We’re celebrating! The Bees with Ben podcast has reached 100 episodes. And the 100 th episode is

very special, being co-hosted Dan Curless from Curless Aussie Apiaries. Our distinguished guest is

Bob Binnie of the Blue Ridge Honey Company from Northeast Georgia in the US. Bob has been a

commercial beekeeper since 1981; after reading a book on bees he was introduced to a commercial

beekeeper and pollinator in Oregon and the rest is history. He is a past President of the Georgia

State Beekeepers Association as well as the Northeast GA. Mountain Beekeepers Association and the

Macon County Beekeepers Club. In 2003, he was voted the Georgia State Beekeeper of the Year. Bob

runs over 2,000 colonies; he also teaches beekeeping and is a popular guest speaker, as well as

having a popular YouTube channel.

The Blue Ridge Honey Company is a family business; Bob manages the apiary while his wife Suzette

handles shipping and administration. Honey, pollen and beeswax products are offered for sale; the

honey is pure, natural and raw and is not pasteurised or micro-filtered. Varieties include Sourwood,

Tupelo, Orange Blossom, Gallberry, Tulip Poplar, Purple Starthistle and Wildflower.

Obviously, the recent varroa incursion in Newcastle is foremost in the minds of Australian

beekeepers at the moment, and although no-one would wish the varroa mite on their worst enemy,

it is appropriate in one sense that this constitutes our 100 th episode, as Bob’s experience and advice

makes for essential listening. Combatting varroa is a complex, expensive and labour intensive

process, as demonstrated by the excerpts that follow, but to get the most out of this podcast, you

really need to listen to the whole thing.

Bob starts with some sobering comments about the varroa invasion in the US. He says that initial

attempts to eradicate the mites were ‘absolutely unsuccessful’ and that colonies were killed, and

beekeepers forced out of business before the authorities threw up their hands and said, ‘You’re on

your own.’ Bob doesn’t think we can stop varroa here in Australia, but is certainly of the opinion that

it is a good idea to get educated ‘ahead of the game’ and be prepared before it turns up In our

apiaries.

It is immediately apparent that Bob’s integrated pest management programme has been the result

of a lot of research, thought and experimentation. For example, varroa often wipes out colonies in

winter, but he treats his hives well beforehand around August 1, the idea being that he is treating

the bees that will raise the winter bees. Oxalic acid vaporisation only kills mites that are on bees, not

brood, so this is applied twice in early to mid-winter during the broodless period.

Bob has used Apivar (active ingredient is amitraz) and Apiguard (active ingredient is thymol)

effectively for his early August treatments, but the latter is temperature sensitive. Apivar in

particular is very expensive (Bob’s bill three years ago was $18,000 US) and some colonies are now

starting to show resistance to amitraz. Bob is not a fan of Apistan; its active ingredient, fluvalinate,

proved very effective early on, but the mites quickly became resistant. Fluvalinate has a very long

half life and will persist in comb for many years; it can also pose problems when mixed with other

chemicals. This is an extremely informative podcast that should be listened to in its entirely. And it’s not all

doom and gloom. Bob says that beekeepers in the US had to learn the hard way, but we need not

‘go down fast’ as there is now so much information available to help.