jan-feb-2021

IN YOUR ORCHARD behavior, check out Field Specialist Rob Snyder’s recent blog or watch our webinar on the topic on our website, beeinformed.org . South Central – Cade Houston, Field Specialist Unlike the results from the Pacific Northwest region, we found higher incidences of EFB in the South Central Region in early 2020 compared to 201 9. Most beekeepers began with low Varroa loads in almonds but saw a significant increase in mite numbers as early as July. Early action to control Varroa levels often translated in lower mite numbers later in the year. North Central Region – Nelson Williams, Field Specialist This year Varroa loads were a bit higher than 2019, starting as early as February in California during almond pollination. However, colony sizes were on par with those observed last year. By the end of almond pollination, we saw a lot of chalkbrood. For some operations this is a recurrent, historical issue, but for others it did clear up as the season progressed. This seems to have negatively affected colony size and honey crop yields. Aside from Chalkbrood, there were no other major disease issues. Don’t miss BIP’s recent blog for a primer on Chalkbrood Disease. Varroa loads varied, depending on the operation, distance and density of neighboring colonies. Overall, operations that started with low Varroa loads coming out of almonds remained low throughout the season. The Bee Informed Partnership is a small but impactful non-profit organization. In 2020 alone, BIP’s Tech Transfer Team collectively inspected over 1 3,000 colonies, put close to 150,000 miles on their work trucks and performed 1 0,000 alcohol washes in 1 8 states! Nelson Williams, North Central Field Specialist, inspecting colonies in North Dakota. Photo Credit: Matt Hoepfinger, October 2020 New Field Specialist in North Dakota ? Photo Credit: Matt Hoepfinger, October 2020 Anne Marie Fauvel, Tech Transfer Team Coordinator, The Bee Informed Partnership If you find value in these Bee Box articles, the services the Field Specialists provide to the commercial beekeepers around the country and the many programs Bee Informed Partnership offers, we would like to invite you to support BIP with a donation. To do so, please visit beeinformed.org/support. If you have any comments or suggestions in regards to these Bee Box articles, please contact Anne Marie Fauvel at fauvelam @ umd.edu, we would love your feedback! 3 0 A L M O N D F A C T S