A Honeybee Overview 



David C. Sorensen 



In the last few years the media has given a lot of atten 

 tion and publicity to the honeybee Apis mellifera. Not 

 native to the United States, the honeybee was brought 

 from Europe in the 1600s. To many people, the honey- 

 bee is just another bee that stings, causes pain, and, 

 to a few who are allergic to the venom, is a cause of 

 death. To farmers and more educated consumers 

 the honeybee is a very important insect that 

 is primarily used to pollinate crops. Honey- 

 bee pollination activities add an estimated 

 $15 billion to the value of United States 

 food crops each year. The loss of the 

 honeybee in the United States would 

 create a dramatic impact before even 

 considering the value of other bee prod 

 ucts (such as honey) with sales of 150 mil- 

 lion a year. 



In the mid-80s, honeybee colonies were dis- 

 appearing in alarming numbers. A little eight-legged 

 microscopic bug (tracheal mite) living in the tracheal 

 tubes of the bee was causing the bee to suffocate. 

 Then in the late 80s, another )this time an external) 

 eight-legged bug (varroa mite) was found sucking the 

 blood and deforming the undeveloped bee in the 

 cell. 



At about the same time (1988), the term "killer" 

 bee was invented by the news media to attract atten- 

 tion of the public to an aggressive, but not inherently 

 hostile, bee. The sting of the African bee is no more 

 venomous than that of the honeybee, which has lived 

 in North America for 300 years. 



Over the past 30 years, people in South America 

 have learned to live with African Honeybee (AHB). 

 People there stay away from honeybee swarms and 

 colonies and leave the handling of bees to the prop- 

 erly trained beekeeper. The African bees have not 

 advanced throughout the United States as fast as au- 

 thorities once thought. The prognosis of their future 

 in New Hampshire is still out, but we do know they 

 can survive our cold temperatures. 



One of the latest methods to identify AHB is the 

 temper tester (or stingometer), which records the 

 number of times disturbed bees hit a target. A ge- 

 neticist is also mapping the genes of European hon- 

 eybees. This may allow the genetic engineering of a 

 superior bee that could outbreed the African bee. 



Several United States chemical companies have 

 developed materials for control of the troublesome 

 mites, but in most cases there are limiting conditions 



for their use. Some of these materials may build mite 

 resistance, can't be used during a honey flow, may 

 carry over in the wax, or are only effective above cer- 

 tain temperatures And this is not mentioning the ex- 

 tra cost in supplies and labor to install. 



In 1995, a USDA entomologist tested natural plant 

 extracts which killed both of the mites. A blend of 

 plant oils, primarily thymol and eucalyptus oil, 

 kills fungi, bacteria, and other organisms, as 

 well as mites. The major advantage of 

 these plant oils is that they have low 

 mammalian toxicity. 



About the same time, another USDA 

 researcher tested smoke from 40 differ- 

 ent plants. A desert shrub called creosote 

 bush, native to Mexico and southwestern 

 United States, when used in smoke, was 

 found to knock off mites and kill them. Dried 

 grapefruit leaves were also found to be effective Re- 

 searchers are still trying to identify and isolat chemi- 

 cals that act as miticides. 



In February, 1998, a Minnesota Extension specialist 

 found a way to breed honeybees which can detect 

 the presence of the mites on immature bees (brood) 

 and remove the parasitized brood from the colony. 

 These hygienic bee colonies can remove up to 70 

 percent of infested brood, which interrupts the mite's 

 reproductive cycle. 



In New Hampshire, it is estimated that about 10 

 percent of the bee colonies do not make it through 

 the winter, and this is mostly due to mites. The less 

 knowledgeable beekeepers continue to lose better 

 than 50 percent of their colonies. Here in New Hamp- 

 shire, we now have honeybees that are more toler- 

 ant to the tracheal mite, but the varroa, unless 

 treated, can still cause large losses. Sooner or later, a 

 honeybee which can live with both mites will be 

 found, perhaps simply through survival of the fittest. 

 Meanwhile, the wild honeybee population is at its 

 lowest level in several years. Farmers who grow crops 

 requiring pollination need to be concerned about 

 having enough bees available, either through having 

 a high population of bumblebees or renting honey- 

 bee colonies as insurance. 



A great deal of interest in identifying and raising 

 pollen bees commercially has taken place in recent 

 years. Bumblebees are now being raised and sold 40- 

 in-a-box for greenhouse pollination. They tend to 

 work longer hours and don't mind toiling in the rain 



APRIL. MAY. 1998 



