Bees, Mites and the Commons

Bees, Mites and the Commons

Beekeeping is becoming popular. While experts graciously welcome the rising national interest in beekeeping as a hobby, they warn that novices may be inadvertently putting their hives — and other hives for miles around — in danger by not keeping the bee mite population in check.

Experts. Novices. Garage startups. The Commons and who would order it.

Many hobbyists avoid mite treatments, preferring a natural approach, says Marla Spivak, a bee expert at the University of Minnesota. But that is often a deadly decision for the bees, she says.

National surveys by the Bee Informed Partnership show backyard beekeepers are taking the greatest losses nationally, and those losses are often the result of an out-of-control infestation of the varroa mite, says Spivak.

Varroa mites arrived in the United States nearly 30 years ago, and they've become a big problem in recent years.

But untreated hives can spread mites and viruses to other hives within several miles. Healthy bees will invade a dying hive to steal its honey. When they do, they carry the mites with them back to their hives.

There is a project underway to favor genetically bees that "groom," the grooming finds and kills the mites. the more aggressive African bees are more resistant to the mites, as well.

African killer bees. Great.