Hawai`i Program October 2012 Volume 1, Issue 4 Hawai`iHawai`i BeeBee

Harvest time!

Swarm calls are up and moving forward with co- pollinators, and we are Thanks to our operators. On Big Island, working on one for Ha- supporters: production is good! Even on Big Island, where HDOA is working with waii! See the guides cur- losses are high, we UH Professor Dr. Lorna rently available here. Tsutsumi to evaluate the are getting calls and reports , discov- Varroa resistant stock, of . Make sure ered May 2011 on Molo- VSH , and see how you register here to get on kai, is reported to be slow they fare side by side with our swarm list! and steady on the East end other Hawaiian stock. On Its time again for the of the island, and is slowly Kauai, KCC and KBEE are USDA National Honey being detected in locations planning to census Small Bee Health Survey. We more westward. Hive Beetle and compare collect and submit 24 sam- trap types. On Maui, MCC The National Organic Pro- ples from , used to and HDOA will be doing gram has added formic acid track bee health in the na- the same, and establishing treatment for Varroa mites tion. Participating beekeep- sentinel hives for pest sur- in hives to the ers get their bees sampled vey and detection. If you list of substances that can for Varroa, nosema and want to participate, call us! be used in organic han- viruses. If you have at least dling. This includes The North American Polli- 8 colonies, and would like MAQS and Mite-Away II. to participate, call us soon! nator Protection Campaign has published beautiful Hawaii has 135 registered House Bill 2100, appropri- Planting Guides for all to beekeepers! ating $30,000 for honey use building habitat for bee research statewide, is

Hilo Apiary Staff: Lehua Wall, Danielle Staff Profile: Lauren Rusert, Apiary Technician Downey, Stacey Chun, Lauren Rusert, Kay Howe Lauren had her first experi- Field Technician for the Fra- helped test supplemental ence with honey bees at 15 zier/ Mullin pesticide re- nutritional diets to prevent when she extracted honey search lab from 2008 -2011. AHB swarming . She has a with a friend in Northern Lauren managed the lab’s BS in Agricultural Science, California. After that, she bees as well as having re- keeps 5 hobby colonies, is started collecting honey from search projects, one of which fluent in English, Spanish everywhere she traveled compared honey bee glands and Portuguese, loves fishing (over 10 countries and 43 with and without pesticide and was an All-American and states) finding varieties spe- exposure. In Lauren’s final 3-time National Champion cific to their regions. Little year at Penn State, she for the Penn State Women's did she know where it would moved to for a semes- rugby team. Lauren has lead! Years later she attended ter at the University of Sao worked with the Apiary Pro- school at Penn State Univer- Paulo, to work with African- gram for a year and a half, sity and became the Apiary ized honey bees. There she loving every minute of it! Pa ge 2 Hawai`i Bee Volume 1, Issue 4 We Don’t Want Africanized Bee in Hawaii! African bees would not AHB may swarm 15-20 ongoing education about

help Hawaii’s honey bee times/year, and also abscond stinging risks for beekeepers, problems, here’s why: (abandon) their colonies. Emergency Responders, pest controllers, residents and AHB is aggressive and un- AHB produces less honey. visitors. predictable. Also known as European bees collect honey the ‘killer bee’, AHB is very to survive winter, its part of North American Agricul- Which is which? You can’t tell by defensive. Any stinging event their instinctual behavior. ture relies on queen bees looking, samples must be sent to a lab. can become severe in min- AHB evolved without win- from Hawaii. AHB would utes, resulting in deaths of ter, and traded large colonies immediately shut down all livestock, pets and even peo- with stored honey for small exports, a valuable ple. A disturbed colony may colonies that swarm a lot. Hawaiian commodity which serves a critical need for agri- pursue invaders for ¼ mile. AHB is not immune to culture in . AHB is highly invasive. pests and disease. AHB may AHB has spread unaided be more resilient to pests and Hawaii’s bees are recover- from Brazil to the Southern disease, likely due to differ- ing without AHB. After USA, in under 40 years. This ences like small colonies that heavy losses to mites and Africanized bees will live in small bee would colonize Hawaii swarm all season. These un- beetles, many beekeepers spaces, often an unwelcome surprise! very quickly, living in many known benefits do not out- report that they have learned unexpected places, hybridiz- weigh the certain risks and what it takes to keep colo- ing and taking over colonies. consequences of AHB. nies alive. Hawaii can rebuild with the resources AHB takes over. AHB out- AHB is a public health risk. we have right here, right now. competes European bees. Experienced beekeepers may There are already several Swarms will invade another not mind more stings, but projects in place to improve colony and kill the existing hikers, vacationers, tethered Hawaii’s bee stock with resis- queen to take over. Males , livestock, children tant strains of gentle bees, we mate more successfully than and the elderly are common don’t need AHB! European bees, and the hy- victims of surprise AHB at- brids are aggressive. It is very tacks. Any fear of bees will It is illegal. The penalty is difficult to maintain gentle impact our industry adversely. $5,000 to $200,000. Import- ing any honey bees into Ha- bees if AHB is present. AHB will cost Hawaii waii has been illegal for over AHB is difficult to manage. money. AHB would require 100 years, for good reason!

Managing AHB in Brazil, small colo- nies kept remotely and well spaced to minimize disturbance. Large smokers and full protective gear are needed. National Stakeholders Conference: Honey Bee Health

Hawai`i Apiary Program In 2007 the first Colony Col- edge, evaluate progress and for future emphasis: 1. Where we’re at: lapse Disorder Steering Com- identify directions to develop Pathogens and mittee was formed by the a new Action Plan. Atten- Pests 2. Nutrition 3. Pesti- 16 E. Lanikaula Street USDA. Since then much dees included beekeepers, cides 4. Bee Genetics, Breed- Hilo, HI 96720 work has been done to dis- researchers, advocacy groups, ing and Biology. Watch for 808-352-3010 cover the causes of honey bee State Lead Agencies, com- the action plan and see sum- 1428 S. King Street decline, including CCD. Oc- modity groups, and agro- maries of these national ef- tober was the first re- chemical producers. Hawaii forts here. Honolulu, HI 96814 convening of these stake- Apiary Specialist Danielle 808-339-1977 holders to synthesize and Downey attended. Work www.hawaiibee.com summarize current knowl- groups focused on four areas