An Interview with Slava Strogolov
Biologist at University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
Earl Hoffman
Question: Please share your background. Why did you choose to become a beekeeper?
A: I am a biologist working in the agricultural sector of microbial products. My undergraduate and graduate degrees are from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. My research there involved immunology, microscopy, molecular biology, microbiology. I worked as a scientist in the industry before starting my own probiotic company. In 2014, I became a beekeeper to develop probiotic supplements for pollinators. I needed hands-on experience to understand the results of probiotic research. I completed the online beekeeping course with Dr. Mariann Frazier at Penn State University to get the foundational knowledge of beekeeping. EAS Master Beekeepers Earl and Carol Hoffman of Essential Honey Bees LLC provided my first colonies and extensive instruction. I took a queen rearing course with Dr. Marla Spivak and Gary Reuter at the University of Minnesota. I am constantly working to further improve my beekeeping knowledge and skill for the successful propagation of bees.
Question: What is your passion? What motivates you?
A: Keeping the colonies alive and thriving! Honey bees are sentinels of agriculture that allow us humans to have a plethora of food variety that depends on pollination.
Question: How many years and how many beehives do you normally run?
A: I have been a beekeeper for six years and typically run 20-40 colonies. It’s urban, rooftop beekeeping. My hives are on the roof of our manufacturing facility. The city of Milwaukee allows just two hives per permit. I had to meet with the City of Milwaukee Commissioner because two hives was not enough to study probiotics. I explained my background and intent and received a special permit to do this. We are now running three different types of colonies: Italians, Carniolans, and Russians. We work very diligently to control our mite loads. We used almost all registered mite control substances with successes and failures. The current method that we prefer is 3% oxalic acid dribble (25mL/ hive). The alcohol mite washes show zero or one mite per 300 bees. So these are research hives, but we also make some honey.
Question: Since you are both a beekeeper and a scientist, tell us what experiments you have done with your bees?
A: First, we looked at all the practical aspects of feeding different bacteria to the honey bees. I needed to understand what kind of food bees consume and how much, whether bees will eat the bacteria, as well as the safety and efficacy of different probiotic formulations. We analyzed samples of honey. We looked at individual honey bee and colony health. We measured frames of bees, brood patterns, queen status, adult bee weight, brood and gut pathogens, Varroa counts. Also, I rated antimicrobial substances used in beekeeping for their effect on beneficial bacteria in the gut of the honey bees. This work was done with the help of beekeepers, assistants, and student interns. My wife and I presented the results at beekeeping conferences, including at Apimondia in 2019. At Apimondia, I saw that honey bees have the same health issues around the globe. Gut health is one of the imperative parts of successful beekeeping.
I wanted to look deeper at different diseases that present challenges to honeybees. Learning how to grow chalkbrood pathogen, fungus Ascosphaera apis, opened a way for us to screen probiotic bacteria for the ability to inhibit the fungus. I am attaching a photo of one such experiment. Ascosphaera apis forms a white colony covering the entire surface when it grows uninhibited, as you can see in the Control petri dish. It has the texture of cotton wool. What was super exciting was that probiotic Bacillus bacteria can be grown on the same petri dish as the fungus. Bacillus bacteria are yellow and less prominent. And these bacteria inhibit the growth of A. apis 20, 60, 100%. I used a red outline to show the area of the fungus on each of these plates. We were able to work with commercial beekeepers to replicate these results in the field, the reduced incidence of Chalkbrood due to the fungistatic activity of the probiotic bacteria.
Finally, I find that research on pesticides and the capacity of bacteria to remove them from the environment is very important right now.
The fungi experiment
Question: Did you work with aggressive bees?
A: I was running experiments on colonies located in northern Florida. The weather for that particular sample collection day was less than optimal. Very cloudy and just about to start raining. As I was pulling into the bee yard, the signs of mean bees were apparent. Bees were stinging the tires of my truck and hitting its windshield and body. I suited up in the truck, quickly lit a smoker, and started my work. Unfortunately, it also started to rain, which added to the honey bee colony irritation. I could not quit, because my flight home to Wisconsin was that same evening. A few hours later, I finished my work and decided to drive away from the yard about 200 yards before taking the suit off. Not far enough! As I removed the veil, I heard a high-speed buzzing sound. The honey bee had such momentum, that the sting felt like a smack. The swelling in half of my face happened so quickly and was so large that the facial recognition system in the airport failed to recognize me. I was asked for my ID and boarding pass multiple times during my travel home.
Question: How do you include your family and friends in your beekeeping journey?
A: My family is comfortable with honey bees. My wife and our two children work with me to do hive inspections and honey extraction. It is a joyous and rewarding activity.
Question: What is the most important thing you have learned about beekeeping so far?
A: There are 1000 different ways that support the success of your beekeeping operation. Timely treatments and hive health observations help prevent issues from happening in the first place.
Question: Last question. What are your goals for the next five years with your bees and your bee journey?
A: I want to raise all my queens. I plan to continue learning about bees and improving my beekeeping skills. Commercial beekeeping is very challenging due to many different inputs that can affect the success of the operation. I plan to continue to visit commercial beekeepers and show that probiotics can mitigate stress factors that come with commercial pollination.
Question: Thank you for your time and sharing with us your incredible experience with honey bees!
A: I wish all Bee Culture reading a healthy and happy New Year!
