Date: 3/3/05

CONTACT: Dr. Mike Hood, (864) 656-0346

WRITER: Tom Lollis, (843) 284-3343, ext. 241

Beekeepers from Carolinas get updates in Rock Hill

ROCK HILL – About 400 beekeepers from North and South Carolina will meet Friday and Saturday in Rock Hill to hear updates on ways to keep bees healthy.

The joint meeting at York Technical College will offer beekeepers the latest on control of Varroa mites, the major pest in honeybees, and the small hive beetle, a secondary pest, according to Mike Hood, Clemson University Extension bee specialst.

“We’ll hear a report from Sue Cobey of The Ohio State University on efforts to breed queens with genes from Russian honeybees, which are resistant to mites,” he said.

Hood said that mite-resistant honeybees would be good news for the more than 10,000 beekeepers in North Carolina and more than 2,000 beekeepers in South Carolina .

Currently beekeepers use a chemical called Coumaphos, which is hung between frames to treat for mites and deployed beneath a cardboard strip at the hive entrance to treat for hive beetles.

Other speakers will include Jeff Pettis, who will update research being conducted at the USDA/ARS Beltsville Bee Lab in Maryland , and Jerry Hayes, Florida state apiarist, who will talk about mite and beetle issues in that state.

Hood said that the state’s beekeepers maintain about 25,000 hives, down by 10,000 or more from 20 years ago. The bees are essential for many of the states fruit and vegetable crops, such as apples, watermelons, cantaloupes and cucumbers.

“Graduates of Extension’s Master Beekeeper program have been a big help in keeping our numbers of colonies up,” he said. As many as 600 persons have taken Master Beekeeper classes since its inception in the mid 1990s.

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