Honey Bee Health Coalition offers videos to combat varroa mite infestations

The Honey Bee Health Coalition has released a series of videos to help beekeepers promote colony health and combat costly and destructive varroa mite infestations.

The videos can be found on the coalition website, honeybeehealthcoalition.org/Varroa, and provide step-by-step instructions on how to monitor hives for varroa and how to safely treat when levels get too high. The videos complement the coalition’s wildly popular "Tools for Varroa Management Guide."

The videos cover a range of strategies and tools, including the uses of formic acid, essential oils and other synthetic miticides. They provide helpful visual aids and step-by-step directions on how beekeepers can monitor and control Varroa mites through an Integrated pest management strategy.

“These videos will show beekeepers real world application techniques that will help them correctly apply treatments," Mark Dykes of Apiary Inspectors of America said.

The guide, which has been downloaded more than 5,500 times since its release, has been updated four times with continued refinements and details.

“Beekeeping is becoming very popular, and often keeping the bees healthy is a mysterious learning curve," Danielle Downey of Project Apis said. "These important 'how to' videos bring the coalition’s Tools for Varroa Management Guide to life — and will amplify its impact in the United States, Canada, and around the globe.”