project - Research and innovation
Forecasts helping to protect honeybees against Varroa
Forecasts helping to protect honeybees against Varroa
Objectives
Varroa mite still is one of the most harmful pests of the honeybee, despite the fact that it is very well-known and that there are several treatments available. It forces beekeepers to regularly look for symptoms of the infection, especially under certain weather conditions. Furthermore, it spreads very easily. Control of the varroa mite is more efficient when beekeepers cooperate e.g. to apply treatments at the same time, or alerting each other about the presence of the pest.
In Austria, a special service has been developed to inform beekeepers on the level of infestation across the country (current situation and forecast) and to provide advice on activities to carry out to prevent the disease or keep it under control.
Objectives
N/A
Activities
The varroa warning service includes two parts: the webpage offering the relevant information for the beekeepers (forecasts, levels of infection, recommendations) and another which is the Varroawarnndienst project.
Through this project, beekeepers directly contribute to the service by providing their regular observations of varroa. Based on these data of infestations and the meteorological forecasts, the Varroa warning service can predict the levels of infestation across Austria.
Additional information
The first information provided is a map of the country with the current situation, displaying the information of the samples provided by beekeepers with the mite count. With this information, the tool indicates the level of infestation with a light colour code indicating whether the degree of infestation can cause sustained damage to the bee colonies. Green indicates that the infestation is well under the limit, yellow indicates that it is around the limit and red significantly over the limit of damage. Furthermore, the page provides recommendations about activities to perform currently (e.g. checks, treatments to apply).
The second part of the service offers the forecast, where the beekeeper can check the evolution of the disease during past weeks and the predicted development for the next couple of weeks.
The Varroa warning service relates to the project Varroawarndienst, enabling the report of levels of infestation observed by the beekeepers who can then obtain personal forecasts of Varroa
Project details
- Main funding source
- Other public (national, regional) research funds
- Project acronym
- Varroawarnndienst
- Agricultural sectors
- Bees & other insects