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The Honey Bee Solution to Varroa by Steve Riley

The Honey Bee Solution to Varroa by Steve Riley

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The Honey Bee Solution to Varroa explains the practical steps beekeepers can take to identify and select for easily observable Varroa-resistant traits in their colonies. The book explains the science behind the bees’ mechanisms for controlling their mite populations.

In his foreword, Professor Steve Martin explains: "During the past 10-15 years there has been a quiet, mostly hidden, revolution in UK beekeeping. This involves increasing numbers of beekeepers managing their colonies without the need for any type of Varroa treatment. In the UK, it was the late Ron Hoskins that led the way and maintained his colonies for decades without treating for Varroa. Currently there are an estimated 1,800 UK beekeepers that haven’t treated for Varroa for six years or more. So, what is going on and how can you save money and time by becoming one of the growing number of beekeepers that don’t need to treat for Varroa?"

"This remarkable book presents a practical, chemical-treatment-free, solution to the Varroa problem.  The author explains that in colonies that are surviving without treatments, the workers are controlling Varroa not by killing the adult mites, but by detecting and chewing out  mite-infested brood cells to interrupt the mites' reproduction.  This book is a first-rate guide on how to identify mite-resistant colonies using simple tools:  open-mesh screens and insert boards.  The beekeeper learns thereby which of his/her colonies have genes that should be propagated in a program of treatment-free beekeeping."

--Tom Seeley, author of The Lives of Bees