Colony Management

Coordination of different bee management practices to maximize the long term health and productivity of honey bee colonies.

At Medivet we believe that there is no single way to make bees healthy and productive. Healthy bees require integration of a number of bee health products and management practices, called: Integrated Colony Management. The key principles of integrated colony management are:

Manage All Diseases and Parasites
Diseases and parasites together will reduce colony productivity and vigor. The presence of one disease or parasite can increase the chance that other diseases and parasites establish in colonies. For example, studies have shown that infestation with varroa mites results in more rapid growth of tracheal mite populations.
Combinations of diseases and parasites result in faster and more severe colony decline.
Dual infestation with tracheal and varroa mites results in faster colony collapse than infestation with only one mite. In addition, there is mounting evidence that colonies infested with both mites and Nosema are impacted more severely than colonies having only one of the two diseases. Research has proven that diseases and parasites are more damaging in combination than on their own. In addition, when varroa mites are present the likelihood of various viruses developing is great, ie. deformed wing virus, Kashmir virus.

Solution: Don’t just treat for one problem! Manage all diseases and parasites in your colonies.

Integrate Control Options
Integrate the full range of available treatments. Use all available and effective treatment options to manage pests and avoid tolerance of the disease or parasite to treatments. Alternate chemical mite control products with organic mite control products . Integreate Medivet treatments with non-chemical alternatives:

  • Use disease or parasite resistant bee stocks.
  • Prevent the spread of diseases through the movement of bee equipment or contamination of healthy colonies with diseased comb or hive tools.
  • Decontaminate or destroy equipment from disease infected colonies.

Reduce Stress
Beekeeping can be stressful for bees. Overwintering, spring build up, colony division, swarming, moving colonies, inspections and harvesting honey directly influences bee health by reducing worker life span and colony population, resulting in increased colony susceptibility to diseases and parasites.

Six steps to reducing colony stress:

  1. Nutrition. Make sure bees have adequate honey and protein to supply energy and promote brood rearing. Supplement with syrup or pollen when necessary. Good nutrition helps bees overcome other types of colony stress.
  2. Select a good colony site. Dry, well-drained sites with good nectar and pollen flows are important to reducing overall colony stress.
  3. Prevent Swarming. The reduction in worker population and break in brood rearing following swarming puts considerable strain on a colony’s resources. Practice swarm prevention.
  4. Overwinter strong colonies. Colonies large worker populations and adequate stores of honey and pollen to survive winter and grow in early spring. Provide insulation where necessary. Do not attempt to overwinter weak or marginal colonies.
  5. Prevent overheating. Ensure colonies have access to water sources during hot times of the year and colonies are well ventilated.
  6. Avoid pesticides. Pesticide applied where bees forage reduces colony populations and can shorten worker life spans. Avoid using pesticides around the bee yard and have local property owners notify you if they plan to use pesticides.

Colony Inspection
Look for yourself! Colony inspections ensure colonies are healthy and remain healthy.
Colonies should be inspected at least three times per year for diseases, parasites and other health problems. Consult with local state and provincial apiculturist for specific inspection guidelines.