Nick Mawby, Author at BIBBA

Starting on Your Varroa Resistance Journey

Some treated colonies would be able to manage varroa themselves but their varroa resistant traits are bring supressed as the treatments supress the varroa for them. But the majority will be mite susceptible colonies that would perish without the treatments.

Identifying Varroa Resistant Bees

The key observations in a varroa resistant colony are uncapping of worker brood, chewing out of infected pupae resulting in pupal exoskeletons on varroa insert boards, resulting in low mite counts as the breeding cycles of the mites are interrupted.

SICAMM

©SICAMM

an International Federation whose primary aims are the conservation, protection and promotion of the European Dark Bee

Mike Andrews

Tropilaelaps

©MAGGIE GILL

In areas where both Tropilaelaps and Varroa are present it has been reported that Tropilaelaps are a far more damaging pest than Varroa.
Both Varroa and Tropilaelaps have been shown to vector viruses when they feed and in one study 100% of Tropilaelaps mites examined harboured deformed wing virus (DWV) compared to only 81.8% of Varroa.

European Beekeeping Association (EBA)

Membership is open to national BKAs and any organisation that represents beekeepers and works in the interests of bees, beekeeping and consumers.

Code of Conduct

Varroa Resistance through Bee Improvement

On 15th February 2025 BIBBA held a conference which recruited the leading experts, both scientific and practical, in varroa resistance

Steve McGrath

Distributing Apis mellifera mellifera

Ideally all beekeepers would raise their own queens from local stock, gradually improving them. However, there are many beekeepers who live in areas with a high density of imports where it is impossible for them to get their queens mated with local drones. These beekeepers currently have the option of buying in queens form the…