Newfoundland's Varroa Action Plan with Dr. David Peck and Peter Armitage (S3, E30)
12/21/20 • 42 min
1 Listener
On today’s episode, we talk with Newfoundland beekeeper, Peter Armitage and Dr. David Peck, a Professor from Cornell University, David Peck. Those of us south of the Canadian border tend to mispronounce the name of that big Island off the east coast of Quebec and just north of Prince Edward Island. We tend to slur it, saying ‘Newfundlund’ instead. But that is wrong. How do you say it right? “Understand New Found Land”. Onomatopoeia to the rescue! (One of the cohost’s still can’t get it right...)
The good people who live on Newfoundland Island have managed to keep this rather inhospitable island completely free of Varroa mites. Not one mite. And Newfoundlanders are determined to keep it that way, using their Varroa Action Plan.
There’s only one way to get to Newfoundland and that’s by boat, so they have some control on what gets onto their island. But they are in no way taking any chances. They have established the Plan to keep varroa off the island, educate the beekeepers all about varroa, and continuously monitor colonies for any accidental, or even illegal, incursion.
Learn about the Newfoundland Varroa Action Plan and more on this informative episode!
Links and websites mentioned in this podcast:
- Newfoundland Varroa Action Plan - https://www.nlbeekeeping.com/varroa-action-plan
- Research paper detailing how varroa will transfer from flower to bee - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0167798
- YouTube video of a mite vaulting onto a bee from a flower petal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oij1HOxD3iU
______________
Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com
This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!
We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum.
_______________
We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: [email protected]
Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com
Thank you for listening!
Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"
v2
On today’s episode, we talk with Newfoundland beekeeper, Peter Armitage and Dr. David Peck, a Professor from Cornell University, David Peck. Those of us south of the Canadian border tend to mispronounce the name of that big Island off the east coast of Quebec and just north of Prince Edward Island. We tend to slur it, saying ‘Newfundlund’ instead. But that is wrong. How do you say it right? “Understand New Found Land”. Onomatopoeia to the rescue! (One of the cohost’s still can’t get it right...)
The good people who live on Newfoundland Island have managed to keep this rather inhospitable island completely free of Varroa mites. Not one mite. And Newfoundlanders are determined to keep it that way, using their Varroa Action Plan.
There’s only one way to get to Newfoundland and that’s by boat, so they have some control on what gets onto their island. But they are in no way taking any chances. They have established the Plan to keep varroa off the island, educate the beekeepers all about varroa, and continuously monitor colonies for any accidental, or even illegal, incursion.
Learn about the Newfoundland Varroa Action Plan and more on this informative episode!
Links and websites mentioned in this podcast:
- Newfoundland Varroa Action Plan - https://www.nlbeekeeping.com/varroa-action-plan
- Research paper detailing how varroa will transfer from flower to bee - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0167798
- YouTube video of a mite vaulting onto a bee from a flower petal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oij1HOxD3iU
______________
Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com
This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!
We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum.
_______________
We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: [email protected]
Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com
Thank you for listening!
Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"
v2
Previous Episode
Honey Testing - QSI America with Tobias Wiezorek (S3, E29)
QSI–America is a Germany based company that is in the business of testing honey for anything. Their US lab in Corona, California is led by Tobias Wiezorek, and employs about 35 scientists looking at the biochemical, microbiology, chemical and pollen aspects of the honey and wax samples. They can perform many tests, including moisture content, the presence of antibiotics or pesticides, the HMF content to determine if the sample has been overheated, sugar ratios to tell if it’s a blend, pure or something else, they can identify the pollens found in a sample to identify the source and/or country of origin, presence of GMOs, and heavy metals.
The sophistication of these tests continues to grow as the people who are in the business of adulterating honey also get more sophisticated.
Honey is a good indicator the quality of the environment the bees who make the sample have to live in. QSI-America’s testing is indicating almost every sample has some level of glyphosate in it (and there is no level of that chemical that is allowed), and it turns out, pretty much across the board, urban honeys are cleaner than those from the farm.
Testing isn’t just for the largest beekeeper. Anyone can send in a sample. It takes 5 days and when done, you can claim to have the best honey around and provide the documentation to prove it!
Listen to this informative episode today!
Links and websites mentioned in this podcast:
- QSI-America - https://www.qsi-america.com
- News Story about the Destroyed Green River College Apiary - https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/bear-destroys-beehives-used-research-local-college/HZM6SBDC5VELHFX6NVPYCA65RM/
- Green River College Bee Yard Assistance - https://www.gofundme.com/f/bees-in-the-039burbs-apiary-repair
______________
Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com
This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!
We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum.
_______________
We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: [email protected]
Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com
Thank you for listening!
Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"
Next Episode
Holiday Replay: Dr. Sam Ramsey & The Varroa Mite (S3, E31)
On this special Holiday Replay, we bring back one of our favorite episodes from the first season, when we invited Dr. Sam Ramsey to the podcast to talk about the Varroa Mite.
Sam Ramsey is a life long entomologist. His interests in all things insects started in his youth along with his parent's encouragement and his siblings displeasure! He continued his studies in college (Cornell) and just recently completed his PhD this year at The University of Maryland under Dr. Dennis vanEngelsdorp.
Dr. Ramsey made headlines earlier this year with the publication of his doctoral research on the feeding behaviors of the varroa destructor mite on the honey bee. In this episode of the podcast, we discuss with Dr. Ramsey why he studied what was thought to be a closed subject and proved that the varroa was not feeding primarily on the bee's blood, but rather a liver-like organ called the 'Fat Body'.
This is a fascinating discussion that all beekeepers should listen to. There are many interesting facts, that run counter to popular press and education.
Following are the links mentioned in this podcast:
- Dr. Ramsey's website: https://www.drsammy.online
- 3-Minute YouTube Video on the Varroa Mite findings: https://youtu.be/Fyfyj-2O47Q
- GoFundMe site for Dr. Ramsey's new research on the Tropilaelaps mite in Asia: https://www.gofundme.com/fundhoneybeeresearch
- Dr. Ramsey's ground breaking research on the varroa, published in January, 2019: https://www.pnas.org/content/116/5/1792
- For fun and diverse thinking, Dr. Ramsey's 'jazzy' departure from American Idol: https://youtu.be/UWwuxlkm7_4
______________
Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com
This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!
We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum.
_______________
We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: [email protected]
Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com
Thank you for listening!
Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/beekeeping-today-podcast-49160/newfoundlands-varroa-action-plan-with-dr-david-peck-and-peter-armitage-10557890"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to newfoundland's varroa action plan with dr. david peck and peter armitage (s3, e30) on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy