This February, I had the opportunity to tour the almond pollination with John Miller, of Miller Honey Farms, and Sandy Honigsberg, a beekeeper in the El Dorado bee club. “So, besides feeding, what other problems are you dealing with as you are expanding?” The question came from Sandy on my first day in CA. Sandy is in a similar place in her career, looking at how to make beekeeping her full-time endeavor. That question hit the nail on the head. It’s in part why I’m here. Suck out as much information from the experts to help me make the transition from large hobbyist to large side-liner/small commercial. Maybe, a good starting point is coming up with a good answer to the question.

Syrup vs. dry sugar. At some point during my expansion, I will need to convert from mixing my own syrup to buying syrup in totes. Totes will save time and help prevent back injuries from lifting thousands of pounds of sugar.

The topic of feeding came up as I was explaining why I’m having a rough Winter. I make mid-Summer splits for mite control and to expand. Because of Covid (always need to blame something, right?), I couldn’t buy sugar when the bees needed it. Therefore, my bees went into the Winter small and light. John offered his first of many gems, “check out soda manufacturers in the area. They get tankers of syrup, you can buy totes from them”. When I explained that I get 50 pound bags of sugar from Restaurant Depot, I got the, “oh, you still mix your own syrup?” If I’m going to expand, I need to focus on the bees and not menial tasks that can be easily avoided. At some point, I will need to buy syrup and not dry sugar.

But this little transition, from sugar to syrup, highlights all the other issues I need to figure out. I have an F150. I love the truck. It has a payload rating of around 1500 pounds. Plenty for 50-pound bags of sugar, but a 300 gallon tote of syrup is over 3500 pounds. Not going to work. Next, I go to the source, get my tote, and drive home. How many neighbors does it take to move a 3500-pound tote? Ugh, I need a truck AND a forklift. I was thinking that since I’m not a migratory beekeeper and don’t move hives around, much, I could get away with a pickup and maybe a trailer. Certainly, many of my daily activities and hive checks can be done with my pickup. But there will be times, like now when I’m cleaning out yards full of empty boxes, when a bee truck and a forklift will greatly facilitate my job. First, for feeding. Make it fast and easy. Second, for moving bees and equipment. How many trips between yards do I need to make? Third, for transporting honey supers. Again, I can take several trips with my F150 or one trip with a bee truck. Finally, and maybe most importantly, to save my back. As I get older, I’m going to hurt my back lifting. I need to minimize that. Utilizing pallets and a forklift will minimize the heavy lifting and, hopefully, prolong my beekeeping career.

Converting to sugar syrup will require a forklift to move the tote and a “tonner” flatbed to transport it. Cha-ching. But they will also help in moving hives and honey supers. The F550 or 5500 class of flatbeds can handle 80 double-deep hives. Rather than making multiple trips to all my yards, the truck can handle all that I need to carry. The forklift uses hydraulics instead of spine and back muscles. The former is much easier to repair.

The next, big change associated with expanding was highlighted by George Carlin. I need a place for my stuff! My garage is full. I inherited a small container and that is already full. I haven’t even expanded, yet, and I’m out of space. I live in suburbia, so I can’t park my bee truck and forklift on the street. Then, there’s the whole honey-house side of things. In MO, if you sell more than $50,000 of honey you are considered commercial and must have a health-inspected facility to extract. So, if I expand as much as I want to, I can’t just buy a piece of property in the middle of nowhere and store all my stuff there. I need water, sewer, electricity, and a building with the right zoning and structural make-up.

Let’s summarize. That’s a truck, a forklift, a piece of property, and a honey house. That’s after just being told during one of my CA trip meet and greets that people who are in the business for thirty years (referring to almond growers but John agreed it pertains to beekeeping as well) should expect to go bankrupt twice in that time. WHAT? What am I thinking? Why would anyone do this?

Investment in the future: It costs an almond grower about $6,000 per acre to plant and $1,000 per acre in inputs per year to establish a bearing fruit crop. I’m sure this picture represents over a million dollars of investment. Every business takes investment to succeed. The trick is to truly understand the risks vs the reward before taking the leap.

Here, too, my trip was invaluable. Not only was I getting sage advice about all the things I should consider, but I was observing almonds and pollination at an incredible scale. 1.2 million bearable almond acres with two hives per acre. I learned that it costs $6,000 to plant an acre of almonds and a $9,000-$11,000 investment before you even start to produce almonds. It takes about nine years to break even. Yet, almonds are the most lucrative crop in CA. I really began to understand that it takes investment to be “successful”. Even John, who is fourth generation beekeeper, just invested an enormous amount of money on a climate-controlled warehouse to overwinter his bees in North Dakota. I have a lot of respect for people who have the courage to invest in their own business. In my career as a scientist, I got paid whether the company had a good year or not. The worst that could have happened to me was that I lose my job. There was no way I was going to go bankrupt twice in my career. Then it hit me, I did make an investment in my career. I went in debt to get a great college education. I spent six years in graduate school and five years as a post-doctoral fellow. I didn’t get my first job until I was in my early 30s.

I’m out of space: My container is full of hive components. My garage, (my wife won’t allow a picture of the inside) is full of extracting equipment, sugar, buckets, etc. I’m out-growing the garage as my “honey house.” My current size already has used up our available space. Any growth requires more…

Maybe my dice were a little loaded, but I did roll them for my “success”. I did it once, I guess it’s time to do it again. I’ve already decided that I am not a high stakes gambler. I won’t put my retirement in jeopardy for this endeavor. But I am going to make some investments to allow me to expand – at least to give it a go as a serious sideliner. Next step? A place for my stuff.

Click here to go directly to Part 2 – What’s in a Queen?

Click here to go directly to Part 4 – A Shout Out to My Friends

Dogs are famous for their sense of smell. A dog’s sense is so advanced they can smell disease in bees or a host of medical conditions in humans (cancer, diabetics, sleep apnea) and lots of other stuff (whale poop, firearms, toxic waste sites, child pornography and even covid 19). With about 220 million scent receptors – compared to five to 10 million in humans – dogs can detect odors 10,000 to 100,000 times that of humans. They can detect some odors in parts per trillion and they can detect countless subtleties in scents.

Dogs are being used in an ever-growing number of detection scenarios. A news story from Texas Tech and Virginia Tech announced a “$475,000 Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant” to study whether dogs can detect agricultural pests and pathogens. This effort proposes to use dogs of several breeds to determine if they can be used for detection of spotted lanternfly (a cicada/aphid related plant pest) and spotted mildew in

agricultural crops. Nathan Hall, Texas Tech University assistant professor of Companion Animal Science, said “he hopes dogs eventually save farmers many millions of dollars in damage annually.” University of Penn Veterinary School currently has three dogs in training, a Labrador retriever, a German shepherd, and a Small Münsterländer searching for Spotted lanternfly egg infestations. The German Shepard, named Lucky, is already being used by the Penn Department of Ag in the field https://www.npr.org/2020/12/11/944185028/pennsylvania-turns-to-mans-best-friend-to-sniff-out-spotted-lanternfly-infestation.

Humans can train our noses to recognize bee colony disease conditions including the foulbroods and even PMS. American Foulbrood (AFB) is most easily distinguished, described variously as the odor of a chicken house, or an athlete’s locker, left uncleaned. Maryland, uniquely among states, has been training and using dogs to detect American foulbrood (AFB) since 1982. Training involves a rigorous training schedule lasting six months, a source of AFB (not just an infected colony), a close relationship of trainer with a well-disciplined animal, an indoor space for the training and for continuous reinforcement of the smell conditioning without contaminating the space and a great deal of patience. Safety protocols must be followed to avoid that dogs do not get stung. Defensive colonies, such as Africanized bees, kill and injure dogs and many other animals each year. If they get stung, most dogs would lose their concentration and not be useful for a period.

The use of dogs in detection of AFB for Maryland Apiary inspection was started by Maryann Frazier before her move to Penn State. Jerry Fischer, regional, then state apiary inspector, utilized two Labrador retrievers, Max then Byno and then regional apiary inspector Bill Troup trained a 3rd dog Thorn around 2000, followed by Klinker, also both Labs. Klinker and Bill retired in 2015. The 5th Maryland AFB dog, a yellow lab named Mack, went through his six-month training period as a two-year-old and began field work in 2017. He currently works alongside owner and handler, Cybil Preston, the chief apiary inspector for the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA). MDA uses AFB sniffing dogs in their regulatory authority for the certification of honey bee colonies as disease-free.

As with the previous dogs, Mack was enrolled in the scent training program with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. This facility trains dogs for drug and contraband (especially cell phone) interdiction along with a few dogs for other purposes such as MDA dogs for foulbrood detection. Each group of dogs “are trained on scent detection through a series of drills and games,” says Preston. Training Mack, Cybil says involved “playing games with toys and training aides saturated in the AFB bacteria.” Cybil had to wear rubber gloves and training was done indoors so as not to contaminate or possibly transmit any AFB. According to Mark Flynn, K-9-unit commander at the state’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, “when a dog is searching, he believes in his heart he’s trying to find his toy”. Although the dogs may play as a reward in targeted scent detection, the dogs are trained to “work” following commands and must be continuously retrained to keep their detection and working skills current.

After Mack was trained, a second dog was authorized for the Apiary inspection program. Cybil worked a year with a beagle-cross named Clark. Although Clark was smart and a good sniffer, he “did not work out”. One issue with beagles is they tend to prefer a food reward which is a “no-no” in scent training. During his training, Clark simply refused to take the tests. Cybil, by then attached to Clark, retired him to become part of her farm. The Preston farm raises chemical-free produce and provides a rescue service of senior animals (Cybil calls it their “Senior Equine retirement village”). Currently, besides dogs, the farm menagerie includes five donkeys and three goats.
When it became clear Clark was not going to cooperate, Cybil was offered Tukka. Tukka was part of a litter of springer spaniels bring trained to detect prison contraband. Although an excellent search and find dog, Tukka had one problem – he was scared of noises. The clanking of a jail cell door for example would result in his cowering along the wall, terminating his desire to work. Believing he was better suited as an outside than inside dog, Cybil took him on. Tukka trained from June to October and passed his final test without a single miss.

In the field, when Preston commands them to “find,” the dogs move from beehive to beehive, sniffing each one for the distinct odor of AFB. They work along the front of the colonies and then along the back of the same row. If Mack smells the disease, he sits to alert to his detection. Tukka is an aggressive alerter. He gets super excited, pulling at his leash trying to paw the ground to alert to the AFB scent. Mack works slow and steady while Tukka works faster and at a higher energy level. He is usually held on a leash because he wants to dart between and circle around and between colonies. If disease is detected the dogs are praised, get special loving, given water and rewarded with a special ball to chase that they do not get at any other time. They then are bedded in the state van.

Cybil then manually goes through the indicated colony. The colony is flagged, samples taken to be sent to the USDA Bee Lab at Beltsville, MD for AFB confirmation and the apiary is quarantined until results come back from the lab. Most often though the infestation is moved onto a burn pile right away by the beekeeper. Before the bees might be certified for movement to a pollination site or as clean for sale of nucs the dogs are put to work again – at a different section of the apiary. Cybil is not satisfied until they fail to alert this attempt.

Cybil says the dogs are “incredibly efficient – in a span of three weeks, Mack inspected over 1,600 bee colonies that were being sent to California for almond pollination. And he is accurate – in field testing, he correctly identified 100 percent of infected hives,” she says. “It would take us a year to work on that many colonies.” Cybil hopes to use Mack another year or so.

The dogs work November into March/April, mainly in the morning and only when temperatures are below 52 degrees. Mack does not like bees and if he hears them or there are bees at the entrance, he loses his concentration. Cybil believes he has been stung on her farm but never during work. It is just his gentile nature. Tukka is a bit more fearless but he too does not like bees on his fur.

Mack alerting C. Preston.

Both dogs must be continually reinforced. Inside her basement she uses boxes or takes the dogs to the state training facility where they train inside among crates and boxes. On her farm Cybil will use her own colonies as part of the training but not with the AFB for fear of contamination. Cybil says they are the best of friends at work and at home. And they get summers off to play on the farm. They especially like the swimming pool according to Cybil.

New Zealand also has a program to use dogs for AFB detection. Since foulbrood antibiotics are not permitted in New Zealand and queens and packages are shipped worldwide from New Zealand, including to Canada, they have recently refined their use of dogs for AFB detection. Their plan is to use just AFB scent to train, which Maryland is doing as well. Results in the past when dogs were trained just to infected colonies has apparently not worked as well as hoped for. https://beemission.com/blogs/news/new-zealand-sniffer-dogs-are-training-to-detect-afb

Mack and handler Cybil Preston were honored as the second recipients of Maryland Governor Hogan’s Customer Service Heroes Award. The award, presented monthly, recognizes and celebrates front line workers for customer service excellence. The program is designed to foster improvements in customer service across Maryland state agencies. https://news.maryland.gov/mda/press-release/2017/05/10/mack-the-bee-dog-cybil-preston-receive-governors-customer-service-heroes-award/

Mack was a feature of Disney+ show It’s a Dog’s Life. Check it out on Season One Episode Five Filmed November 2019, aired March 2020. A good article on Maryland’s use of dogs for AFB was published in the New York times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/dining/dogs-bees-colonies-sniff-bacteria.html

All life forms, including bees (wild and domesticated species) are threatened by various viruses. They can be singular species-specific or infect a broad range of host (i.e. pollinators). Viral particles are basically a genetic material (RNA or DNA) encapsulated in a protective layer made of protein. Viruses can multiply only in living host cells.
Most viruses are so small that they can be observed only by using highly specialized techniques like electron microscopy (EM). However even in the EM many particles of non-related viruses, that cause very different diseases, look strikingly similiar. That is why the most reliable diagnostic methods are those using serological techniques (i.e. AGID) and molecular biology (i.e. PCR). In some cases the virus can be identified by the symptoms it causes in the colony.

Many viruses, causing severe, often deadly diseases, multiply and spread between single hosts for a long time before causing any visible symptoms. This trait is typical for bee viruses.
The occurence of some viral diseases is dependant on the presence of parasites, i. e. Nosema spp. or Varroa destructor, and others on unfavorable environmental conditions i.e. bad weather making it impossible for bees to fly out, a break in forage sources, etc.).

Many viruses are very commonly present in bee colonies that show no symptoms of infection. There are actually more viruses in bee colonies than any other pathogens. To date 36 bee viruses were found in Apis mellifera colonies. Their phylogenetic origin and target developmental stage of the bee (or the caste) is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Phylogenetic origin of respective viruses and the target stage/caste of bees

Most of those viruses multipliy in bees and brood asymptomatically. Those that pose the biggest threats are described below.

VIRUSES ASSOCIATED WITH VAROOSIS
Deformed wing virus (DWV)
It’s one of the viruses that causes no symptoms in bees and brood without V. destructor. With this parasite (that is a vector and activator of the virus) however DWV can be deadly for individual bees, but often also the entire colony.

By feeding on bees and brood, the mites impair their immunity, which allows the virus to multiply freely. There are emany variants of the virus that differ in virulence (the ability to penetrate, multiply in and damage cells, and in consequence, tissues) in bees. The coexistence of mites and highly virulent viral strains leads to colony deaths. However, regardless of the strain, the longer the mites stay on adult bees, the longer the viral titres, and the more often it leads to emergence of crippled bees from brood cells that the mites entered. Also the more mites in the colony, the more crippled bees emerge.

DWV can be transmitted with royal jelly, sperm (from drones to queen), from queen to egg, from mite to brood and bees.

The symptomatic infection takes many forms from brood death to emergence of crippled bees. Those bees usually have ill developed wings (from gray to brown in color, deformed and shortened), shortened abdomens, movement and orientation impairments. Usually they don’t live past 67 hours. They are removed from the colony earlier and die outside.

It is possible that healthy looking bees will emerge. It is however just apparent health, because those bees have severe nervous system impairments. Their life span is significantly shortened.

Severely infected colonies may rapidly dwindle after feeding for winter and they die shortly after. If the weather allows the bees to fly out, they die in the field, and in the nest only a handful of bees with the queen is left. However, if it is already cold outside, and they cannot fly out, they die in the hive.

DWV is found practically everywhere in the world, but in colonies, in which Varroa control is performed properly (or where Varroa is not yet present), there is no symptoms of this infection.

But in colonies in which V. destructor had a chance to multiply to greater numbers and persist there for extended periods of time, bees with deformed wings begin to appear. The more neglected the colony (treatment wise), the more crippled insects.

Sometimes, after a period of heavy mite infestation, the beekeeper treats the colony well and even kills almost all the parasites. This however does not mean that he gets rid of the virus, because usually DWV manages to multiply so much, that it leads to the colony death anyway, even with a big delay in relation to the treatment.

Acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV)
In the presence of V. destructor this virus can kill both bees and brood. Similar to DWV, the mite impairs the immune response in bees, which allows the virus to multiply freely. V. destructor is also a vector of ABPV.

Heavily infected bees are carriers of the virus and spread it (in huge amounts) with royal jelly and pollen moistened with their saliva to larvae, but also to other adult bees via trophallaxis (food sharing). Transmission of ABPV with food however isn’t usually effective enough for the symptoms to appear. The main role here is played by the mite, that transfers viral partlicles directly into the hemolymph of bees and brood. This route allows fast multiplication of ABPV.

Often the beekeeper doesn’t see any symptoms until the colony dies. It’s because the virus (in the presence of many mites) multiplies very fast, and kills the bees just as rapidly, so the time when the symptoms appear is very short.

Heavily infected bees cannot fly, show symptoms of paralysis and tremors of different magnitude, and in the end they fall off of the combs and are thrown out of the hive by their sister bees.

If it is warm enough so the bees can fly, they usually die in the field leaving food, some brood, a handful of bees and the queen behind.

It may happen that heavily infected bees feed huge ammounts of the virus to larvae with royal jelly, and the brood dies before it is capped. However the beekeeper sees that symptom rather seldom, because the dead larvae are quickly removed by the nurse bees.

Larvae that survive become carriers of ABPV as adult bees and transfer it in big amounts to other larvae during feeding. If, at the same time, there is still a heavy mite infestation, the beekeeper will see foulbrood like symptoms.

Heavily infected colonies usually die in late spring or early Winter.

VIRUSES ASSOCIATED WITH NOSEMOSIS
Black queen cell virus (BQCV)

Darkened queen cell. (A. Gajda photo)

This virus plays the key role amongst other viral co-infections with nosemosis. It is transmitted similarly to Nosema spores, via the alimentary route, and is found in considerable ammounts in workers suffering from Nosema infections.

BQCV infection shortens the lifespan of bees significantly. Often they die in early spring, before the new generation of bees can be reared. It results in the course of nosemosis being much more severe and more often leading to colony death (it rapidly dwindles before it can be reinforced with newly emerged bees). Besides the much shorter lifespan, in adult bees there is no other symptoms of BQCV infection.

Black Queen Cell Virus – Dead larvae A) yellow, B) with
darkened head. (G. Topolska photo)

Distinctive symptoms can be observed in queen larvae and pupae, however, in natural conditions, when the bees decide about queen rearing on their own, we do not observe this disease. Bees infected with Nosema and BQCV are withdrawn as nurse bees and become foragers faster (they physiologically get older faster).

In contrast, especially in first batches of queen rearing material, there are not enough nurse bees, so infected bees (that normally would be foragers already) still feed the larvae, that is why they can infect queen larvae.

Queen larva or pupa infected with BQCV become pale yellow, it’s cuticle hardens. With time, due to melanin deposition it darkens, leading, by contact, to darkening of the queen cell walls. The virus was named after this specific symptom. One must however remember, that even though dark queen cell walls are commonly associated with BQCV, in reality queen cells with dead queen brood can look completely normal, and contain almost normally looking, pale yellow larvae or pupae inside.

Larvae get infected by eating royal jelly supplied by nurse bees that are carriers of the virus. The larvae get sick only after they have been capped.

During a heavy BQCV infection also worker brood can start dying and the symptoms resemble very closely those of sacbrood disease.

BQCV is a very commonly present virus. Practically in all the apiaries, in which colonies suffer from nosemosis, it can be also found. It is by far the most common cause of queen brood death in queen rearing apiaries.

Bee virus Y (BVY)
It also is transmitted via the alimentary route. It multiplies in the alimentary tract of the bee most efficiently, when the bees are kept in 35oC, whereas when the temperaturę drops even by 5oC, it stops the multiplication completely. BVY shortens the life span of bees and exacerbates the pathogenicity of Nosema spp., however other symptoms were not discovered to date.

Apis mellifera filamentous virus (AmFV)

The particle of this virus is very big compared to most bee viruses, and can be observed in light microscopy (LM), however, recognition can only be done by electron microscopy (EM), because in LM it is visible as a tiny dark speck. AmFV multiplies in fat body and ovaries of infected bees (it is not however transmitted from the queen to the egg).

Black Queen Cell Virus Dead pupae A) looking almost normal, B) yellow, C) with darkened front end of the body.
(G. Topolska photo)

Similarly to BQCV and BVY it is transmitted with food. The hemolymph of heavily infected bees becomes milky-white and contains huge ammounts of the virus. In the last phase of the infection, the hemolymph expands its volume and its hemocytes start dissapearing. The influence of AmFV on the course of nosemosis is not as clear as the one of BQCV or BVY. It is commonly thought to be a minimally harmful virus.

Unfortunately, to date there is no available antiviral drug for bees, that is why controlling viral diseases that are associated with other pathogens, consists of this latter pathogen control. It looks similar with viral disease prevention in this case. One should primarily prevent other pathogens from spreading in the hive in order to lower the risk of those viral infections. Namely: proper mite control, hygene (to prevent nosemosis). It is always advised to replace the queen with a young and healthy one, that lays eggs properly, preferably bought from a good breeder, that offers queens producing bees with highly developed hygenic Instinct. It is also known, that endemically occuring bee genotypes always do better with diseases, than the newly introduced ones, that is why one should buy queens from local breeders with long traditions in the region.

VIRUSES NOT ASSOCIATED WITH OTHER PATHOGENS
Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV)
It is a very commonly occurring virus.

Just as in case of most viral infections in bees, this one also is often covert, however, with proper conditions occurring, the symptoms start.

CBPV enters hemolymph mostly via wounds from broken hairs on adult bees, but it can also be transmitted via food: with pollen, honey and feces of infected individuals.

The most hairs are broken when during an active beekeeping season the foragers are forced to stay in the hive for too long, which mainly occurs during a sudden brake in forage availability (cold, rainy weather, drought), but also when there are too many colonies in the area (not enough flowers for all the bees). In such conditions CBPV spreads fast in the colony and the symptoms occur in adult bees. However the presence of the virus was confirmed independently of the season in all developmental stages of bees. In very heavily infected colonies also pupae death was observed.

CBPV causes two sets of symptoms (two syndromes). Both lead to death of bees. They can occur simultanously, but always one of them is dominant (it’s genetically conditioned).

Chronic bee paralysis virus – Alimentary tract and thorax. The arrow shows expanded crop. Spread wings are also depicted. (G. Topolska photo)

Syndrome I. The symptoms result from active multiplication of CBPV in the nervous system of bees, towards which it has the strongest tropism. They are classical progressive paralysis symptoms. Bees tremble unnaturally (body and wings), paralysis of different body parts also occurs, and bees become unable to fly. Sick bees gather in warmer areas of the nest, but later, as useless, they are thrown out of the hive, where they crawl on the ground or up the grass leaves. Their crop is entirely filled with food, which causes the abdomen to be prolonged. Wings are often spread to the sides. The movements of sick bees are wobbly and uncoordinated. Bees die quite fast (but not as fast as in case of ABPV) from the occurence of first symptoms. It often happens in great numbers. The biggest viral loads in this syndrome are found in the crop and salivary glands of sick bees.

Syndrome II – black robbers. Sick workers gradually lose body hair. They become almost black (if the cuticle is black) and shiny, like they were covered in grease. They appear smaller and thinner than healthy bees (body hair makes healthy bees look more chubby). They are attacked by their sister bees and are not let in the hive. Since at the beginning of symptoms they are still able to fly, they circle around the entrance trying to get in. This makes them look like they are trying to rob the colony.

Chronic bee paralysis virus – Black robber bees. (A. Gajda photo)

After a few days symptoms of ataxia and paralysis occur, which later results in death.

The colony usually dies in the middle of Summer. Bees die outside of the hive, in which only a handful of bees with the queen is left. In case of CBPV prevention is based on not letting foragers stay in the hive for too long. It is crucial to provide constant forage, especially in areas where CBPV occurs endemically. For this purpose bees can be transported to forages in other areas or bee friendly crops can be grown near the apiary.

In a sick colony the queen should be replaced with a young one, from a good local breeder. It is also crucial not to place the apiary near forages that already have many hives around.
One absolutely should not try and place crawling/sick looking bees back in the hive! They should immediately be send to the lab to investigate the cause of such symptoms.

Sacbrood virus (SBV)
This virus is pathogenic to brood. Adult bees are only carriers of it. Even though it does not cause symptoms in adults, it can shorten their life. In nurse bees huge amounts of SBV can be found in hypopharyngeal glands. They feed the larvae with their secretion (royal jelly) that contains millions of viral particles. Considerable ammounts of the virus can also be found in pollen stored by the bees. It stays infective for long periods of time in this pollen.

During the first three days of their life, all larvae are fed with royal jelly, that is why they are the most susceptible to SBV infection. If larvae get infected later on, they become carriers of the virus as adults.

Symptoms however occur only after the larva stretches under the capping. The virus impairs secretion of chitinase, an enzyme responsible for shedding, which prevents the larva from getting rid of old skin, and as a result, from pupating.

Sacbrood Virus – A larva with visibly lifted head.
(G. Topolska photo)

Larva remains in the stretched position with its head lifted. A liquid containing millions of viral particles builds up between the old (unshedded) and the new skin, and the larva resembles a sac with liquid inside, thus the name of the disease.

Sacbrood Virus – A larva turned into a sac with liquid.
(G. Topolska photo)

The larva becomes yellow in color, and darkens even more with time (first head becomes brown, then the rest of the body), and dries out taking the shape of a tiny boat (edges and head lifted). Brood becomes scattered on the comb, and the cappings are punctured by the bees that try to remove dead larvae, and get infected in the proces. Hypopharyngeal glands in those bees degenerate, and they physiologically age and become nectar foragers, which prevents them from infecting pollen which is fed to older larvae.

Sacbrood Virus – Dead, dried larvae in the shape of a boat.
(G. Topolska photo)

Sacbrood Virus – Larva with darkened head.
(G. Topolska photo)

Sacbrood Virus – Scattered brood. Dead larvae with lifted heads are visible as well as a puncture in the cell capping.
(G. Topolska photo)

Symptoms occur in the Spring and usually they retreat spontaneously in Autumn.

Prevention of sacbrood disease consists mostly of ensuring good, constant forage, so the colony can grow evenly and the carrier bees can become foragers. Queens should not be stimulated to lay eggs intensively after forage breaks, because then infected bees that normally would become foragers are forced to feed larvae.

If the disease occurs, the beekeeper should replace the queen and remove the combs on which the brood shows symptoms as well as combs with bee bread (and replace with bee bread from a healthy colony).

DIAGNOSTICS OF VIRAL DISEASES
For many years the diagnosis was only based on the symptoms. It is however now commonly known, that those symptoms may be similar to many diseases and it can lead to misinterpretation, which is dangerous, because most diseases are treated/controlled in very different ways. Hence it is always advised to confirm the preliminary diagnosis with laboratory tests.

There is a spectrum of diagnostic methods to distinguish viral diseases, we are going to describe the ones most widely used.

The AGID test (Agarose Gel Immune Diffusion) is relatively inexpensive and easy to perform, yet not many laboratories perform this test due to difficulties with obtaining proper antisera. It is however recommended as a diagnostic tool here, because it only detects severe infections – the ones which will actually give symptoms and harm the colony.

Rapid development of molecular biology techniques allows also to detect viruses on the genetic level. There are two options: qualitative (end point PCR) – which means it detects the virus without stating the level of infection, and quantitative (real-time PCR) – which tells us how much of the virus is in the sample.

This second method is however usually quite expensive.
A proper sample to detect bee viruses should consist of bees and/or brood that are symptomatic. They should be frozen right after collection and sent to the laboratory with icepacks.

A U.S Air Force C-17 cargo plane approaches a landing over a beeyard at PIT. S. Repasky photo

“Cleared for takeoff” is a common phrase heard at airports all over the world referring to the clearance given by air traffic control to all aircraft wanting to depart the airport. This time though, it refers to the Honey bee Project at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) located approximately 15 miles west of downtown Pittsburgh, PA.

Honey bee swarms had more than likely always been present at PIT, but they weren’t monitored and probably weren’t seen as a threat to the safety of the employees and passengers. That all changed in 2012, when PIT had honey bee swarms show up in various locations around airport property, including around the terminals. That August, a late season swarm of honey bees landed on the wing of a Delta CRJ aircraft parked on the ramp that was preparing to depart PIT for JFK Airport in New York.

It was that event that sparked the idea for today’s Honey bee Project. The timing was fortunate for this swarm in a way, because on duty was PIT’s Wildlife Administrator Ben Shertzer. Ben began his position in 2011 and like many people, he had been aware of some of the issues that honey bees were having, including Colony Collapse Disorder. Not wanting to eliminate the swarm but concerned about the safety of the airport employees and passengers as well as the welfare of the bees, a phone call was made to a local beekeeper. I was that beekeeper and took that call. A short time later I arrived at the airport and was escorted by Ben to the awaiting plane and swarm. There on the right wing was a cluster of honey bees and above them, faces of passengers peered through the plane’s windows. The pilots and luggage handlers gathered around but stood at a distance – the societal fear of stinging insects was no doubt intact! Due to the presence of jet fuel, I couldn’t light a smoker, so the decision was made to gently scoop some bees into a cardboard nuc box and let the others walk in. After a short 60-minute delay, the passengers and the bees were on the way to their respective destinations.

The following day, a local TV station picked up on the news of this swarm and wanted to do a story on it. I was heading out of town with a group of beekeepers for a weekend with Dr. Larry Connor but managed to meet up with the reporter to sit for an interview. We talked about how rare and interesting it was to capture a swarm on a plane. Twenty-four hours later, as we gathered for breakfast at Larry Connor’s homestead in Kalamazoo, MI, a local news station was on TV and at the bottom in the scrolling ticker was the headline “Bees Delay Delta Flight at Pittsburgh International Airport”. The story of this now famous swarm continued to flow in and 24 hours later, the story was picked up by the Associated Press, NBC, ABC, CNN the New York Post as well as several aviation news outlets. It also drew attention in the U.K, numerous European countries, Japan and Australia.

Steve Repasky

The relationship between PIT, with Ben as Wildlife Administrator and myself as beekeeper continued to grow in 2013 as additional swarms appeared on the airfield and I was called to remove and relocate them. As beekeepers, we are always looking for new places to place beehives, so in conversation during each time Ben and I were dispatched to relocate a swarm, he and I would talk about bees and beekeeping and some of the great locations that the airport was likely hiding that could house a beeyard. We also discussed how bees were gentle but there was a concern for airport personnel and how it may or may not affect airport operations. Even as I caught and relocated swarms, Ben and other employees would step away or not get out of the truck in fear of these stinging insects. It was comical in some ways, yet I understood the fear. I would even approach and capture swarms without protective gear just to show that honey bees were fairly docile while in swarm mode. By 2014, Ben’s fear of honey bees had dispersed but the swarms continued to show up and his interest in bees and beekeeping grew.

Steve Repasky and Ben Shertzer looking over a beeyard at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT). Beth Hollerich/Pittsburgh International Airport, photo

Pittsburgh International is an ideal location for honey bees. Comprising of 8,800 acres in total, of which 2,000 acres encompasses the Air Operations Area (AOA) and is off limits. The remaining 6,800 acres is a mosaic of stream bottoms, wetlands, fields and woodlots – remnants of the rural farms that were in the area prior to the development of the airport in the late 1940s. These “undeveloped areas” provided the potential for a variety of blooms from early March through October.

Of course, there are rules to follow in order to get approvals from the appropriate people in order to do something that is rather new. The Allegheny County Airport Authority operates PIT and keeping bees at this airport was new. We were aware of a couple of other airports that had some hives on property but it wasn’t a common practice. We wanted to be sure that we addressed a number of things. How many hives, environmental conditions (forage availability), how the hives would be managed, operational issues as far as access, security and liability would all play a role in the success of this project.

A swarm lands on a directional sign just off a runway at PIT. Ben Shertzer/Pittsburgh International Airport, photo

Several locations for an apiary were identified and vetted for access, forage and the possibility that a chosen site may already be earmarked for airport development and expansion. Besides being a passenger-focused airport, PIT is also home of the Pittsburgh Air Reserve Station and the Air National Guard as well as air cargo facilities. In addition to the previous categories, Ben and I also assessed each potential site for possible conflicts as they may relate to the airport’s Wildlife Hazard Management Plan (WHMP). The FAA requires each airport to maintain a safe operating environment for its employees and all aircraft operations via the use of Wildlife Hazard Assessments and the WHMP.

Over the course of the winter of 2014/2015, our first proposal to airport officials didn’t go anywhere and was rejected. The following year, in early 2016, we pitched to new CEO Christina Cassotis. Christina had taken over as the new CEO of PIT in 2015 and as it turned out, her grandfather had been a beekeeper. A new set of meetings was set up and this time our proposal was met with open arms and a level of excitement we had not seen previously. This project was unique. It would technically be overseen by the Wildlife Administrator, but managed by me as the beekeeper, a non-airport employee. In August of 2016, the first set of 10 hives was placed at a location just one mile south of the airfield.

Over the next couple of years, another four more locations were set up and swarms continued to show up in the AOA. In order to assess ways that the project can be of greater benefit to the airport, we also initiated an extensive and strategic swarm capture program. This program is simple. Swarm traps were hung at ¼ mile increments along the western and southern edge of the AOA beginning in April and were monitored on a weekly basis. This area was chosen due to the “rural-ness” of the property with woods, fields and stream bottoms. The north and eastern side of the airport abuts industrial and urban landscape. The trapping program began in 2019 and it was clear from our data that the trapping program was having an impact on how honey bees affected air operations. From 2012-2016, PIT averaged approximately 15 swarms a year on the AOA. Honey bee colonies were placed on the property in the late Summer of 2016. Between 2017 and 2018, an average of five swarms made it into the AOA and additional beeyards were installed in the following years. In 2020, only three swarms made it into the AOA. The swarm traps placed around the perimeter were working and keeping bees away from sensitive areas. With the collaboration of airport officials and myself as a beekeeper, we are able to show decreased disruption. In addition, a once cautious Wildlife Administrator was trained and was confidently responding to swarm calls to identify and assess location and needs prior to my arrival.

As honey was beginning to be produced on site, many airport employees began asking about it and soon enough, we had a list of people purchasing honey that was produced right where they worked. Some were shocked to hear that there were honey bees at the airport; some were intrigued but they all loved the idea and the taste of the locally produced honey. The once rural landscape turned airport proved to be valuable to the honey bees. As part of the airport’s habitat management, no pesticides are used and mowing is kept to a minimum as part of their WHMP. Because of this, there is always something in bloom.

By the time 2020 rolled around, the Honey bee Project, as it became known to all at the airport, had grown to nine beeyards with approximately 110 colonies. Names for each bee yard were assigned for easy identification. There are some yards that are used solely for honey production. Other yards are used for queen production where some of the queens used in the PA Queen Bee Improvement Project are mated and assessed. Another yard is used to house swarms that are caught to assess for health and viability. The popularity of the project continued to gain momentum. One of the goals for PIT, that CEO Cassotis has pushed for and presented, was to think outside of the box when it comes to ideas for land use at PIT. Her message has always been that the Pittsburgh Airport is more than just an airport. There are uses for the airport and its property in ways people don’t envision and the Honey bee Project is just one of those uses. It garnered the attention of United States Congressman Conor Lamb when he recognized PIT as a cornerstone of economic development during one of his visits to PIT. Congressman Lamb and former PA Senator Pam Iovino toured the apiaries at the airport and acknowledged their benefit to not only the environment but the local economy as well – “it’s a really good example of how [PIT] is thinking out of the box” said Congressman Lamb of the bee project.

The accolades continued as PA Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recognized the Honey bee Project with Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence in 2020 for its continued efforts toward environmental stewardship. Pittsburgh International is always looking to find innovative solutions and this project not only enhances the safety and efficiency of their operations but it also supports key environmental initiatives.

A swarm lands on a directional sign just off a runway at PIT. Ben Shertzer/Pittsburgh International Airport, photo

The Honey bee Project has grown to be something more than we had ever envisioned. The success of the project has led to collaboration with the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP), which is designed to develop practical solutions to problems faced by airport operators. PIT is one of a handful of airports across the United States that has honey bee colonies located on property. A few other airports that have honey bees include Seattle-Tacoma, Portland, Chicago O’Hare, and St. Louis.

As we move forward into 2021, the Honey bee Project at Pittsburgh International Airport will continue to grow. Honey produced will be offered for sale at locations inside the terminals to travelers coming and going to locations around the world, carrying with them honey that was proudly produced at Pittsburgh International. Continuance of the queen improvement program, swarm capture program and the production of honey, pollen and other products of the hive will also continue to move forward. Our hope is to continue to educate employees and the general public about honey bees and how beekeepers and airports can work together. PIT is among the first U.S airports to have a beekeeping program and there aren’t many with beekeeping programs of this size and scope. It continues to support Pittsburgh International Airport’s commitment to preserving the environment and supporting conservation and sustainability efforts.

Swarm on the Delta jet bound for JFK. The swarm that started it all. S. Repasky photo

A big “thank you” to the management and employees at PIT for opening up their arms to this project. The enthusiasm continues to grow as more people become aware of the many non-aviation activities that take place there. A special note of thanks to Ben Shertzer, Wildlife Administrator, for taking this project on and supporting it all the way to the top. This project benefits greatly from his support both administratively and physically when it comes to obtaining authorizations or checking swarm traps and relocating swarms.

Stephen Repasky is an author, lecturer, consultant and EAS Certified Master Beekeeper from Pittsburgh, PA. He is the owner of Meadow Sweet Apiaries and is the author of the book Swarm Essentials. In addition to his own beekeeping operation, he can be found managing the bees at PIT and speaking to numerous clubs and conferences across the United States.