Before talking about the factors affecting bee health, I would like to make a more general point. Stay with me, it’s an important premise: Health, be it bee health or any other organism, is more than just the absence of disease. Very often beekeepers fix their attention on single factors and lose sight of the big picture. So, they treat against varroa (hopefully) or complain about the use of pesticides. But other factors, that are maybe less prominent, but not less important, aren’t sufficiently taken care of. So, let’s take a better look at the whole picture, shall we?
Factors that influence bee health
First of all, we have to see the whole colony, the superorganism as the individual that we want to keep healthy (i.e. productive). So, the first thing is to take a step back from time to time and look at the colony. Is it growing like you would expect that time of the year? Is the brood pattern regular, is the queen laying eggs, is she tended well by the workers? Do you see a strong flight activity or are they just lingering a bit on the flight entrance? These are intrinsic factors that influence colony health. Learn to observe your colonies. Notice the signs if everything is ok or something is a bit odd. I call this the “diagnostic eye”, but also includes smell, sound, and the colony behaviour.
Then, of course, we have parasites and pathogens that influence bee health. And here’s maybe a point related to the challenges in beekeeping: The largest issues come from invasive parasites. Varroa originally is a parasite of Apis cerana, as is Nosema ceranae. Tropilaelaps mites, which are the new spectre haunting beekeeping, are parasites of Apis dorsata. All of them come from Asian honey bee species and made the host shift to ours.
Which leads us to the third, often neglected factor that influences bee health. Environmental factors. Of these, the most important one is the beekeeper. In a managed animal, the practices of those keeping them are essential. Which brings us again to good practices, I’m afraid… But also the weather and the climate influence bee health, as well as the resources colonies have available.
These are only a few examples what we have to take care of for healthy honey bee colonies. It may seem overwhelming, but I like the picture of those artists spinning plates on a stick: They don’t spin all at once, but only those which are losing balance. To do that with honey bee colonies, it needs good practices and education.
Invasive parasites throw colonies out of balance
Varroa mites are still the largest challenge in beekeeping. And they’re a good example why invasive parasites are such an issue: They bring things out of balance. We all know that virus infections like DWV come together with varroa. Together they’re the main factor for colony losses. Well, guess what, DWV already existed in our colonies before the arrival of varroa. But the impact changed with the mite. The typical symptoms we see (crippled wings etc.): They come with this invasive parasite.
Also, Nosema ceranae gets things out of balance. Colonies not really developing in spring, staying weak and less productive over the season – these are symptoms of this gut parasite. It’s often neglected by beekeepers, because they can’t really see it and the damage creeps in slowly. But this parasite also influences the protein metabolism of the bees, so situations with low nutrition kick in differently.
And who knows what Tropilaelaps mites will bring. Or any new invasive parasite we don’t even think about now. Because one thing has to be said: With climate change, the probability that invasive parasites spread increases. Like, a lot. And it brings also other issues that may make things even worse.
Beekeepers for Future
I’m a bit concerned that the protection of our climate is getting so much out of sight. All the other consequences aside, it also is a crucial factor affecting bee health. It not only influences the spread of parasites and pathogens, but also the nutrition of the colony. On many levels: For instance, droughts also influence how much nectar a plant produces. A great portion of nectar is water. With less water, less nectar. The rising CO2 levels also influence the protein content of pollen. Which, on the other hand, is essential for colony health, there are a lot of interactions between the nutrition of the colony and its susceptibility for parasites and pathogens.
A revival of the climate discussions is in the interest of beekeepers. Which, again, brings us back to the sense of overwhelm we may get from all these crises and things to do. But I may remind you of the different levels of influence or responsibility: Large and complex problems need a systemic solution. And the collaboration of many. This shows in policy briefs some research projects publish. A recent example from the RestPoll project shows how solid science and efficient measures go together.
Pure activism (“Save the bees!”) doesn’t lead anywhere. It needs careful evaluation which measures really help, under which conditions, etc. The RestPoll project thought about restoration of pollinator habitat. Though not thinking specifically of managed honey bee colonies, better habitat means better nutrition which means more resilience against diseases… So, a collaboration (large research project) led to recommendations for policy makers (policy level). If these recommendations become real depends again on the community level, like associations using their strength to build up awareness. And also on the individual level – on where you put your cross during elections.
So: Beekeepers for Future! And always keep the big picture in mind.
By the way, if you want a more detailed view on the current and future challenges for bee health: Contact me. I do talks and webinars on the subject.
