Keeping bees healthy in the UK means, above all else, managing varroa. The mite and its associated viruses — deformed wing virus in particular — remain the most common cause of colony loss for both hobbyists and professionals, and yet the advice on managing them continues to evolve as resistance patterns shift and new research emerges. This category covers varroa monitoring, treatment options, and the evidence behind them, alongside posts on other diseases and pests that affect honey bees in the UK.
The aim is not to repeat the official guidance — the National Bee Unit does that well — but to examine it critically, to look at what the research actually shows, and to consider how it applies at the scale most beekeepers are working at. Posts here tend to be analytical rather than prescriptive, because hive health rarely comes down to a single cause or a single fix. If you want to understand what is happening to your bees rather than just react to it, this is the right place.
I spotted an article about some interesting honey bee research (details below) in the excellent Beekeepers Quarterly (BKQ) magazine. Not everyone reads that, despite its excellence, so I thought I’d write a little about the research. The use of “Chemical-Free” in the headline refers to any chemicals, including organic acids and thymol (which are, of … Read more
There are a growing number of people who believe that treating honey bees to remove varroa mites is bad, whereas non-treatment is good. This is literally the opposite of what government funded experts in bee health say. How can this be so? How can some beekeeping associations actually encourage the idea that not treating for … Read more
Yes, I’m going to go on about varroa mites again. What percentage of beekeepers carry out an alcohol wash on their colonies to understand the mite loads of those colonies? I reckon it’s a low number, maybe below 5%. A small, but possibly growing slice of the people who don’t monitor with an alcohol wash, … Read more
I have returned to Manchester from three days ‘down South’ in London and Surrey, having had my eye surgery, which was a great success. The surgeon said something like “Stephen’s perfect” when describing the state of my eye, post surgery. I suppose it could have been “Stephen’s is perfect” (referring to his work rather than … Read more
Our Regional Bee Inspector, Mark McLoughlin, hosted delegates from the various Northern BKAs at the York Biotech Campus on 11th November. The day featured presentations about new research updates from the NBU by experts in their fields. I was lucky enough to attend, along with Pam and Stuart Hatton. Sadly, our fourth member, Graham Royle, … Read more
Frightening Bee Virus Is Aptly Named Recent Reader Poll Thank you to those kind readers who responded to my poll about the greatest challenges facing you as beekeepers. The issues of swarming and failed/missing queens topped the poll, but for a long time, the leader was Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV), which ended up in … Read more
Risky To Go Against NBU Advice The July 2022 issue of the BBKA News features not one, not two, but THREE articles on treatment-free beekeeping. That’s three out of eight (37.5%). Given that this is an association consisting of primarily hobby beekeepers with less than five hives each, I find it odd that so much … Read more
How Many Varroa Mites In The Hive? The point of this article is to encourage beekeepers to carry out mite washes at some point in the season and treat colonies with oxalic acid every winter. I missed the winter treatment on an apiary last year, and the impact has been significant. Every mite alive in … Read more