My Beekeeping Philosophy
Honey bees are considered a form of domestic livestock and are an important part of the agricultural and environmental landscape of Iowa. They require care and attention, just like other species on this planet. I consider myself a minimalist in that I am content to leave my bees alone to do their thing with as little monitoring and intrusion as possible. That intrusion usually comes with inspections of a colony, where beekeepers check in on the health of the bees. In the summer months I perform inspections roughly every two weeks. My bees pretty much go unchecked and unbothered from about October until March.
Unfortunately, bees have a number of enemies. Chief among them is the dreaded Varroa destructor mite, a tiny tick-like parasite that attaches itself to a bee larvae and feeds on the bee. Mites reproduce rapidly and can weaken a colony of bees to the point where the entire colony dies. They can also spread to other colonies. The mites can also transmit other diseases that can kill the colony.
Pretty much all honey bee colonies have mites. Some bees maintain a kind of equilibrium with mites that allows the mites and the colony to survive. But many honey bee colonies require treatment for them to survive. Mite treatment comes in many forms, some natural, some chemical. Whatever the treatment method, it is a sad fact that a colony left untreated will more than likely die.
I consider myself a limited-treatment beekeeper in that I treat my bees for mites only when I think they need to be treated. Some beekeepers engage in treatment free beekeeping, wherein the beekeeper doesn't treat their bees for mites, for a number of different practical and philosophical reasons. Others treat on a regular schedule or rotation no matter the level of mites in the colony. I support my fellow beekeepers no matter their treatment style. My own thinking is that my bees sometimes need help in the form of mite treatment and I give them that support when they need it.
I use only natural products that are considered harmless to the bees. One of these products is called Oxalic Acid and it is found naturally in honey. Bees tolerate Oxalic Acid well and it does a good job of killing the mites. I have occasionally used thymol, an essential oil derived from thyme, but have found it to not be as effective as other treatments. I have also used Formic Acid, which is also present in honey, but have found that bees don't tolerate it that well. I do not use miticides (synthetic pesticides that kill only the mites).
