For the latest updates on Bees Diseases that affect Honey Bees in the UK, check the FERA Website Beebase.

https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/index.cfm

This is the latest brochure from the NBU about Small Hive Beetle.

https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/public/News/news.cfm#80

Ken Gorman has kindly let us reproduce his varroa notes
from a recent edition of the North Bucks BKA Newsletter

Treatment for varroa
This table appears in the Varroa Booklet published by DEFRA. It is a very simple guide to Varroa Treatments, and the best time of year to apply them

Some form of treatment needs to be applied in August and September. It is important when preparing the colonies for treatment that the varroa populations within the colonies have been assessed. Some form of count needs to he done. I recently received an email from a highly organised Bedfordshire beekeeper, who had just been inspected for foul brood and who had seen varroa damage on bees. The most obvious result of varroa attacks is then bees with threadbare wings are seen, a result of varroa damage within the cell while the bees were developing. fThe more that such bees are seen the greater the varroa population

You may still have some developing drone brood within the colonies and some of this can be pulled out with an uncapping fork or similar implement. If developing varroa are seen on the bodies of the pupae then there is a potentially damaging varroa population within the colony. Again, the more pupae seen with developing varroa on them, the more serious the problem. It is also possible to see varroa mites attached to bees, although I find this hard to do.

The best way of making an assessment is by collecting the fall-out of debris from a colony over a period of time. The simplest way of doing this is by pushing a sheet of stiff card into the entrance The card should be cut slightly smaller than the size of the floor. Pull it out 48 hours later and count the number of adult varroa that have dropped onto it. This isn't a foolproof method, as the worker bees can he removing some of this dross through the entrance. Better to have some form of screen which the debris of the hive can fall through, to be collected on a cardhoard or similar insert, which cannot be accessed br the bees for cleaning. Leave it in position for a week

What does this fall-out consist of?   There will be nibblings of brood cappings resulting from bees hatching, crystals of honey, pollen, tiny flakes of beeswax, parts of bees, dead varroa mites. If you have a hand lens these categories of detritus can be seen more easily. It is surprising what turns up!

The mites can be sought by probing the collection. An easier method is to place all of the fall-out into a yoghurt pot containing some methylated spirits. Bee parts and varroa mites float, the rest sinks. The white surface of a yoghurt pot reflects light upwards and makes it easier to see the mites, which float to the edge.
Count up these mites. Count them up and divide the number by the number of days that the collection was made below the hive.
Using the varroa calculator supplied by MAFF a few years ago, calculate the varroa population as follows:

 May to August: Multiply the averaged daily mite fall by 30.
Example:
70 mites were collected over a period of 14 days. Divide 70 by 14 = 5 . 5x30 = 150 mites in total.

September/'October: Multiply the averaged daily mite fall by 100.
The above example would now give a mite population of 500.

 Left untreated mite populations at this level might allow a colony to winter but would lead to a population explosion of mites the following spring

 The simplest treatment to apply is Apiguard. By itself an additional treatment may he necessary The only one available is oxalic acid. This has to be applied when there is little or no brood within the colony and then only in strictly controlled dosages. I would be pleased to hear from anyone who has tried this chemical.

More details to follow later in the year.

 
Notes on other problems yet to be supplied.
If you feel able to supply useful notes on these, please do so and we will include your information here.


Acarapis woodii, tracheal mite
Acute Bee Paralysis virus
AFB (American Foul Brood)      MUST BE NOTIFIED TO FERA
Amoeba
Bee Viruses in general
Braula coeca
Chalk Brood fungus
Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus
EFB (European Foul Brood)   MUST BE NOTIFIED TO FERA
Nosema
Sac Brood Virus
Small Hive Beetle
Slow Paralysis Virus
Tropilaeleps clarae
Varroa
Wax Moths
Woodpeckers