Farmers are accustomed to feeding and caring for animals, but sometimes it’s difficult to think of honey bees as livestock. After all, they are basically wild creatures for whom we provide temporary shelter in exchange for rent paid in the form of liquid gold.
Phil Craft is a beekeeper, former bee inspector in Kentucky, and the technical advisor for Véto-pharma in the United States. In this article, Phil explains why Spring hive checks are important to assess the condition of the hives, and how to take steps promptly if problems exist.
Did you know that in Europe, the treatments to combat Varroa destructor are registered as veterinary medicines? For instance, the manufacturing of Apivar is strictly supervised by the European and national authorities.
Varroa EasyCheck was developed by Véto-pharma in 2016 to provide an accurate estimation of the mite infestation levels in a hive with the alcohol wash method. Recent investigations in our apiary showed that the Varroa EasyCheck can be used equally with the sugar roll and CO2 injection methods as well.
