Letters to the Editor - April '25
- Patrick Dawkins
- Mar 31
- 2 min read
Kickstarter Help Needed
Dear Editor,
My name is Dr. Melissa Oddie. For the past ten years I have researched ways to help our honeybees combat Varroa destructor.
My expertise and doctorate degree, lie in developing natural behavioural traits in bees that can counter varroa infestations, reducing losses and improving productivity. We now know there are many beekeepers around the world that have managed to breed varroa resistance into their bees, and that this is likely possible for any stock of Western honeybees, kept, feral or wild.
For the past five years, I have been running a breeding program in Norway, testing the simple methods of breeding bees based only on commercially-desirable traits and the ability to keep autumn varroa counts low. Our results are very promising and, armed with this example, as well as the experience of beekeepers and scientists alike, I will be writing a book, cataloguing and analyzing varroa resistances around the world. At my side, are two of the world’s top specialists in varroa research: Professor Marla Spivak and Professor Stephen Martin, who have investigated varroa resistance in largescale commercial settings and across many different environments.
All that is required is a small amount of funding to help produce the book:
On March 10th we launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the money needed for research and writing, and I humbly ask for your help: please share the link to our campaign so any who could benefit from a book like this can participate in its creation.
I believe it is truly possible to tame the varroa mite, some already have, all we need to do, is spread the word.
Don’t Bee a Nuisance
At our recent Executive meeting it was brought to our attention that some beekeepers are not thinking too much about the placement of their hives to ensure minimal public nuisance are caused by our bees.
The hives in question had been placed relatively close to a very busy highway. It was also a large apiary site.
The person concerned said that they had passed through this spot twice over the weekend and had at least what seemed like 100+ bees hit the windscreen of the vehicle on both occasions. This appeared to be a robbing situation going on and the person was concerned that it could result in a person being stung and killed e.g. motorbike riders.
We ask that beekeepers always be mindful of safe placement of beehives for all situations and for all times of the year. Situations like that detailed above end up giving beekeepers a bad name.
Jane Lorimer, president, New Zealand Beekeeping Inc.
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