Steven & Angelia Coy Wiggins, MS www.coybeecompany.com
Russian Honey Bees & the RHBA
What makes Russian bees special? Varroa Mites & Mite Resistance
Russians bees are: Resistant to Varroa mites Resistant to Tracheal mites Resistant to American Foulbrood 150 years of natural selection Good honey producers Excellent at overwintering
History of the Russian Queens 1994 USDA-ARS Scientist Tom Rinderer went to Russia looking for Varroa resistant bees 1997 2002 ARS imported +300 Russian queens and selected and improved the stock 1999 Set up test yards with 3 cooperators: Manley Bigalk, Hubert Tubbs, and Steve Bernard (2000 Charlie Harper) 2008 Russian Honey Bee Breeders Association, Inc. was formed
Russian Bees are unique They are the only honey bee in the U.S. with a dedicated breeding group
Russian Honey Bee Breeders Association "The primary purpose of the corporation will be to maintain and improve the genetic lines of Russian honey bees through propagation and selective breeding." www.russianbreeders.org
Russian Bees Have An Organization That Maintains Their Genetic Purity. A group of 12 individual beekeepers whose goal is to work together to maintain the Russian stock and improve its commercial value for honey production, as well as resistance to diseases and pests Primarily Varroa and Tracheal mites
Isolated yards flooded with Russian drones Block A Block B Block C Breeding Scheme
Russian Stock Identification??? Genetic markers are used to identify a stock-specific fingerprint of the Russian honey bee. Unknown Genetic tests to determine likelihood of. Given as Probability of assignment (Russian) Non-Russian 80 % positive bees are 100% Russian Russian
You have probably heard that. Russian bees are too aggressive Russian bees swarm more than other bees I heard they don t make any honey They don t have to be treated for mites All the queens are black and too hard to find You can t re-queen Italian hives with Russian queens They don t brood up a soon as Italians You can t pollinate Almonds with them Russian bees overwinter in small clusters They don t build up fast enough and you miss the honey flow They aren t really resistant to mites
You probably also heard that Hillary was going to win.
It s NOT difficult to re-queen with Russian queens. 1. Leave queen in cage for 3-5 days 2. Remove the old queen and immediately place the queen cage with the candy end still covered (masking tape works well) between frames where there is brood and bees. 3. After 48hrs go back into the hive and remove the candy cover Or go back into the hive on the fifth day and open the cage and permit the queen to walk out onto the top bars and enter the hive. Caution : she might fly away 4. If the caged queen is dead when you go back; it is most likely because there is another (second) queen in the hive. In that case; you need to remove the second queen and repeat the above procedure.
Any Swarming is too much. Just like all bees swarming is the natural inclination of a young colony. Controlling it is a hive management issue. If the hive swarms then you probably missed the signs.
Russian bees are not aggressive?
Russian queens vary in color.
Mites
Mechanisms of Resistance to Varroa Mites by Russian Honey Bees Low proportions of brood infested Extended phoretic period of Varroa mites Higher proportion of damaged mites A strong expression of hygiene
Mechanisms of Resistance to Varroa Mites by Russian Honey Bees Fewer multiply in infested cells in both worker and drone brood Higher proportion of non-reproductive mites Decreased number of progeny and number of viable female offspring Combs built by RHB contribute to decreased reproductive success
They Are Not Mite Proof NO Mite Treatment Water proof vs. Water resistant 10.0 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 % mites April % Mites Sept Percent Infestation
Varroa Mites in September Montana 2011 1600 1400 1200 1157 1000 800 600 400 457 Bee Mites Brood Mites 200 0 275 Italian 144 Russian
Percentage Infestation Percentage Infestation of Mites on Adult Bees Montana 2011 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 a 0.42 b 0.26 a a 4.6 May September Febuary b 2.1 8.5 b 5.7 Italian Russian
% Infestation % Infestation Infestation Parameters -2015 14% Adults 14% Brood a 12% a 12% 10% 10% 8% 8% a 6% 6% ab 4% a ab b b 4% b b b 2% b 2% 0% June September I-Control I-Irrad R-Control R-Irrad 0% June September I-Control I-Irrad R-Control R-Irrad Initial adult infestation = 1.68% (April 21, 2015)
Total Mites Weekly Growth rate of Varroa Mites in Russian and Italian Colonies DE GUZMAN ET AL.: V. destructor POPULATIONS IN RUSSIAN HONEY BEE COLONIES (2007) 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 2001 Italian 2002 Italian 2003 Italian 2001 Russian 2002 Russian 2003 Russian 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Baton Rouge Bee Lab Average Infestation Italian = 3,969 mites Russian = 1,714 mites 35 colonies each NO Treatment Italian 15% mites Russian 4% mites There were not enough mites in the Russian hives to finish the experiment
Coy s Honey Farm collaboration California and Arkansas Average Infestation Italian = 1501 mites Russian = 307 mites Too Few Mites in Russian colonies for Analysis
Honey Production
CBC Honey Crop Second crop for 2015 splits Splits made in late March 1 st crop pulled in late June 2 nd crop pulled in late August
Honey Production In Montana 160 140 120 100 80 86 Harvested 93 60 40 20 46 Brood Honey 48 0 Italian Russian
4000 Honey Production By Treatment In UGA Study 3500 3000 3222 3078 3359 2500 2000 1500 1000 660 1104 2053 2005 2006 500 0 Italian (Control) Italian (Chemical) Russian (Screen BB)
How long do your hives live?
Percentage Colony Survival and Supersedure Montana 2011 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 69 71 56 57 Italian Russian 30 20 10 0 Survival Original Queen
Percent of Colonies Dead After 2 Years 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 72 61 % Dead Italian (Control) Italian (Chemical) Russian (Screen BB) 39 Italian (Control) Italian (Chemical) Russian (Screen BB)
Baton Rouge Bee Lab April 2015 March 2016 20 Number of colonies survived 1 year 18 16 15 14 12 10 8 6 4 3 2 0 Italian Russian
Percent Surviving Preliminary results of ongoing treatment free study 70% 60% 50% a 56.5% Percentage Survived July 22, 2016 - Feb 2,2017 203 days 40% 30% 20% 22.2% b bc 16.7% 10% c 0.0% 0% Russian Hybrid 1 Hybrid 2 Italian Honey bee stock Original infestation 2.2% 0.4% 2.4% 1.8%
Pollination
Frames of Bees Montana 2011 18 16 14 12 a 15.27 b 13.72 10 8 6 4 a 7.4 a 8.18 a 8.16 a 7.47 a 7.34 a 6.6 Italian Russian 2 0 May Sept Nov Feb
Resistance to other pests American Foul Brood I have not treated for AFB in >10 years Small Hive Beetle Russian colonies have fewer SHB than Italian colonies Tracheal mites - they have maintained resistance Nosema difficult to predict levels - evidence to support genetic resistance in Russian bees but more research is needed
Sub-family-level resistance to Nosema 1.00E+09 Russian bees Paternity analysis Resistant Resistant Russian bees Nosema/bee (log scale) 1.00E+08 1.00E+07 1.00E+06 1.00E+05 1.00E+04 1.00E+03 1.00E+02 1.00E+01 Resistant 1.00E+00 Resistant Subfamily
High temperature shortens the developmental period of SHB. Room temp Incubator Colder climates - inhibit SHB population development. Warmer climates - accelerate population development and may reach levels that damage colonies.
May 02 May 05 May 25 Jun 03 Jun 30 Jul 25 Aug 01 Aug 15 Nov 10 Feb 28 Sep 19 # SHB 50 180 a 40 150 Italian Russian a Non-Reducer Reducer 120 30 20 b 90 60 30 0 a b a b a b a b b 10 0 SHB Bees Brood Pollen 2005 2006 Entrance reducers helped regulate SHB population in colonies.
Summary of Flight Activities of RFID-tagged workers Variables Age at first flight (days) Age at last flight (days) Total number of flights Avg. daily flights Flight duration (h) Italian 8.77 ± 0.24 18.24 ± 0.40 25.35 ± 1.40 b 3.25 ± 0.09 b 14.61 ± 0.91 b Russian 8.74 ± 0.27 18.32 ± 0.41 31.33 ± 1.64 a 3.83 ± 0.11 a 17.84 ± 1.06 a P = 0.097 P = 0.409 P = 0.007 P < 0.001 P = 0.012 Non -irradiated 8.66 ± 0.27 b 18.86 ± 0.44 30.65 ± 1.69 3.67 ± 0.11 16.95 ± 1.05 Irradiated 8.83 ± 0.24 a 17.81± 0.38 26.63 ± 1.42 3.45 ± 0.10 15.72 ± 0.95 P = 0.039 P = 0.925 P = 0.16 P = 0.179 P = 0.369
Russians allow you to manage your bees not your mites.
Questions?