Thank you. I am 5th year beekeeper. I have attempted treatments with poor results. I just manage what comes instead. Several splits/queen breaks seems to be what is working for me.
Thanks for the video and topic. I've had bees since 2016, and have had very solid results with the Mighty Mite Killer thermal treatment system. It seems the colonies that are treated properly with proper airflow and sensor placement thrive after treatment. I ma not surprised in the least that a lengthy heat exposure of 107F was shown to greatly reduce viral loads. Personally I got to the point to where I prefer to remove my queen during treatment so as to not risk any potential damage. (Abundance of caution).
Seems to me that if we provided proper insulation as good as that in a tree-trunk then the bees can regulate thier own temperature and humidity more easily and consistently.
Thank you. I am glad to see more people considering this concept. Seek to replicate a more natural environment , better suited to the bees. I've been of this opinion for a while. Yet I'm the crazy one that everyone says it won't work. Replicating a more natural environment will be inconvenient to the beekeeper, more cumbersome, more laborious, and will require a littke more material cost initially. But may prove more worthwhile in the long term.
We have moved our hives to direct sun because we have found they do better. It may be the correlation with higher temps. We are in NW Florida and have had temps > 90 with heat index > 100 for weeks.
Thank you for your videos and information. I am surprised that the heat would be beneficial against varoa. If this would be the case, it would mean that the closer you go to the equator, the less you will find varoa. On the contrary, my understanding from other researches was that lower temperature was better against them… confusing…
Remember that bees control the temperature inside the hive. Do the temperature outside the hive is not a factor influencing varroa life cycle too much.
Interesting idea but I feel this line of experimentation, is grasping at any straw in the box. Next thing will be, turning a hive into a fridge to see what happens.
Well... this has somewhat been experimented in already. And why I believe honey should be harvested in spring at the end of winter, rather than in fall, and that hives should maybe overwinter in a well insulated environment/hive with honey stores on. It seems the ideal overwintering temperature for the least energy (read that as honey) consumption is around 42F. The Honey woukd, indeed, act as icebloxks in the hive, and with a well insulated hive, woukd keep a very stable and consistently low temperature throughout the entire winter, until a point in which the average temperature has risen enough to make the bees more active. Which should coincide with when forage is available. So perhaps "turning a hive into a fridge" may actually be key to winter survival; as well as helping to reduce pests (if it's warmer outside than inside the hive, the pests that may be more active, won't want to enter), and possibly increase yields, as the bees are using less evergy to regulate temperature, both summer and winter.
Dr. Humberto. I sent you an email. With a question and some thoughts on bats and bees. I forgot to mention in it; As of yet, I've not been able to find any research papers on the potential synergies of bats and bees coexistence in an environment. There are many papers that cover UHF/EMF on both species, pesticides on both species, climate change, etc. But nothing on a potential symbiotic relationship between the 2 organisms coexisting in the same environment. Back to the topic at hand. I'll be going to watch the recently uploaded video of this "colony fever" here shortly. In the meantime, my initial thoughts are this. While it may be a viable option, I feel "proceed with caution" or "facilitate the bees ability to handle it naturally" should be at the forefront of considerations. I have read the studies on shipping temperatures and sustained temperature fluctuations on queen viability. As well as the follow up field study which showed no significant effect on queen viability; although I do feel that the field study was partly flawed in it's conclusion, as there are a few factors that could not be observed or quantified. In the field study, it only lasted 10 months (IIRC), which I understand is likely a funding issue. And there was no way of telling how many uninseminated eggs, or non-viable eggs, were removed by worker bees and replaced with viable eggs. This is simply because it's pretty well impossible to get cameras in the colony to observe everything. So while the field study to review the effects of temperature on queen viability, showed no significant impact. It could be that every other egg is a blank, and the workers are on the ball with removing bad eggs and replacing them with good eggs. Or it could be that if does not impact queen viability in the short term, but does impact the queens viability long term. With a queens fertility and laying lasting only a year or 2, instead of 3 to 5 years or more. So... there is that to be considered, possible removing a queen and caging her outside the colony for a short time during heat treatments may be a consideration, or possible precaution. There are also the studies on the impacts that heat, environmental, and nutritional, stressors that affect drones virility and viability. I want to say it was 110F for 4 hours was where there was a significant impact on drones viability and viable sperm counts, etc. So perhaps planning heat treatments for a time where there is less drone populations or drone brood, may also be a factor to be considered. Furthermore, and especially in the case for heat treatments for potential organic and non-toxic means of varroa control; frequency of exposure and potential for unexpected mutations, adaptations or evolutionary advancement on the part of the target species, may also be a factor that many may neglect to consider before taking actions. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. For everything we do with THIS goal or aim in mind, there is always going to be THOSE unforseen reactions or outcomes, that take place as a result. Which is where we have ended up in the environmental crisis that we've come into. Spraying a crop field for potato beetles or Japanese beetles, we're also affecting the beneficial insects, polinators, the birds, fish, bats, amphibians etc that eat these now sickly and pesticide tainted insects. So too frequent treatment of something as seemingly harmless as heat, or long term repeated treatment; could potentially lead to the target species of virus, microorganism or pest, eventually increasing heat tolerance, especially through the survival of the few that do not succumb to the treatment. Also, I love your reiteration of the scientific method, and the importance of repeatable results. I found it amusing. Thank you for this video. I'll be going to the podcast video for a more in depth understanding of things. Cheers. -Allen
Hello Allen. Thanks for stopping by and the email. As you already realised this is a complex issue. I have more materials for videos in the future. More is coming and might help to understand the chaus inside the hive.
Did you find any honey bee anatomical mistakes in the AI-generated images? Please let me know in the comments below.
there is a bumblebee in the images
one point of a lot, may be it is to complex, but going step by step we do understand a little more
Thank you. I am 5th year beekeeper. I have attempted treatments with poor results. I just manage what comes instead. Several splits/queen breaks seems to be what is working for me.
I look forward to more details. I have read many of the papers your videos talk about and am always interested in hearing your thoughts.
Thanks for the video and topic. I've had bees since 2016, and have had very solid results with the Mighty Mite Killer thermal treatment system. It seems the colonies that are treated properly with proper airflow and sensor placement thrive after treatment. I ma not surprised in the least that a lengthy heat exposure of 107F was shown to greatly reduce viral loads. Personally I got to the point to where I prefer to remove my queen during treatment so as to not risk any potential damage. (Abundance of caution).
Seems to me that if we provided proper insulation as good as that in a tree-trunk then the bees can regulate thier own temperature and humidity more easily and consistently.
Thank you. I am glad to see more people considering this concept. Seek to replicate a more natural environment , better suited to the bees. I've been of this opinion for a while. Yet I'm the crazy one that everyone says it won't work.
Replicating a more natural environment will be inconvenient to the beekeeper, more cumbersome, more laborious, and will require a littke more material cost initially. But may prove more worthwhile in the long term.
great production!!! love the explanation.....
Glad you liked it!
We have moved our hives to direct sun because we have found they do better. It may be the correlation with higher temps. We are in NW Florida and have had temps > 90 with heat index > 100 for weeks.
Hope ya have a win mankind needs a big win.
I would worry about the viability of eggs and sperm after heat treatment
Thank you for your videos and information. I am surprised that the heat would be beneficial against varoa. If this would be the case, it would mean that the closer you go to the equator, the less you will find varoa. On the contrary, my understanding from other researches was that lower temperature was better against them… confusing…
Remember that bees control the temperature inside the hive. Do the temperature outside the hive is not a factor influencing varroa life cycle too much.
Interesting idea but I feel this line of experimentation, is grasping at any straw in the box. Next thing will be, turning a hive into a fridge to see what happens.
Well... this has somewhat been experimented in already. And why I believe honey should be harvested in spring at the end of winter, rather than in fall, and that hives should maybe overwinter in a well insulated environment/hive with honey stores on. It seems the ideal overwintering temperature for the least energy (read that as honey) consumption is around 42F. The Honey woukd, indeed, act as icebloxks in the hive, and with a well insulated hive, woukd keep a very stable and consistently low temperature throughout the entire winter, until a point in which the average temperature has risen enough to make the bees more active. Which should coincide with when forage is available.
So perhaps "turning a hive into a fridge" may actually be key to winter survival; as well as helping to reduce pests (if it's warmer outside than inside the hive, the pests that may be more active, won't want to enter), and possibly increase yields, as the bees are using less evergy to regulate temperature, both summer and winter.
Dr. Humberto. I sent you an email. With a question and some thoughts on bats and bees. I forgot to mention in it; As of yet, I've not been able to find any research papers on the potential synergies of bats and bees coexistence in an environment. There are many papers that cover UHF/EMF on both species, pesticides on both species, climate change, etc. But nothing on a potential symbiotic relationship between the 2 organisms coexisting in the same environment.
Back to the topic at hand. I'll be going to watch the recently uploaded video of this "colony fever" here shortly.
In the meantime, my initial thoughts are this. While it may be a viable option, I feel "proceed with caution" or "facilitate the bees ability to handle it naturally" should be at the forefront of considerations.
I have read the studies on shipping temperatures and sustained temperature fluctuations on queen viability. As well as the follow up field study which showed no significant effect on queen viability; although I do feel that the field study was partly flawed in it's conclusion, as there are a few factors that could not be observed or quantified. In the field study, it only lasted 10 months (IIRC), which I understand is likely a funding issue. And there was no way of telling how many uninseminated eggs, or non-viable eggs, were removed by worker bees and replaced with viable eggs. This is simply because it's pretty well impossible to get cameras in the colony to observe everything. So while the field study to review the effects of temperature on queen viability, showed no significant impact. It could be that every other egg is a blank, and the workers are on the ball with removing bad eggs and replacing them with good eggs. Or it could be that if does not impact queen viability in the short term, but does impact the queens viability long term. With a queens fertility and laying lasting only a year or 2, instead of 3 to 5 years or more. So... there is that to be considered, possible removing a queen and caging her outside the colony for a short time during heat treatments may be a consideration, or possible precaution.
There are also the studies on the impacts that heat, environmental, and nutritional, stressors that affect drones virility and viability. I want to say it was 110F for 4 hours was where there was a significant impact on drones viability and viable sperm counts, etc. So perhaps planning heat treatments for a time where there is less drone populations or drone brood, may also be a factor to be considered.
Furthermore, and especially in the case for heat treatments for potential organic and non-toxic means of varroa control; frequency of exposure and potential for unexpected mutations, adaptations or evolutionary advancement on the part of the target species, may also be a factor that many may neglect to consider before taking actions. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. For everything we do with THIS goal or aim in mind, there is always going to be THOSE unforseen reactions or outcomes, that take place as a result. Which is where we have ended up in the environmental crisis that we've come into. Spraying a crop field for potato beetles or Japanese beetles, we're also affecting the beneficial insects, polinators, the birds, fish, bats, amphibians etc that eat these now sickly and pesticide tainted insects. So too frequent treatment of something as seemingly harmless as heat, or long term repeated treatment; could potentially lead to the target species of virus, microorganism or pest, eventually increasing heat tolerance, especially through the survival of the few that do not succumb to the treatment.
Also, I love your reiteration of the scientific method, and the importance of repeatable results. I found it amusing.
Thank you for this video. I'll be going to the podcast video for a more in depth understanding of things.
Cheers. -Allen
Hello Allen. Thanks for stopping by and the email. As you already realised this is a complex issue. I have more materials for videos in the future. More is coming and might help to understand the chaus inside the hive.
🎉🎉