IMPACT OF APIARY CONDITION AND BEE EMIGRATION ON VARROA POPULATION GROWTH, HONEY BEE COLONY HEALTH, AND BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1019807
• Grant No.: 2019-68008-29896
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $299,964.00
• Proposal No.: 2018-09133
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2019
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2023
• Grant Year: 2019
• Program Code: [A1701]- Critical Agricultural Research and Extension: CARE

Recipient Organization
UNIV OF MARYLAND
(N/A)
COLLEGE PARK,MD 20742

Performing Department
CMNS-Entomology

Non Technical Summary
Considering honey bees provide essential pollination services for many US crops, consistent colony winter loss rates of 30% over the past decade have real implications for producers of honey bee reliant crops, as well as the apiculture industry. The parasitic mite Varroa destructor, and the viruses it transmits, is the leading cause of colony mortality in the US. Increasingly, beekeepers are reporting difficulty managing Varroa populations. While some of this difficulty is the result of decreasing efficacy of varroacides, preliminary data suggests that Varroa transmission between colonies and apiaries is also a factor. Of particular concern are the 52% of beekeepers who report not using known varroacide treatments to control mite populations. Data from longitudinal monitoring of colonies in sentinel apiaries over the last three years suggest that when colonies managed by these non- treatment beekeepers die, their bees and mites emigrate to new colonies as far as 3 km away. This project aims to quantify the rate of bee emigration between colonies and apiaries, under normal and high mite load conditions. We propose to quantify the effects of bee emigration on individual bee health as well monitor the downstream consequences on colony health. Further, using extensive apiary inspection records, we will identify apiary level risk factors that correlate with higher or lower mite levels. Results from these studies will help hone current Best Management Practices with specific data-derived recommendations to reduce mite pressure at the apiary/landscape level. Reducing mite pressure in colonies almost certainly will result in greater colony survivorship.

Animal Health Component

40%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

60%

Applied

40%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
307	3010	1130	100%

Knowledge Area
307 - Animal Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
3010 - Honey bees;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology;

Keywords

honey bees

varroa

management

transmission

emigration

Goals / Objectives
The primary goal of this effort is to reduce honey bee colony losses caused by the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. This is a critical need as U.S. beekeepers have lost an average of 40% of their colonies each winter over the last 10 years. We propose to reduce colony losses caused by Varroa by fulfilling the following goals and objectives:Long-term goals:1) Understand the modes, drivers, and impacts of inter- and intra-apiary bee emigration on colony health, specifically on Varroa population dynamics and management.2) Identify apiary and landscape level risk factors that influence Varroa populationgrowth and impacts. We will achieve our goals by fulfilling the following objectives.Research:Objective 1. Describe the rate and impact of bee emigration between colonies and apiaries on colony health:A. Compare rate and spatial extent of bee emigration to neighboring colonies and apiaries from healthy vs. diseased colonies.B. Document and quantify impact of emigrating bees on receiving colonies' mite and viral load.C. Determine risk factors associated with an individual bee's likelihood to emigrate.Objective 2. Identify and describe environmental factors that influence mite population growthand quantify each factor's relative risk.Outcomes from this work will inform the following extension efforts:Extension:Objective 3. Engage and encourage more beekeepers to use citizen science to monitor mite population dynamics in their operations via Sentinel Apiary or MiteCheck programs.Objective 4. Develop best Varroa treatment and apiary set-up practices to minimize mite population growth and transmission.Objective 5. Develop messaging to encourage BMP adoption by beekeepers who do not actively manage mite levels.We will achieve these objectives by performing in field experiments, using existing extensive and unanalyzed apiary inspection data, expanding proven citizen scientist projects which monitor mite population growth, and through the dissemination of results throughcollaboration with the Bee Informed Partnership (Beeinformed.org) communication network and stakeholder group talks.

Project Methods
A. Compare rate and spatial extent of bee emigration to neighboring colonies and apiaries from healthy vs. diseased colonies. Objective 1. Describe the rate and impact of bee emigration between colonies and apiaries on colony health: To accomplish this goal we will repeat and expand preliminary trials described in the introduction. Two "donor" colonies with Varroa loads of >10 mites/100 bees will be placed in a central apiary with two healthy colonies (<3 mites/100 bees). Bees in central apiary colonies will be painted unique colors based on their original colony so we can identify their point of origin. "Receiver" apiaries of 4 colonies each will be placed at regular intervals of 1, 2, and 3 km around the donor apiary in each of the cardinal directions. Camera sensors placed at the entrance of each colony will document how many painted bees leave the donor colonies and to which colonies they emigrate. The camera continuously streams images of the colony entrance to a script which identifies and photographs any painted bees in the image. These photographs serve as a record of every emigrated bee, allowing us to reconstruct patterns in bee movement.After at least one of the "donor" colonies collapses, we will review the number of marked bees that emigrated to receiver colonies. We will then examine if the rate of emigration of bees from healthy and collapsing colonies differed. We will also test the hypothesis that bees emigrate to colonies in their home apiary with the same frequency they emigrate to other apiaries. To do this we will calculate the expected number of marked bees found in different colonies at the end of the study based on known rates of typical bee drift, and then compare this to the actual number of emigrated bees found.B. Document and quantify impact of emigrating bees on receiving colonies' mite and viral load. We hypothesize that colonies that receive a large number of emigrated bees from mite collapsing colonies will have significantly higher Varroa and viral loads than they would have without emigration. To measure these impacts, before the experiment's initiation we will make every receiver and "healthy" colony as close to Varroa-free as possible. We will then move the donor and control colonies into the appropriate apiary, conduct colony health assessments (queen check, brood area, food stores etc.), and place sticky boards on all colonies to monitor daily mite drop (averaged over 3 days). All colonies will also have camera sensors placed at entrances. We will monitor Varroa in all receiver colonies every three days, by collecting and exchanging sticky boards, and conducting alcohol washes of adult bees. Using colony condition data collected from colony health assessments we will calculate the theoretical Varroa population growth curve for each experimental colony. We will then compare theoretical mite population growth with observed mite population growth in order to quantify the effect emigration of potentially mite infested bees has on population growth.C. Determine risk factors associated with individual bee's likelihood to emigrate. On day 0 of this effort we will take samples from all colonies to quantify their viral loads. We will quantify both the colony level load, and the prevalence of viral infection by determining the presence or absence of viruses in 20 worker bees from donor colonies. After donor colonies collapse, we will manually inspect all receiver colonies for painted bees. All painted bees found in receiver colonies will be collected for viral analysis to compare the viral load and prevalence of emigrated bees to the viral load and prevalence in the donor colony. We will then use standard epidemiological techniques to quantify the relative risk associated with viral infection and likelihood of emigration.Objective 2. Identify and describe environmental factors that influence mite population growth and quantify each factor's relative risk.We propose to carefully clean the data, and then re-analyze the data set using a multivariate analysis, where overt brood disease condition and Varroa loads are outcome variables and a host of environmental factors including degree of sunlight and colony entrance orientation, and environmental factorsare considered random effects with date of inspection as a fixed effect.Objective 3. Engage and encourage more beekeepers to use citizen science to monitor mite population dynamics in their operations via Sentinel Apiary or MiteCheck programs. We will promote participation among commercial beekeepers by utilizing the trusted relationships and direct communication with BIP Tech Team member talks at national beekeeping conferences, and the Commercial Beekeeping Facebook Group. Commercial beekeepers, 93% of whom treat for Varroa, have expressed frustration with non-treatment beekeepers for years.We will promote participation among small-scale beekeeping groups by sending advertisements and a click-and-play PowerPoint downloadable webinar discussing benefits of program participation. Materials will be distributed using a list of all US beekeeping organizations maintained by BIP. We will also utilize the BIP emailing list and FaceBook group.In a recent review of participants, we discovered that many beekeepers participate in these programs not for their personal edification, but rather because they want to provide data that will help better understand bee health at a regional or national level. We will use these efforts to appeal to beekeepers who want to contribute to the greater good, explaining how their participation not only helps them but other long term health monitoring initiatives - like autopsies and landscape modeling of mite population growth-efforts funded elsewhere.By emphasizing participation in Varroa monitoring programs we believe we will reinforce the need for mite management and resulting reduction in colony losses. We will target high-risk areas where effective Varroa management practices are low according to BIPs National Loss and Management Survey. Results from Sentinel Apiaries will further validate our BMPs, and provide momentum to engage local beekeeping communities in landscape level treatment of Varroa.Objective 4. Develop best Varroa treatment and apiary set-up practices to minimize mite population growth and transmission. Results from Objective 2 will inform the development of specific management recommendations to minimize mite population growth at the apiary level. Associations of number of treatments used, percent of an apiary treated, and timing of treatments will be distilled to provide the most up-to-date practices for beekeepers. The results from our analysis are correlative, and not causative; thus, there will be a need to experimentally test any associations found to ensure that the factor is indeed driving the relationship.Results from our studies will be distilled into management recommendation extension materials such as blog posts, fact-sheets and pamphlets.Objective 5. Develop messaging to encourage BMP adoption by beekeepers who do not actively manage mite levels. ?We plan to use results from experiments on bee emigration and mite transmission to develop extension materials directed toward non-treatment beekeepers. We will provide distributable extension materials such as a "Why to Treat" fact-sheet and a pamphlet to beekeeping organizations using Bee Informed communication channels such as Facebook, the BIP website blog and email list. We will also deliver talks to both local and national beekeeping organizations to disseminate these results and messages personally. Beekeeping organizations and State Apiarists come together with BIP for a coordinated messaging approach. Sentinel Apiaries also provide a benchmark for bee management and Varroa loads in an area, which can become a starting point for further targeted extension.

Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:We completed the economic paper "Best Management Practices Increase Profitability of Small-scale US Beekeeping Operations", published in the Journal of Economic Entomology. This paper outlines the Best Mangement practices, and the economic advantage for adopting those practices, for small scale operations, which encompasses ~90% of US beekeepers. This paper has significant beneficial extension ramifications for years to come and has been the focus of our outreach talks for the past year. After COVID revolutionized how we use video calls, we ramped up our extension by video webinars and recorded talks considerably, likely reaching broader and larger audiences as a result. We continue to regularly engage beekeepers so that they benefit directly from this research by presenting monthly, quarterly and yearly presentations at local/state beekeeping meetings (webinars) where we are already engaged and have been successful recently in returning to in-person audiences. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Numerous individuals received training in relation to protocols and diagnostics funded by this grant. A team of 6 undergraduate students were trained the Varroa/Nosema field samples. One pre-graduate student assisted with field work in sampling testing apiaries and because of the training from this grant will began as Masters student in the spring and will graduate this month (January). All have gained knowledge of honey bee health issues, life cycle, and beekeeping practices. The PhD student who lead the field and analysis efforts has graduated and has successfully accepted a full-time research and extension position with Washington State University, worked there for several years and how has a permanent position with the EPA. As mentioned earlier, with the hurdle created by COVID in 2020, many of our outreach talks moved from in-person talks to recorded webinars, allowing us to experiment with various outreach tools and surveys. These recorded webinars are posted on local and regional beekeeping club websites, enabling it to be disseminated even further and accessed at any time. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results of this grant continue to be disseminated. They have been presented to the UMD Entomology Department, Bee Informed Partnership representatives, USDA bee lab scientists, State associations and many other bee clubs. The results have also been provided internationally to New Zealand and Estonia. A manuscript is still beingwritten and reviewed with the results of the viral analysis (see accomplishments sections) for submission to a peer reviewed journal in 2024. This details the results of the individual bee risk factors asociation with drift. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1 was completed in the fall of 2019. A field study was conducted from 10/3/19 to 11/5/19 to address objectives A, B, and C and these results were published in a peer reviewed journal as well as disseminated to stakeholders via many talks and webinars. Furthermore, bees that were part of the previously published study were analyzed for viral profiles. These results are outside the scope of this grant, but the published work (in progress) is a direct results of this grant and will build on the results of this effort. For Objective 2, we created a full historic database of extensive apiary records that will be used to identify apiary level risk factors that correlate with higher or lower mite levels; however, in doing so, we realized that the methodology would be too difficult and continue to work with an expert economist who has developed a new way of removing colinearities. We also completed the scoping review for historic beekeeping mangement practices outside of this grant to sample the literature that we think will be revolutionary, as a by product of this grant, in identifying trends associated with losses during the last few hundred years of beekeeping history. Objectives 3-5 (Extension) was completed as many beekeepers around the country participated over 3 years in the Sentinel apiary program and the online app of Mitecheck. These objectives were supervised by the UMD Bee Lab's designated extension specialist who put together and provided well over 30 extension presentations to distribute results to beekeepers. Kelly Kulhanek, the Co Project Director, has given several talks disseminating these results to beekeepers and other scientists. Those talks were summarized in the products portion over the past previous reports.

Publications

Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:We were able to complete the economic paper "Best Management Practices Increase Profitability of Small-scale US Beekeeping Operatons" and it was published in the Journal of Economic Entomology in November 2022. This paper outlines the Best Mangement practices, and the economic advantage for adopting those practices, for small scale operations, which encompasses ~90% of US beekeepers. This paper has beneficial extension ramifications for years to come.We continue to regularly engage beekeepers so that they benefit directly from this research by presenting quarterly and yearly presentations at local/state beekeeping meetings (webinars) where we are already engaged and have been successful recently in returning to in-person audiences. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A PhD studenthelped develop the GLM in R for the cross sectional survey that expanded his academic capabilities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of this grant continue to be disseminated. They have been presented tobthe UMD Entomology Department, Bee Informed Partnership representatives, and USDA bee lab scientists, State associations and many other bee clubs. The results have also been provided internationally to New Zealand and Estonia. Both Dennis vanEngelsdorp and Mark Dykes (UMD apiary manager) are also discussing these results when they speak to beekeeping audiences. Mark Dykes has developed messaging and materials to further disseminate these results. A manuscript is being written with the results of the viral analysis (see accomplishments sections) for submission to a peer reviewed journal in 2023. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue the analyses of the PA data, scan and incorporate inspection data to set up publication of cross sectional survey. Viral samples have been processed to answer objective 1C about individual bee risk factors associated with drift and the analysis/reporting is being written for a peer-reviewed journal. The PA apiary inspection data has begun to be analyzed for Objective 2 for environmental factors associated with increases in Varroa loads. Mark Dykes, a designated extension specialist, will spear head the extension objectives to ensure stakeholders can make use of these results. He will present to beekeeping groups and develop recorded video presentations and written materials including a PowerPoint and PDF summarizing results.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objectives 1 and 3 have been completed. We now have a full historic database of extensive apiary records that will be used to identify apiary level risk factors that correlate with higher or lower mite levels (Objective 2). Results from these studies will help hone current Best Management Practices with specific data-derived recommendations to reduce mite pressure at the apiary/landscape level. Analysis will include a GLM as an epidemiological cross sectional survey. Wecontinue the scoping review for PA history to sample the literature and to present multiple outcomes and are working with an expert in this area to guide us along the scoping review process. This will allow us to identify management practices that can be tested with our historic database compiled from PA. Furthermore,bees analyzed for viral profiles that were part of the previously published study will build on the results of this grant.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Tubene, S., Kulhanek, K., Rennich, K., vanEngelsdorp, D., 2022. Best Management Practices Increase Profitability of Small-Scale US Beekeeping Operations. Journal of Economic Entomology, toac174. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toac174

Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:Beekeepers have been and will remain central to designing and implementing our program efforts. The past 2 years have been difficult to engage with in-person outreach due to COVID restrictions; however, we are ramped up our extension by video webinars considerably and likely reaching broader and larger audiences as a result. We continue to regularly engage beekeepers so that they benefit directly from this research by presenting monthly, quarterly and yearly presentations at local/state beekeeping meetings (webinars) where we are already engaged and have been successful recently in returning to in-person audiences. Changes/Problems:As mentioned several times, and as is common with most lab analysis for the past 1 1/2 years, we experienced delays in viral processing due to the lab limitations from COVID closures. We now have the viral data and are in the midst of analyzing the data. We also had significant delays in getting the PA historic apiary dataset due to personnel changes (retirement) on their team. We now have the data set and are forging ahead to look at beekeeping management practices that can be tested and modeling with that database. Due to these delays, we have written to the sponsor and will seek a one year no cost extension to all us to complete the remaining deliverables on this project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Several individuals have received training in relation to protocols and diagnostics funded by this grant. A team of 6 undergraduate students have been trained to process part of the Varroa/Nosema field samples. One pre-graduate student has assisted with field work in sampling testing apiaries because of the training from this grant will begin as a Masters student in the spring. They all have gained knowledge of honey bee health issues, life cycle, and beekeeping practices. The PhD student who lead the field and analysis efforts has graduated and has successfully accepted a full-time research and extension position with Washington State University. As mentioned earlier, with the hurdle created by COVID, many of our outreach talks have moved from in-person talks to recorded webinars, allowing us to experiment with various outreach tools and surveys. These recorded webinars are usually posted on local and regional beekeeping club websites, enabling it to be disseminated even further. Several individuals have received training in relation to protocols and diagnostics funded by this grant. A team of 6 undergraduate students have been trained to process part of the Varroa/Nosema field samples. One pre-graduate student has assisted with field work in sampling testing apiaries because of the training from this grant will begin as a Masters student in the spring. They all have gained knowledge of honey bee health issues, life cycle, and beekeeping practices. The PhD student who lead the field and analysis efforts has graduated and has successfully accepted a full-time research and extension position with Washington State University. As mentioned earlier, with the hurdle created by COVID, many of our outreach talks have moved from in-person talks to recorded webinars, allowing us to experiment with various outreach tools and surveys. These recorded webinars are usually posted on local and regional beekeeping club websites, enabling it to be disseminated even further. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of this grant continue to be disseminated. They have been presented tobthe UMD Entomology Department, Bee Informed Partnership representatives, and USDA bee lab scientists, State associations and many other bee clubs. The results have also been provided internationally to New Zealand and Estonia. Both Dennis vanEngelsdorp and Mark Dykes (UMD apiary manager) are also discussing these results when they speak to beekeeping audiences. Mark Dykes is beginning to develop messaging and materials to further disseminate these results. A manuscript is being written with the results of the viral analysis for submission to a peer reviewed journal. Submission is expected by the end of the 2022. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Viral samples have been processed to answer objective 1C about individual bee risk factors associated with drift and the analysis/reporting is being written for a peer-reviewed journal. The PA apiary inspection data has begun to be analyzed for Objective 2 about environmental factors associated with increases in Varroa loads. Mark Dykes, a designated extension specialist, will spear head the extension objectives to ensure stakeholders can make use of these results. He will present to beekeeping groups and develop recorded video presentations and written materials including a PowerPoint and PDF summarizing results.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? All of Objective 1 has been completed along with much Objective 3 for the outreach of the resulting experiments from Objective 1. After a full year of working with the PA Department of Agriculture lawyers and team, we now have a full historic database of extensive apiary records that will be used toidentify apiary level risk factors that correlate with higher or lower mite levels (Objective 2). Results from these studies will help hone current Best Management Practices with specific data-derived recommendations to reduce mite pressure at the apiary/landscape level. Reducing mite pressure in colonies almost certainly will result in greater colony survivorship. We have begun a full scoping review tosample the literature and to present multiple outcomes and are working with an expert in this area to guide us along the scoping review process. This will allow us to identify management practices that can be tested with our historic database compiled from PA.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Kulhanek, K. Varroa Management and Overwintering Discussion. Bowie and Upper Marlboro Beekeepers Association. Virtual Webinar. November, 2020 (n ~ 20)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Kulhanek, K., vanEngelsdorp, D. Bee Your Best Beekeeper: Data Driven Management and the Sentinel Apiary Program. Knox and Lincoln County Beekeepers Association. Virtual Webinar. June, 2020 (n ~ 30)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Kulhanek, K., vanEngelsdorp, D. Bee Your Best Beekeeper: Data Driven Management and the Sentinel Apiary Program. Montgomery County Beekeepers Association Monthly Meeting. Virtual Webinar. June, 2020 (n ~ 50)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Kulhanek, K., vanEngelsdorp, D. Bee Your Best Beekeeper: Data-Recommended Best Beekeeping Management Practices. Howard County Beekeepers Association. Virtual Webinar. April, 2020 (n ~ 60)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Kulhanek, K., vanEngelsdorp, D. Bee Your Best Beekeeper: Data-Recommended Best Beekeeping Management Practices. Bucks County Beekeepers Association. Forest Grove, PA. March, 2020 (n ~ 50)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Kulhanek, K., vanEngelsdorp, D. Bee Your Best Beekeeper: Data-Recommended Best Beekeeping Management Practices. Maryland State Beekeepers Association. Bel Air, MD. February, 2020 (n ~ 100)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Kulhanek, K., vanEngelsdorp, D. Bee Your Best Beekeeper: Data-Recommended Best Beekeeping Management Practices. Upper Eastern Shore Beekeepers Association. Chestertown, MD. February, 2020 (n ~ 50)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Bee Your Best Beekeeper: Data-Recommended Best Beekeeping Management Practices. Palm Beach Beekeepers Association Monthly Meeting. November, 2021 (n ~ 40) " Kulhanek, K., Hopkins, B. Indoor Storage and Queen Banking. British Columbia Honey Producers Association Annual Conference. Virtual Webinar. October, 2021
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Integrated Pest Management for Varroa. Montgomery County Beekeepers Association. Virtual Webinar. September, 2021
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Varroa Treatment: Expectations vs. Reality. Inland Empire Beekeepers Association. Spokane, WA. August, 2021
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Understanding how management affects Varroa population growth. Frederick Beekeepers Association. Virtual Webinar. May, 2021
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Submitted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Bee Informed Partnership Mobile App presentation to AIA annual conference, January 12, 2021
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Submitted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Commercial Beekeeper Focus Group: Future of Loss and Management Survey, January 6, 2021
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Submitted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Sentinel Beekeeper Focus Group: Future of the Bee Informed Partnership Sentinel Apiary Program, and Mobile App, December 10, 2020
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: https://bip2.beeinformed.org/sentinel/
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: BIP, MiteCheck, and Sentinel Apiary, Wake County Beekeepers on April 14, 2020
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: BIP, MiteCheck, and Sentinel Apiary, NCSU Apiculture Online meeting on September 23, 2020
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Determinants of the Profitability of Beekeeping Operations in the United States
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Aurell, D. BIP Tech Team and Some Notes on European Foulbrood. 1st Annual Evening with AU-BEES, Alabama, Virtual. 15 December 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Williams, G. Honey bee Best Management Practices. Auburn University Student American Veterinary Medical Association Monthly Meeting, Virtual. 3 November 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Williams, G. Best Management Practices for Apiculture. Madison County Beekeepers' Association, Alabama, Virtual. 14 May 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Williams, G. Best Management Practices for Apiculture. Chattahoochee Valley Beekeepers' Association, Alabama, Virtual. 11 May 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Williams, G. Best Management Practices for Apiculture. Blount County Beekeepers' Association, Maryville, USA. 9 March 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Williams, G. Best Management Practices for Apiculture. Tallapoosa River Beekeepers' Association, Dadeville, USA. 20 February 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Williams, G. Developing Best Management Practices for Apiculture using Citizen Science. COLOSS Asia Conference, Chiang Mai, Thailand. 6 February 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Williams, G., Kulhanek, K., Steinhauer, N., Rennich, K., vanEngelsdorp, D. Keep your bees alive: listening to the Bee Informed Partnership. 2020 ACES Beekeeping Symposium, Clanton, USA. 1 February 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Williams, G., Steinhauer, N., Bruckner, S., Kulhanek, K, Rennich, K., vanEngelsdorp, D. The Bee Informed Partnership: Providing research-based Best Management Practices for beekeepers. 2020 Nashville Area Beekeepers' Association Advanced Workshop, Nashville, USA. 18 January 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Williams, G., Steinhauer, N., Bruckner, S., Rennich, K., vanEngelsdorp, D. Best Management Practices: the varroa mite. 2020 Nashville Area Beekeepers' Association Advanced Workshop, Nashville, USA. 18 January 2020.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Kulhanek, K., Steinhauer, N., Wilkes, J., Wilson, M., Spivak, M., Sagili, R., Tarpy, D., McDermott, E., Garavito, A., Rennich, K., vanEngelsdorp, D. (2021). Survey-derived best management practices for backyard beekeepers improve colony health and reduce mortality. PLoS ONE, 16(1), e0245490. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0245490

Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:Beekeepers have been and will remain central to designing and implementing our program efforts. We will continue to regularly engage beekeepers so that theybenefit directly from this research by presenting monthly, quarterly and yearly presentations at local/state beekeeping meetings (webinars) where we are already engaged. Changes/Problems:The PostDoc hired for this work has taken a full time position; however, she continues to work on the project analysis/reporting and writeup. The extension work will be assumed by our UMD apiary manager, Mark Dykes, who is well-placed to make connections and distribute the results as he is our honey bee lab extension agent. We are continuing to work on acquiring the PA data set but we have had delays in personnel due to the COVID virus. We are now in the final discussions with PA for us to collaborate with them on this data set and expect to begin analyses on these data in December 2020. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?At the University of Maryland, several individuals have received training in relation to protocols and diagnostics funded by this grant. A team of severalundergraduate students process part of the Varroa/Nosema field samples. One undergraduate assists with field work in sampling testing apiaries. They gain knowledge of honey bee health issues, life cycle, and beekeeping practices. With the hurdle created by COVID, many of our outreach talks have been given over webinars, allowing us to experiment with various outreach tools and surveys. These recorded webinars are usually posted on local and regional beekeeping club websites, enabling it to be disseminated even further. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Kelly Kulhanek has given 5 talks to beekeeping clubs disseminating these results thus far. She also presented these results to the UMD Entomology Department, Bee Informed Partnership representatives, and USDA bee lab scientists. She continues to discuss these results in any presentations given to beekeeping groups. Both Dennis vanEngelsdorp (3 national meetings) and Mark Dykes (13 regional/local meetings) are also discussing these results when they speak to beekeeping audiences. Mark Dykes is beginning to develop messaging and materials to further disseminate these results. A manuscript has also been developed for submission to a peer reviewed journal. Submission is expected by the end of the year. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Viral samples will be processed to answer objective 1C about individual bee risk factors associated with drift. The PA apiary inspection data will begin to be analyzed for Objective 2 about environmental factors associated with increases in Varroa loads. Mark Dykes, a designated extension specialist, will spear head the extension objectives to ensure stakeholders can make use of these results. He will present to beekeeping groups and develop written materials including a powerpoint and PDF summarizing results.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1. Describe the rate and impact of bee emigration between colonies and apiaries on colony health: Objective 1 was completed in the fall of 2019. A field study was conducted from 10/3/19 to 11/5/19 to address the following objectives. Compare rate and spatial extent of bee emigration to neighboring colonies and apiaries from healthy vs. diseased colonies. In total, 47 unique painted bees were detected by the 16 camera sensors on unscreened colonies. Considering ~2,000 bees were painted in each of the 4 donor colonies at two time points, a total of 16,000 bees were painted. Thus the 47 bees detected equal a 0.29% recovery rate. Despite the fact that high mite colonies lost more population than low mite colonies, of the 47 detections, more low mite bees were detected (n = 37) than high mite bees (Figure 2, n = 10, c2= 15.5, df = 1, p < 0.001). Painted bees were detected in 62.5% (n = 5) of receiver apiaries and at 56.3% (n = 9) of non-screened receiver colonies. There was substantial drift of bees between colonies within the donor apiary. Donor colonies were mounted with cameras, and the number of non-natal bees detected was higher than could be quantified (hundreds in each donor colony camera). The two manual checks performed of receiver colonies for painted bees did not result in any detections, indicating painted bees did not permanently remain in non-natal colonies. With only one detection in apiaries placed at the further 1.6 km radius, donor bees were much more likely to visit closer apiaries then further apiaries (c2= 43.1, df = 1, p < 0.001). The visited apiary at the further radius only received one visitor to one unscreened colony. In all other apiaries that received donor bee visitors, both unscreened colonies were visited. Document and quantify impact of emigrating bees on receiving colonies' mite and viral load. Receiver colonies that were visited by high mite donor bees started the study with similar Varroa loads to colonies that were not visited by high mite donor bees (t = 0.80, df = 9.4, p = 0.45). Whether a high mite donor bee visited a receiver colony did not affect the receiver colony's mite population increase over the duration of the study (Figure 4, F1 = 1.42, p = 0.19). Receiver colonies that were visited by any donor bee (from high or low mite donor colonies) also started the study with similar mite loads to unvisited receiver colonies (t = 1.34, df = 9.33, p = 0.21). However, Varroa loads in colonies that were visited by any donor bee increased significantly faster than colonies not visited by donor bees (Figure 5, F1 = 4.57, p = 0.03). Within apiaries that were visited by donor bees, there was a positive correlation between a colony's starting mite load and the number of non-natal bees it received (Figure 6, Spearman's r = 0.62, p = 0.05). However, an increased number of visitors did not result in accelerated Varroa population growth (Spearman's r = -0.14, p = 0.71). Varroa population growth was only associated with whether a colony was visited, and not the total number of visitations. We decided not to take viral samples from receiver colonies as we determined that not enough time would pass between the beginning of the experiment and the end of the experiment to detect changes in receiver colony viral loads. Determine risk factors associated with an individual bee's likelihood to emigrate. Our hypothesis for this objective was that bees infected with specific viruses would be more likely to emigrate. We did take several viral samples from each donor colony, both of individual bees that had drifted or not drifted, and batch samples from each colony. These viral samples are still in the que to be processed. COVID-19 has created quite a back log of samples in our viral lab. We expect these will be processed by the end of 2020. Objective 2. Identify and describe environmental factors that influence mite population growth and quantify each factor's relative risk. This objective was to be completed using PA apiary inspection data. We have requested and are in the process (end of November 2020) of receiving the data from the state of Pennsylvania. These analyses will begin in the next few months. Outcomes from this work will inform the following extension efforts: Extension: Objective 3. Engage and encourage more beekeepers to use citizen science to monitor mite population dynamics in their operations via Sentinel Apiary or MiteCheck programs. Objective 4. Develop best Varroa treatment and apiary set-up practices to minimize mite population growth and transmission. Objective 5. Develop messaging to encourage BMP adoption by beekeepers who do not actively manage mite levels. Extension objectives are being supervised by the UMD Bee Lab's designate extension specialist, Mark Dykes. He is putting together talks, has given 13 presentations from the end of 2019 through 2020, and will create informative pamphlets and one sheets to distribute results to beekeepers. Kelly Kulhanek, the Co Project Director, has given several talks disseminating these results to beekeepers and other scientists. Those talks are summarized in the products portion. We are on track to meet the timeline for the extension objectives.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Submitted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Using a novel camera sensor to track Varroa transmission across the landscape. Apimondia Conference. Montreal, Canada.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Results on quantity of drifted bees and their associated changes to receiver colony mite loads.