bee-hygiene. Bees are so clean they “seal off”
any foreign material they can’t remove from
the hive and sterilize their hives with propolis,
an antimicrobial resin. This resin helps to increase social immunity and lessens the reliance
on individual immunity. In nature, the bees
groom each other, and any pests are taken off
and dropped to the bottom of the hive. These
pests sometimes climb back up the walls of
the box and re-infest the colony. So, by properly utilizing a screened bottom board, the beekeeper adds a barrier between the bottom of
the hive and the hive wall—this breaks up the
pest’s path to re-infestation. Want better protection for your colony? Add a sticky pad below
the screen to capture the mites.
Brian had some great tips for those beekeepers that have chosen to take a more “hands-off”
approach to their hives with something called
IPM (Integrated Pest Management). Depending
on your definition of “intervention” (personally, Brian draws the line at “chemical = intervention”). IPM is a great way to give your bees the
best chance to “help themselves” through “behavior assistance” for improved survival and
growth rates.
One IPM tactic Brian showed us at the office
was “screened bottom boards.” These boards
offer a mechanical enhancement to natural
Brian’s s X