Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Minutes of NCR-202
January 8, 2004
San Antonio, TX


Administrative Advisor: Chair and Secretary:
William R. Woodson Greg J. Hunt
Dean, Agricultural Research Purdue University
Purdue University 901 W. State St.
West Lafayette IN 47907 West Lafayette IN 47907


Members in Attendance: Marion Ellis- Nebraska, Zachary Huang, Greg Hunt  Indiana, Marla Spivak-Minnesota, Tom Webster-Kentucky.


Members Absent: Whitney Cranshaw, Gene Robinson


Guests: A number of beekeepers from the American Honey Producers Association were present as well as other members of the American Association of Professional Apiculturalists, including Keith Delaplane-Georgia, Eric Mussen-California, John Skinner-Tennesee, Jerry Bromenshank- Montanna, John Harbo and Bob Danka-Louisianna, Frank Eischen and Patti Elzen-TX, Mike Hood-South Carolina and Diana Sammataro-Pennsylvania.


The second meeting of the NCR-202 was held at the Omni Hotel, San Antonio, Texas on January 8, 2004. This meeting site and date were chosen to allow interaction with members of the American Association of Professional Apiculturalists (AAPA) attending the American Bee Research Conference, as well as the American Honey Producers Association and the Apiaries Inspector of America.



The meeting began at 2:00 p.m. immediately following the business meeting of the AAPA. The minutes of the last meeting were accepted as presented.


The agenda was reviewed:
Introductions
Administrative Advisor Reports
State Reports
Break
Accomplishments of 2003
Heartland Apiculture Society as a Coordinating Activity
Items from the Floor
Election of Chairman/Secretary Elect


Introductions
Greg Hunt started the meeting with some brief introductions.


Administrative Advisor Report
Dr. Randy Woodson reviewed the roles of NCR committees. He pointed out that these coordinating committees are no longer considered strictly regional committees but can be national in scope. He also went over examples of specific committees and the types of activities they are involved in, such as publications, web sites and research initiatives. He finished with a presentation of national funding directions. Dr. Woodson also pointed out that some NCR committees have 2-day meetings and the first day may consist of research presentations. He answered questions dealing with possible use of funds for publications and the possibility of expanding the committee to involve more AAPA members.


General Discussion:

Zachary Huang has agreed to set up a web site for the committee. He has chosen an address for this site: http://ncr202.bees.net.


Tom Webster gave an overview of the Heartland Apiculture Societys (HAS) activities. This organization involves commercial and (primarily) hobby beekeepers and is the first truly Midwestern beekeeper association, modeled after the Eastern Apiculture Society but with a simpler, more streamlined organization. The first meeting drew 195 participants in Goshen IN. The second meeting took place in July 2003 at Midway College in Kentucky and more than 300 beekeepers participated. These are very large attendances for beekeeper meetings in this area and people were present from many states, Canada and Mexico. This years meeting will be in Tennessee. It is expected that even larger attendance will occur when the meeting moves to Illinois in 2005. Tom Webster said that this association could help to make our extension activities more efficient and reach a wider audience.


Marla Spivak described her queen rearing workshop which she has given for a number of years. It has been very popular. The group felt that this workshop could be used as a satellite meeting for HAS. Having HAS sponsor it on the website would boost visibility of both the workshop activity and HAS. Marla could increase the size if she enlisted more help.


Marion Ellis described his masters beekeeping program that he is considering augmenting with web-based modules. It is a program that generates outreach services by the participants through service credits. This results in prolonged impact because beekeepers then act as ambassadors teaching others about beekeeping. This could also be connected with HAS but meetings may need to move more to the west if Marion is to make a greater commitment to the organization.


There was discussion about whether NCR202 could help the AAPA by sponsoring publications, such as the revised manual for control of Varroa mites. In response to a question from Greg Hunt, Randy Woodson explained that it may be possible for the experiment stations to help defray expenses for publication. Examples of other committees and publications were presented by Dr. Woodson.


Marion Ellis cited the example of the corn rootworm committee. They have been very successful in gaining federal funding by coordinating research and applying as a group. Dr. Woodson said that the trend in funding continued to be towards integrated, regional and collaborative efforts. There was further discussion about the possibility of using the different approaches towards control of Varroa and technology transfer for beekeepers as the focus of a multi-investigator grant proposal because all of the members in the group have a research component that addresses the problem of parasitic mites (Varroa). These research programs are in response to the devastating impact of Varroa on the industry, and the appearance of resistance of mites to the few registered pesticides. Pesticides also have the associated problems of honey contamination and side-effects on queens. Some of the researchers are using breeding, and a few are mechanical methods, such as electrical shocks or inert dusts to remove mites from bees. Dr. Woodson indicated that what Marion was saying was certainly true and that these collaborative, interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged by the major federal granting agencies.


Election of Chairman/Secretary-Elect

Greg Hunt then mentioned that Zachary Huang had been elected as secretary/chair at the last meeting and would begin that position this year. He called for election of next years secretary/chair-elect. Marla Spivak nominated Marion Ellis. The nomination was seconded. No further nominations were received and Dr. Ellis was elected unanimously by voice vote.


The group then considered what venue to have for the next meeting of NCR202. The possibility of holding the meeting in conjunction with the national meetings of the Entomological Society of America is being considered as an alternative to the AAPA meetings. It was decided that the new chair (Zachary Huang) would poll the members and decide on a venue early this summer.


The meeting adjouned at 5:10 p.m.


Approved:


Greg J. Hunt
NCR-202 Chairman and Secretary 2003


William R. Woodson
NCR-202 Administrative Advisor 2003

Greg Hunt was involved in the second years conference of the Heartland Apiculture Society in 2003. The selection for bees with resistance to Varroa mites is ongoing at Purdue using stocks from other researchers and colonies that have survived without treatment. The Hunt lab is currently focused on trying to identify candidates for the genes that influence certain honey bee behaviors (including stinging) by combining results of genetic mapping and the ongoing honey bee genome sequencing project.


Tom Webster has been selecting for resistance to Varroa mites by cooperating with beekeepers to locate survivor colonies, and raising queens from those hives with the lowest mite populations. He has also been studying the biology of infection of queen and worker bees with Nosema disease. He sees some indication that Nosema can be transferred trans-ovarially. Another focus is the efficacy of modified hive bottom boards to partially control Varroa mites. The use of both modified bottom boards that allow mites to fall off bees, and the use of resistant stocks of bees could help reduce pesticide use and lower costs of mite controls for beekeepers.


Marla Spivaks lab also has been involved in searching for ways to breed for resistance to Varroa, by selecting for bees that express hygienic behavior. Her hygienic stocks are widely used in the U.S. and now maintained in California by instrumental insemination. Her lab has most recently has been looking at whether hygienic behavior and another mite-resistance trait, suppression of mite reproduction, or SMR, are related traits. They have also been crossing hygienic and SMR lines of bees and finding that they perform well.


Zachary Huang has a graduate student who is working on the mite zapper, an electrical device to kill Varroa mites in quick hive treatments. This patented device involves the use of one honey comb embedded with wires. It uses comb size that results in the production of male honey bees (drones) that Varroa mites are particularly attracted to. After zapping the mites, the dead drones are removed by worker bees and the process is repeated. He is currently trying to get field data with a new USDA grant. He is also involved in studies of the distribution of Nosema spores in wax in the hive and the effect of CO2 and juvenile hormone on physiology and behavioral development of bees.


Most recently, Marion Ellis has been working on a mechanical method for controlling Varroa by treating entire colonies of bees with powdered sugar. This project is nearing completion. It seems to offer some control. It could be made more effective but is labor-intensive. He also had a student last year studying mating biology in urban setting by locating drone (male honey bee) congregation areas. He gives 2-3 shortcourses a year for beekeepers, has been involved in a lot of web-based instruction and is working on beekeeper card information set for youth education that would be similar to the very successful set about bumble bees.