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I don't know much about bees but I just recently started following an Instagram account (@texasbeeworks) that earlier this year posted a video[1] of a bee with

I don't know much about bees but I just recently started following an Instagram account (@texasbeeworks) that earlier this year posted a video[1] of a bee with a Varroa Mite. The video's caption: "Alright, here is what I want everyone to know about ‘murder hornets’. Only one nest of Asian Giant Hornets has been found in North America and it was quickly eradicated. Right now, the nation’s top entomologists are watching the situation and beekeepers like myself are not worried. If these hornets become a serious problem for honeybees, we will find a solution to keep bees safe. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ If you really want something to be afraid of and if you want to know what keeps beekeepers awake at night, look closely at the bee in this video. You’ll see a dark, round speck on the side of her body. That, my friends, is something far more terrifying than these so-called ‘murder hornets’—it is a Varroa Mite. (Scroll through to see it up close.) The Varroa Mite is a parasitic mite that feeds on the fat bodies of bees and its decimating bee populations around the world. At this point in time, Varroa Mites are a much greater threat to honeybee populations than Asian Giant Hornets and if they got the same attention in the press, maybe we would have a solution for them. Everyone now knows the term ‘murder hornet’ but the thing we should be talking about In the US is the Varroa Mite, a creature whose scientific name is literally ‘Varroa Destructor’.⁣⁣ ⁣ Please stop the murder hornet hype and please start talking about the thing that’s killing more honeybees in the US than anything else right now—varroa mites." [1] https://www.instagram.com/p/B_03jhvnFt6/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B_03jhvnFt6/

yawz 6y ago
Varroa is and has been my #1 problem for a while. I hate it. But I can't agree with this statement: "If these hornets become a serious problem for honeybees, we will find a solution to keep bees safe." It can easy be too late. Look at what's happening in Europe. They simply can't stop the hornets. Of course it's more dramatic to show these huge insects. They are impressive and scary. Mites are small and look insignificant. They are not dramatic. They won't generate hype. I understand the frustration as a beekeeper, but don't let yet another problem become too big to reverse the tide on. It is obviously cheaper to deal with the hornets right now, hype or no hype.
- cableshaft 6y ago
  Just like the US could have treated Coronavirus seriously early on and helped keep numbers down, but chose to do nothing and now it's everywhere and doing far more damage to the economy. Don't let murder hornets become the bee's new Coronavirus equivalent. It sounds like they're already dealing with plenty of pandemic-like issues as it is. To quote George W Bush, who actually took pandemics seriously, "A pandemic is a lot like a forest fire. If caught early it might be extinguished with limited damage. If allowed to smolder, undetected, it can grow to an inferno that can spread quickly beyond our ability to control it." So this, but with murder hornets.
  - giantg2 6y ago
    Also snakeheads, spotted lantern flies, [insert name of other costly free-trade pest here]
  - umanwizard 6y ago
    > the US could have treated Coronavirus seriously early on and helped keep numbers down How?
    - jeromegv 6y ago
      There’s been many weeks where epidemiologist were sounding the alarms but the CDC had basically zero tests available. The whole world was getting infected and the US was flying blind Or May be just look at what other Asian countries have done (outside of China) and look at what they did. It’s exactly everything the US did not do https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/single-point-of-failure-the-cdcs-past-successes-with-an-fda-process-set-the-table-for-coronavirus-testing-debacle/ https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/sin...
- giantg2 6y ago
  We can't find a way to stop them + huge insects = unsolved problem This seems contradictory to me as a beek. 5/16 holes as a mouse guard should also keep huge insects out of the hive. It also should be easy to create pheromone traps if it is true that the hornet's seek out the scent of other dead hornets. On a side note, I see mites as a genetics issue. I would rather see commercial outfits using selection rather than treating with chemicals and shipping packages with weak genetics all over the US. Spearding weak genes is kind of the opposite of Darwin...
jimmaswell 6y ago
> Only one nest of Asian Giant Hornets has been found in North America and it was quickly eradicated. Right now, the nation’s top entomologists are watching the situation and beekeepers like myself are not worried. I can't help but think of when we only had one covid case and people said not to worry.
- shaftway 6y ago
  I feel like there's a difference between... > Right now the nation's top entomologists are watching the situation and beekeepers like myself are not worried. ... and ... > It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.

yawz 6y ago

Varroa is and has been my #1 problem for a while. I hate it. But I can't agree with this statement: "If these hornets become a serious problem for honeybees, we will find a solution to keep bees safe." It can easy be too late. Look at what's happening in Europe. They simply can't stop the hornets. Of course it's more dramatic to show these huge insects. They are impressive and scary. Mites are small and look insignificant. They are not dramatic. They won't generate hype. I understand the frustration as a beekeeper, but don't let yet another problem become too big to reverse the tide on. It is obviously cheaper to deal with the hornets right now, hype or no hype.

cableshaft 6y ago
Just like the US could have treated Coronavirus seriously early on and helped keep numbers down, but chose to do nothing and now it's everywhere and doing far more damage to the economy. Don't let murder hornets become the bee's new Coronavirus equivalent. It sounds like they're already dealing with plenty of pandemic-like issues as it is. To quote George W Bush, who actually took pandemics seriously, "A pandemic is a lot like a forest fire. If caught early it might be extinguished with limited damage. If allowed to smolder, undetected, it can grow to an inferno that can spread quickly beyond our ability to control it." So this, but with murder hornets.
- giantg2 6y ago
  Also snakeheads, spotted lantern flies, [insert name of other costly free-trade pest here]
- umanwizard 6y ago
  > the US could have treated Coronavirus seriously early on and helped keep numbers down How?
  - jeromegv 6y ago
    There’s been many weeks where epidemiologist were sounding the alarms but the CDC had basically zero tests available. The whole world was getting infected and the US was flying blind Or May be just look at what other Asian countries have done (outside of China) and look at what they did. It’s exactly everything the US did not do https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/single-point-of-failure-the-cdcs-past-successes-with-an-fda-process-set-the-table-for-coronavirus-testing-debacle/ https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/sin...
giantg2 6y ago
We can't find a way to stop them + huge insects = unsolved problem This seems contradictory to me as a beek. 5/16 holes as a mouse guard should also keep huge insects out of the hive. It also should be easy to create pheromone traps if it is true that the hornet's seek out the scent of other dead hornets. On a side note, I see mites as a genetics issue. I would rather see commercial outfits using selection rather than treating with chemicals and shipping packages with weak genetics all over the US. Spearding weak genes is kind of the opposite of Darwin...

jimmaswell 6y ago

> Only one nest of Asian Giant Hornets has been found in North America and it was quickly eradicated. Right now, the nation’s top entomologists are watching the situation and beekeepers like myself are not worried. I can't help but think of when we only had one covid case and people said not to worry.

shaftway 6y ago
I feel like there's a difference between... > Right now the nation's top entomologists are watching the situation and beekeepers like myself are not worried. ... and ... > It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.