Katie Lee University of Minnesota

Bee Informed Partnership

Honey Bee Tech-Transfer Teams

Given the serious and chronic health problems facing bees and the increasing demand for pollination services, it is critical to provide

beekeepers assistance to help them maintain healthy colonies.

Tech-Teams: Help implement scientific and technological advances to enhance

environmental sustainability and profitability

Goals of Tech-Teams

Short-Term: Provide individual beekeepers with useful information about their colonies

Long-Term: Reduce over all US colony losses by using data to develop best management practices for different regions

1. Monitoring colonies for disease and pests

2. Stock selection for traits that will improve bee health and genetic diversity

3. Small-scale experiments and facilitate cooperative research

Tech-Team Objectives to assist beekeepers with:

Colony Monitoring

• Track colony pest loads and look at colony health over time

• From this information we can discern trends

Colony Monitoring • Record yard information: name, GPS, layout, weather • Record colony information

– Colony strength – Queen status (queen reproductively active) – Any signs of disease – Brood pattern – Weight – Temperament – Color – Any other notes of interest

(queen cells, low on pollen, etc.) – Sample taken to quantify:

• Varroa mite • Nosema • Viruses • Pesticides

Treatment and management information

• Many ways to keep bees • Year in the life of a colony • When are the best times of the year to

treat or feed and how?

• How do treatment methods and dosage effect the products efficacy?

Test pool of potential breeder colonies for the disease resistance trait hygienic behavior and

for diseases and pests.

Breeder Colony Testing

In 24 hours, read the test

Bee Informed Partnership Database

• Information we collect will ANONYMOUSLY go into the BIP master database, along with data from surveys, other sampling, and historical records.

• Researchers will need to apply to get access and then only limited data will be given

• Data – historical through the present – will be anonymously shared with beekeepers and researchers.

• More data = more interesting trends!

Beekeeper Reports

• Individual

– The data from each colony

– Turn-around time is 10 days

• Comparison

– Anonymously compare to the levels of other beeks

Four Tech-Teams

• Northern California

• Upper Midwest (North Dakota & Minnesota)

• Hawaii

• SoCal & Florida

Different regions, different beekeepers: honey production, pollination, queen breeding

• Northern California – Queen bee breeders (15) – Focus on testing breeder colonies and ‘peace of mind’

sampling

• Upper Midwest (North Dakota & Minnesota) – Migratory beekeepers: pollination, honey production,

queen breeding (12) – Focus on following colonies over time

• Hawaii – Queen bee breeders (3) – Focus on testing breeders

• SoCal & Florida – Migratory pollinators (10 – 15) – Focus on following colonies over time

Working with beekeepers

• Anonymity and trust

Working with beekeepers

• Anonymity and trust

Working with beekeepers

• Listening

For beekeepers not participating

• Information on Bee Informed website (beeinformed.org)

• Emergency sampling

– Kit can be sent in the mail with instructions

– Test for: Varroa, Nosema, Virus, Pesticides

• Disease monitoring

Our limitations

• Funding

– How to be sustainable

• Types of samples taken

• People and time

What works

• Following colonies over time

• Taking samples

• Results back to beekeepers in a timely manner

• Support from the industry

Funding

from:

Thank you!