Honey Bee Pests and Diseases delivers timely advice on bee health

Honey Bee Pests and Diseases - A complete guide to prevention and management has been released through Exisle Publishing.

The book is largely based on the PhD research of Dr Robert Owen, who studied the effect of bee diseases in Australia and overseas with particular reference to Varroa.

Dr Owen has been a beekeeper for more than 20 years. He completed his PhD on Varroa in 2022.

He has advised beekeepers in Nigeria, Benin, Lebanon, Nepal, and Bangladesh for USAID.

He authored The Australian Beekeeping Manual, regarded as one of the most respected guides to beekeeping, and regularly contributes to specialist beekeeping magazines.

Professor Jean-Pierre Scheerlinck and Professor Mark Stevenson co-authored the book.

Professor Scheerlinck is an Honorary Professor in Animal Biotechnology at the University of Melbourne, where he taught for many years in subjects such as animal disease biosecurity, and insect shaping society.

Professor Stevenson is a veterinary epidemiologist with expertise in the area of infectious disease epidemiology, spatial epidemiology, and simulation modelling of infectious disease spread.

Dr Owen said the book took two years to write.

"Professors JP Scheerlinck and Mark Stevenson were my PhD supervisors and we worked closely on my research topic which was, partly, a hypothetical Varroa incursion into Australia and the probability of quarantine officials detecting and thwarting the incursion," he said.

"During this time, we also investigated pathogens of the honey bee to understand their likely effect on the Australian honey bee population."

The three authors believed there was a lack of knowledge about bee pathogens and their management, not only among Australian beekeepers, but globally.

"This book includes material useful not only for Australian beekeepers, but also for beekeepers in developing countries," Dr Owen said.

ONE aspect where the new book might be helpful is brining older beekeepers up to speed on Varroa mite, with some not accessing the internet for information as their younger colleagues.

"The internet contains much information about the management of Varroa, although comprehensive information on the biology and life cycle of the mite is harder to find," Dr Owen said.

"Without this additional information, it becomes difficult to anticipate what mites in an infested colony will do next, and to plan an effective management strategy for the following three months.

"There is currently a lot of talk about Varroa. This mite however is only one of a range of pathogens, some lethal, that can infect colonies.

"The bacterial disease, American foul brood, Paenibacillus larvae, is highly contagious and, by law, Australian beekeepers need to euthanise an infected colony immediately, burn the hive, before burying it under 15cm of earth.

"This book aimed to explain management strategies for all common bee pathogens, some of which, although endemic overseas, are not yet in Australia."

Dr Owen said the NSW Department of Primary Industries, as well as beekeepers, handled the incursion well and did everything they could to eradicate the mite.

"The difficulty they faced was that once the mite was established in the feral bee population, feral bees live in the wild and not in hives managed by beekeepers, it was virtually impossible to eradicate feral varroa mites from the bee population," he said.

THE new book takes the science of bee pest and diseases and translates it into lay language accessible to professional and hobby beekeepers everywhere.

Honey Bee Pests and Diseases provides up-to-date information on the management of honey bee diseases found globally, not just in the US, Europe, or Australia.

Of particular interest are the explanations of how pathogens affect honey bees, and area often left out of honey bee disease books.

The guide is richly illustrated with photographs and diagrams.

Chapters cover integrated pest management (IPM), epidemiology, viruses, brood diseases, mites, parasites, as well as other problems a colony might face.

The hardcover book contains 216 pages and is available for $69.99 from Exisle Publishing.

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