State Inspection Went Well - Voluntary Africanized Bee Managment Program

[mgmoore7]

Florida Inspection
This is my first inspection.  In FL all hives have to be registered and inspected each year.  They are primarily concerned with american foul brood and now monitoring Africanized bees. 

My inspector is also happy to answer any questions and gave me his cell phone number.  I have found him to be very nice and helpful.  He obviously cares about the bee industry and truely wants to help however he can.

Condition of Hives
I have 3 hives.  One really strong hive (A), one doing well (B), and one that just came out of a nuk (C) about 12 days ago. 

Besides the beetles in the hive C (http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=10811.0), he gave me a clean bill of health.  He did not see any signs of varrao mites although he said everyone has them.  He noticed that the B hive did have a spotty brood pattern and I had noticed that before as well.  I asked him if I should requeen.  He said to wait it out and monitor.  She was laying alot but just not a good pattern.  He said that she may have just started up laying again after a slow down.  I did find the queen in hive A and she looked good. 

He suggested that I feed hive C for sure until they get stronger and the other two hives 3 or 4 jars.  He also suggested that I cull out some of the old comb over time. 

Africanized Bee Management Program
I was presented with a voluntary sign up for the Africanized Bee management program.  I was happy to volunteer as I surely don't mind doing my part to help with this issue and I will get a statement from the state that I don't have Africanized bees (or if I do, they will let me know and request that I requeen immediately).  He took a jar of bees for testing and I signed a statement of guidelines.  I don't have it in front of me but the major point is to make sure you have a marked queen from a registered queen breeder.  If I don't use marked queens or the queen is superceded, etc. I need to requeen every 6 months.  As long as I have a marked queen from a registered queen breeder, there is no requirement to requeen.  Also, any caught swarms need to be requeened immediately.

I asked him how often they are finding Africanized Bees and he said "alot".  I don't know exactly what that means but the tone in his voice was alarming.  Of course this is not good news for FL or the US....  It appears that a significant part of their job is educating the public and beeks about Africanized bees. 

My Take Aways

• Queen Marking - I need to get queen marking supplies and mark my queens.  I was told that Hive A and B (from the seller) were requeened this year but lots of things can happen as the queen in A was not marked.  The inspector said the bees will chew off the marking over time too. 
• Get some west hive beetle traps - He said that he has found that they do work and he uses them himself.  They can destroy a hive quickly if they get out of control.  I need to get this on my weak have immediatley in addition to the Sonny & Mel trap that is discussed in the link above.  My only issue with this is that it seems that it defeats the purpose of a screened bottom board.  Maybe I will put the trap on for a while and remove it for a while.
• Get setup to feed and start feeding the weak hive immediately as they virtually don't have any stores.  I am going to just cut some round holes in my migrator covers and use jars on top.  Seems like this is easy to manage, and the only cost is the drill bit ($12 for a bit.. ouch)  (got that last night and I already have some large glass jars.

Thanks for reading.  Your comments are welcome.  This forum has been very helpful!!!!!!!   :)

[Robo]

Nice summary, thanks for sharing.

My Take Aways

• Queen Marking - I need to get queen marking supplies and mark my queens.  I was told that Hive A and B (from the seller) were requeened this year but lots of things can happen as the queen in A was not marked.  The inspector said the bees will chew off the marking over time too. 

Go to your local craft store and get a Testors paint pen.  Works great.

• Get some west hive beetle traps - He said that he has found that they do work and he uses them himself.  They can destroy a hive quickly if they get out of control.  I need to get this on my weak have immediatley in addition to the Sonny & Mel trap that is discussed in the link above.  My only issue with this is that it seems that it defeats the purpose of a screened bottom board.  Maybe I will put the trap on for a while and remove it for a while.

Consider using a slatted rack, you can get good ventilation without a SBB.  I'm moving back to solid bottom boards myself.   Besides, with your SHB trap,  any varroa that would have fallen thru the SBB will now land in the SHB trap and presumably die.

• Get setup to feed and start feeding the weak hive immediately as they virtually don't have any stores.  I am going to just cut some round holes in my migrator covers and use jars on top.  Seems like this is easy to manage, and the only cost is the drill bit ($12 for a bit.. ouch)  (got that last night and I already have some large glass jars.

Inverted jars are the best way to feed in my opinion.  Cheap, easy, and the bees can even feed when it is cold (probably not a big issue for you).   Besides $12 for a bit is about what one of those pain in the a** top feeders would cost you.

[FordGuy]

Something about the government "inspecting" my bees rubs me the wrong way.  I take it that your program is voluntary, but when has anyone made the argument that if you participate in a voluntary program, it's only a matter of time before it's mandatory?  The only way (if you believe in less government, not more) is to fight these kinds of things from the get go...)I know in many states its' that way, but again, too much guberment for me. 

[mgmoore7]

FordGuy
Yearly inspection is mandatory in FL.  As I said, the primary thing they monitor is American Foul Brood.  The fact that it is rarely found in FL is evidence of the benefit of the program.

The Africanized Bee Program is voluntary.  Yes, maybe it will be mandatory at some point but I think that keeping the Africanized bees at bay is good for all of us and they are just trying to help.

One of the things he said was "we are not the bee police".   I believe him.  I have spoken to a few inspectors and a former inspector is the president of the Tampa Beekeeping club.  I don't see them as a threat. 

In this case, I do believe that the state just trying to help.  The inspection program and the group of inspectors creates a department that helps to promote beekeeping and its benefits to society.

[BMAC]

I am with FordGuy.  The Guberment tries to help out too often and screws everything up for everyone.

I would not invite them to inspect any of my colonies for AHB.  No matter how smart our elected idiots are, they will not be able to keep out the invading AHB. 

Maybe they should spend more money and time in actually educating the folks that live in the area along with research for better keeping these more aggressive bees.

[mgmoore7]

I guess I should have not responded to FordGuy as I added fuel to the fire.

Can we please not turn this into a debate on whether or not you want your bees inspected.

[BMAC]

LOL.

Ok.  Sorry.  Congrats on the good inspection. 

[FordGuy]

Ok, got it.  I just don't follow the need for someone from the government to see if you have AHB?  can't most folks tell?  Not debating government (per your request) just asking.  Anyway, sorry for the mini hijack.

[CWBees]

According to California:

How do the experts tell AHB from other bees?
At the local level, a Fast Africanized Bee Identification System (FABIS) test can be performed. Starting with a sample of 50 to 100 bees, 10 bees are randomly sorted. The right wing is removed from each and mounted on microscope slides, and the average wing length is calculated. If the average wing length is over 9mm, the bees are European Honey Bees. If the average wing length is under 9mm, the bees are suspect Africanized Honey Bees. They are only suspect AHB because there are some Egyptian Honey Bees in the county that are a domesticated bee but are slightly smaller that the EHB. Some EHB are also slightly smaller than usual. The FABIS test is like the TB skin test. If the test is negative, you do not have TB. If the test is positive, you might have TB but need a more sophisticated test to be sure.

If there is a need to know for certain that the sample is AHB or not, e.g., a multiple stinging incident or death, the sample is sent to the California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) for further testing. They can perform either a DNA, or complete morphometrics test. The DNA test compares the DNA from the sample to known DNA standards to determine whether the bees are AHB or not. This test can be done on a small sample size but not if the bees were killed with certain pesticides. The chemicals used to kill the bees interfere with the test. Complete morphometrics can be used when the sample is contaminated with pesticides. Complete morphometrics is a series of very precise measurements of various parts of the bees in the sample. Some involve lengths of specific body parts, some involve the angles of wing veins. These measurements are then averaged and compared to a standard. A complete morphometrics test requires a larger sample size than the DNA test. Both tests are quite accurate and are considered the final word in AHB determination.


I think it is a good idea to have the Government involved in testing for AFB. I hear the DNA testing equipment is pretty expensive.

[pdmattox]

Great inspection report. As mentioned in the post by cwbees the only sure way to determine africanized is through a genetic test, not just by looking at the bees and thier temperment. :-\ 


reprinted from state of florida website:
Apiary Inspection plays a vital role in Florida Agriculture as inspectors work to prevent introduction and establishment of honey bee pests and diseases. A healthy and secure Florida honey bee industry is valuable to all.

Florida’s honey industry is consistently ranked among the top five in the nation with an annual worth of $13 million. In addition, the Florida honey bee industry benefits our state’s fruit and vegetable industry by providing an estimated $20 million in increased production numbers created by managed pollination services that are available in no other way. There are over 100 varieties of popular fruits and vegetables that use pollination to ensure fruitful crops.

Florida Apiary Inspectors certify movement of honey bee colonies throughout the state and nation. These colonies are monitored for diseases, honey bee pests and unwanted species. The Department has the most comprehensive state program (e.g., numbers of inspectors and traps) to prevent the accidental introduction of the unwanted Africanized honey bee.

Seventeen million pounds of honey are produced in Florida each year and enjoyed around the world as the sweetener of choice.

Honey bees, otherwise know as the Angels of Agriculture, are the strongest link in the chain between food producers and consumers.



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P.S.
If your state does'nt require inspections of hives then I would be worried.

[mgmoore7]

I could not have said it better PDMaddox.    :)

[deantn]

In the state of TN. the same rule applies, need to have hives inspected every year and registered with the state.
As an inspector I agree with the inspection part but not the registration part.
Now I had to take a class at UT Knoxville for a week at my own expense in order to become an inspector. Our assoc. had a total of 12 people go to these classes but only three or four passed the course and only two of that class are now inspectors.
The very first inspection done by one of these found AFB, in hives that were bought by an experienced beekeeper from someone in
Virginia. Good thing he wanted them to be inspected before he put them in one of his yards as he had no knowledge of AFB and what it could have done to his other hives. Being form a very closed up county that is surrounded by mountains on all sides there is no telling how fast that could have spread around here. After sending a sample to the state and UT Knoxville and being confirmed as AFB the hives were burned and ashes buried. Hopefully ending that problem before it got started here. Man did lose a few dollars but saved thousands to other beekeepers in the county. The beekeeper in Vir. was told about the AFB but no follow up was done from here so have no idea if those bees were inspected by the state of VIR or not.
I enjoy inspecting others hives and seeing how they are kept by different people and how much or little care they give the bees. I only recommend to them other ways of doing beekeeping, never tell them it has to be done my way. We do these inspections as a courtesy to the assoc. members. Also if they are going to use the equipment we have for extracting they have to have a valid certificate before they can use any of the equipment. This was voted on by all the members a couple of years ago in order to keep the diseases threat down  and not pass them on by way of extracting. :-\
 

[KONASDAD]

New Jersey's is a voluntary program. It also provides an additional layer of protection as hives are registered so pesticide applicators know where hives are located for avoidance. My hives were inspected and it was a great help to an inexperienced beek. I was releived to be honest to get a "professional" opinion to confirm my belief my hives were healthy.

[Understudy]

I didn't sign the voluntary agreement this year. I wasn't home when the inspector came by.

Sincerely,
Brendhan