Most diseases of honey bees can be controlled by keeping our colonies strong.

We strongly discourage the prophylactic use of Terramycin (tetracycline) to control American Foul Brood and Fumagillin to control nosema.

Using your senses—sight, smell, and sound—is key to recognizing a colony in distress, but keep your eye on the ball. The varroa mite is the main cause of Colony Collapse Disorder and the disseminator of many viral diseases.

A varroa infestation will weaken the colony and open it to other bacterial and fungal diseases.

Bee Disease | Class 5

The following video will discuss signs of a sick colony, bee diseases, and pesticides’ role in raising bees.

Honey Bee Pests | Class 6

In this lesson, we discuss most of the nuisance pests of honey bees.

Solutions for nearly all of these pests are already in place, but the beekeeper must be aware of them and implement them to protect colonies.

Chemical and nonchemical techniques continue to accumulate to combat the varroa mite, the most serious pest of the western honey bee. This lesson contains a detailed description of “Colony Collapse Disorder” and its origin and cause.