By: Charles Linder, American Beekeeping Federation
In the April and May editions of Bee Culture, there has been some information shared on the Tropilaelaps mite (T mite) and how it relates to the Canadian border and the ABF position recently taken. It is a great opportunity and we welcome the chance to have a discussion on the issue.
First, let me start with the American Beekeeping Federation directive as this needs to be mentioned.
Our Mission
The American Beekeeping Federation (ABF) will act on behalf of the beekeeping industry on issues affecting the interests and the economic viability of the various sectors of the industry.
This is our key mission, it is in this light, we addressed the issue in our annual meeting, to make an official statement on opening the Canadian border to U.S. packages. There are several keys to this. First and foremost, obviously, is the economic benefit to our industry. It’s difficult to get real numbers as to what the potential will be as price and demand will drive that, but a simple calculation shows the upside of roughly 20-25 million dollars that would be injected to the industry. That’s suppliers, and bee producers alike. No matter how you look at it, that is a perk to the industry, from the suppliers of bees, to equipment sellers and to the researchers helping keep them alive.
T mites and the Border. Ross Conrad gave us a good, basic history of the T mites in the April edition, so I am not going to rehash that, but I will add to it. Both species of Varroa and T mites share a basic history. Both are mites that jumped from Asian bees when European honey bees were brought into Asia. Much like the origins of our human pandemic, these pests have jumped species, and as such, are not in any sort of equilibrium with the new host.
A bit of history will quickly show us that mites in general have traveled the world very quickly, with little or no success in stopping their spread. From the tracheal mites of the 80-90’s, to Varroa jacobsoni, to the Varroa destructor, the ability for us to stop or even slow their spread has been difficult, or one should say impossible.
Now comes the T mite. It is in fact following the exact same paths as the previous Varroa twins. While it’s been pointed out, it does in general require fresh brood to survive, which will make it more difficult. One needs to look close at the research. Two KEY points. One species of T mite (there are four that I know of) has been found on rats. This is a huge concern given how easily they move around the world. The second is as noted by a key researcher, they can easily survive the duration of today’s jet flights on an adult bee. This is not a stretch of potential, but a basic reality. One claim often made is they simply cannot make those jumps across the ocean. A simple look at how many Indonesian islands are already infected, and common sense must kick in.
It was mentioned we could simply mandate packages are held longer than the lifespan of the T mite, but that flies in the goal of the package producers and customers of Canada who are trying to get bees as fresh as possible. It should also be noted, we have zero ability to ask another country’s government to hold packages for any length of time, so while it’s an idea, reality is it is not likely to work that way.
We already know that both pollen mites and the bee louse are being brought in from Australia to Canada, would it really be a big stretch to get a T mite from their Fall bees accidentally in the process? It was also mentioned in Ross’ writing, some mites have found a place to feed on adults. The process of taking the older Fall bees from down south and shipping them to Canada is peculiar at best, it speaks to the desperation the Canadians have trying to restock their losses.
Let’s talk a bit about the T mite impact, here Ross and I part ways. After studying and paying attention to Samuel Ramsey’s presentation at the ABF conference, it’s quite clear this mite is in fact DEVASTATING. Dr. Ramsey made it clear, first off it only takes one mite, as she is already mated, to start the problem, but we are looking at total hive collapse in a few weeks. This mite’s life cycle is incredibly fast.
“Pakistan lost 100% of their bee colonies in less than a decade.”
—Samuel Ramsey, 2023 ABF Conference
Watch Dr Ramsey’s video by scanning the QR code (or go to https://youtu.be/jIhvHavThxA), it is a must see! Pay close attention at the 12 minute mark where he tells us how they are already moving outside of where the science world thought they could. At 12:45, he explains how wrong they were and that T mites have already reached the coldest portions of China. Not only that, Dr. Ramsey tells us they also inhabit native bees and are NOT specific to honey bees.
The T mite means the end of honey bees as we know it in the U.S. Wild hives will be quickly decimated, pollination will be almost impossible without bi-weekly treatments. “Brood means death” and honey crops will be a thing of the past. Don’t take my word for it, please do your own research. I am a fan of Dr. Ramsey’s work, like many, and when he says be nervous, I pay attention! He is the expert in this area.
Ross is 100% correct when he says “catch more bees with honey,” our primary position is to be in a place to supply Canada with bees, so that we sweeten the pot. This will then allow us to reasonably ask them to cease imports from at risk areas.
As such, the ABF is making its primary position to do two things, One: do anything possible to reduce the risk and slow down movement, and Two: develop a real action plan for North America.
As it pertains to the border opening, it’s not only ABF in this position, it’s the U.S. Apiary Inspectors, the AHPA, the Canadian Beekeepers Federation and a whole host of other U.S. and Canadians who want this change made.
The Canadian need for pollinators is tied even to our own food safety and cost. Many types of crops and produce are produced in Canada and shipped stateside. Also, a win for the global carbon footprint. Do we really want our blueberries to have to be shipped in from South America?
As of yet, we can see no downside to beefing up our industry and reducing the risk of foreign invaders from other parts of the world. As such, I am proud of the ABF and its leadership position on this issue.
Charles Linder
Gm_Charlie@frontier.com
Commercial SIG director for ABF
