SIBA Bee Blog

Initial assessment of powdered sugar vs. alcohol wash in recovery of Varroa from adult honey bees

Initial assessment of powdered sugar vs. alcohol wash in recovery of Varroa from adult honey bees

Contributed by Jim Orem and Kristen Giesting The goal of this study is to determine the effectiveness of using powdered sugar to detect varroa mites on adult honey bees. The standard protocol used by many beekeepers is an alcohol wash, which is said to be more effective, but also requires sacrificing 300 bees. Some bee…

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SIBA General Meeting

SIBA General Meeting

The monthly general SIBA meeting that occurs the third Thursday of each month. Check the specific date to get the meeting topic.

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Guest Post: Bees and Beneficial Insects

By Sam at OrganicLesson.com In the past decade, the plight of the honey bees has become a very important issue, and rightly so, as they play an essential part in the growth of crops and produce. Many do not realize that bees aren't just there to produce honey. They also play an important part in…

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SIBA Makes Mite Washing kits to Raffle off at Summer Meetings

Submitted by J. Morgan A group of SIBA members, advocating the importance of beekeepers knowing their mite infestations, gathered together to create our version of a mite wash kit. It's a fact that most colony deaths are the result of varroa mites. Mites secretly build when the beekeeper isn't looking causing not only colony mortality,…

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