Text and photos by Tina L. Lavallee | June 2005
- Introduction
- Increased Maintenance for Beekeepers
- New Blood: Key to Shortage
- How to Start Your Own Buzz
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Increased Maintenance For Beekeepers
Most domestic honeybees are no more immune to the Varroa mite than their wild cousins, so beekeepers also experienced significant losses in the early years of the invasion. It is now recommended that hives be inspected at least five times a year and treated whenever mites are found. This increased maintenance has changed the face of North Carolina beekeeping. In the past, many farmers and gardeners kept one or two hives on the outskirts of their property that they opened just once a year to remove honey. “The bees essentially took care of themselves,” says George Byrum. “But the mites put an end to that.” Mites crept unnoticed into these lightly-managed hobby colonies, making them among the first to go. Often the bees died without any visible sign to the keeper, who simply found an empty hive box. Discouraged, many of these hobby beekeepers never replaced their bees. “The Varroa mite showed people the difference between keeping bees and being a beekeeper,” says Mr. Byrum.
Today, the only honeybee colonies that continue to thrive are those in the care of vigilant individuals who keep the Varroa at bay. Unfortunately, these people are also in short supply. Many of North Carolina’s beekeepers are over the age of 60, and there are few new faces joining their ranks. “North Carolina has a very active beekeeping community,” says Dr. David Tarpy, assistant professor and Extension apiculturist at N. C. State University. “But there just aren’t enough of them.”
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