The BeeHolder, April 2010

It is the best of places – it is the worst of places.

Before I launch into my polemic about Devon beekeepers. Let’s be clear – a polemic is a one-sided argument or discussion. There are some good, even great beekeepers in Devon. The former National Beekeeper lives and keeps bees in Devon.

But why oh why does everything that is bad also come out of Devon.

Varroa came into Wales in the late to mid 1980’s. It was first discovered in Tenby. Had it come in on a ship to Pembroke dock? No one knew and extensive research had to be undertaken only to discover that it had been imported into Wales from a beekeeper who had moved his stocks into Wales from Devon to gather more honey. Of course varroa could have come from anywhere, but it had to come from Devon.

Next, treatments are devised and Apistan and Bayvarol become available, are very effective and the problem is solved.

Or so we think -- but we hadn't reckoned on Devon beekeepers. Using Bayvarol or Apistan is quite simple, follow the instructions. The strips are not supposed to be in the hive for more than six weeks. As the meerkat says "simples".

But not so ‘simples’ to a Devon beekeeper who manages over a considerable number of years to stuff nearly 100 strips into a beehive. And guess what, the varroa mite gets quite used to the presence of synthetic pyrethroids and develops a liking for their taste. As do the mites very many offspring. And thus we have resistant mites. And these have spread all over the country. We now have integrated pest management which is demanding of time and not as effective as the pyrethroids were, if they were used properly.

But to ensure that the resistant varroa were quickly spread over the country, Devon beekeepers continue to sell nucs and colonies to the unwary. They continued to export their colonies to gather honey from wherever the honey was flowing. This ensured that even if bees were not purchased in to infect non-resistant areas, they got in somehow.

This table, above, shows the number of incidents of the more serious American Foulbrood disease recorded in Devon over the past 10 years. Information is from the beebase website – you’ll have register to see all the data available. The second column is the 10km grid reference square, the final column shows the number of colonies infected.

With 26 outbreaks Devon is up there with the leaders and think of the size of Devon compared to the other counties listed.

Devon does quite well for European Foul Brood as well. See the map below, again for Beebase, for 2005.

What next - small hive beetle – tropilaelaps mites!

Just steer clear of any bees from Devon.

And don’t even think of sending your bees to Devon to collect Devon honey – you will never know what they have caught until it’s too late and we are all infected.

And that’s why it is easy to get me to rant about Devon beeping!

Roy Norris.