results.     The Results and Discussion Due to space limitations, The post Mite Control While…

Mite Control While Honey is on the Hive Part 1 First Published in ABJ November 2020 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com   During our hot, dry California summers most of our nectar flow may be over by early July, but if we’re lucky, our hives may still put on some harvestable honey.  In any case, to control The post Mite Control While…

Refining the Mite Wash: Part 3 Dislodgement, Precipitation, and Separation Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in September 2020 In my last article I showed how mites will quickly drop off the bees’ bodies if immersed in 91% alcohol.  But there are still more steps remaining to separate the mites from the sample of The post Refining the Mite…

Refining the Mite Wash : Part 4 Comparing the Release Agents Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in September 2020 As I tested different release agents for varroa monitoring, I was often surprised by the results, which then raised new questions about why some worked better than others. So I ran a number of The post Refining the Mite…