Scientists at HortResearch have successfully bred honeybees that are capable of fighting back against varroa mites by suppressing the reproduction of the pests. This welcome news for beekeepers was announced recently by the science company, a Crown Research Institute which is wholly owned by the New Zealand government:

Scientists breed varroa ‘resistant’ bees

Auckland, New Zealand, 16 December 2007 — A sustainable and cost-effective tool to control the varroa mite may soon be available to New Zealand beekeepers thanks to the efforts of scientists at the Crown Research Institute, HortResearch.

Scientists at HortResearch have successfully bred honeybees that fight back against varroa — by suppressing mite reproduction.

Since its arrival in New Zealand seven years ago varroa has become the number one enemy of bees and beekeepers across much of the country. Able to reproduce and spread rapidly, the mite lays its eggs inside the brood cells of a beehive, where the mites develop to maturity by feeding on bee larvae.

Uncontrolled, varroa will usually ‘kill’ a bee colony within a year — an expensive loss to beekeepers as well as a major threat to honey producers and New Zealand’s billion dollar fruit export industry, which relies on bees for pollination.

Varroa is currently controlled mostly through the use of chemical miticides — at an annual cost to industry of over $1.5 million. While such treatments are generally effective, their use is not sustainable says HortResearch honeybee scientist Dr Mark Goodwin.

“Overseas, varroa has quickly built up resistance to these miticides, resulting in large hive losses. In addition, while perfectly safe if used correctly, beekeepers and growers would prefer not to have these chemicals in our natural environment.”

With funding from the Sustainable Farming Fund, the National Beekeepers Association, individual beekeepers, and the kiwifruit industry through ZESPRI Limited, Dr Goodwin and his team have been searching for more sustainable ways of keeping varroa in check.

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New Brunswick poet Bliss Carman (1861-1929) wrote his ode to the honey bee collaboratively with the American poet Richard Hovey, and it appeared in their book Songs From Vagabondia, published in 1894.

It’s just a shame that Carman didn’t know more about Apis mellifera.

The poet made the common mistake — perpetuated in works from the time of the ancient Greeks right through to Seinfeld’s newly released animated film, Bee Movie — of thinking that the male bee, the drone, “works like a Trojan hero;
Then loafs all winter upon his hoard…”

In actual fact — the premise of Hollywood film plots notwithstanding — the male bee serves no practical purpose in the colony beyond queen-mating. When the weather turns cold, and the drones are no longer needed, they are firmly turned out of the hive so the colony’s food resources can be used to sustain the queen and worker bees through the winter.

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The CBC Radio program As It Happens posted a story on 22 October 2007 about the value to a colony of queen bees mating with multiple drones — it’s all about genetic diversity.

This story gives new meaning to the expression “busy as a bee.” New research shows that queen bees ensure they remain in charge of the hive by sleeping with as many male bees as possible. Well, it worked for Catherine the Great!

2007-10-22 As It Happens (MP3 audio fle)

In this entertaining audio podcast, Christina Grozinger, Assistant Professor of Entomology at North Carolina State University, tells of studying the differences in pheremones of queens who mated with many males, as opposed to those who mated with only one. (There seems to be a higher quality of pheremones in the multiple-mated queens, so the worker bees are more attracted to a multiple-mated queen and may be less likely to try to replace her.) Along the way, she gives a basic “birds and bees” chat explaining how honeybees mate and the role of the queen bee within the colony.

Research shows that when worker bees are half-sisters, rather than sisters, the colony is healthier. If the bees are challenged with a disease, for example, they’re more likely to be able to fight off that disease if the queen bee has mated with many different males and therefore there is more genetic diversity in the colony.

See also:

CBC Podcasts - Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)
Alternate sources: 2007-10-22 As It Happens CBC media feed / direct mp3 file

Christina M. Grozinger: Research Interests