What is going on when you see honey bees with deformed wings?
During the summer months you may find one or several bees that have deformed wings. This is called Deformed Wing Virus (DWV). DWV is an RNA virus that affects honey bees. The varroa mite is the main transmitter of this virus. The virus is transmitted while the honey bee is in the pupa stage of development.
DWV infects the heads and abdomens of the honey bee. Only the legs are not affected by DWV.
DWV Symptoms
DWV symptoms include: damaged appendages, particularly stubby body, useless wings, shortened wings, rounded abdomens, mis-coloring of the legs and wings.
DWV Life Expectancy
A honey bee with DWV will have a severely short life span of 4 to 6 days . The dead bees will be taken out of the hive by other bees when they are close to death or dead.
How is DWV transmitted?
DWV can be transmitted orally between adult nurse bees within the royal jelly and pollen. DWV can also be transmitted through the queens ovaries to the egg and drone sperm. DWV has been considered a significant factor in honey bee colony collapse disorder.
What causes DWV?
Varroa destructor is the single greatest factor of DWV within the hive.
When is Varroa present?
Varroa begin to make a presence about half way through Spring and begin multiplying through mid-summer within the foliage blooms. By late summer, if Varroa is not treated for, Varroa will have a high saturation level, within the hive. August and September are when most beekeepers will experience high loads values of Varroa within the hive. By October and November Varroa will decimate the colony.
What happens with DWV during the winter months?
Because honey bees cluster during the cold months, DWV is transmitted much more quickly and can result in a high mortality rate. Once the mortality rate hits a tipping point the colony can no longer warm themselves and the queen. That is when a beekeeper will find a complete die-off within the hive.
What can a beekeeper do when you find DWV?
First step is important to harvest the honey immediately. The reason being you do not want any contamination of the honey when you treat for Varroa.
Second step is to get a screen bottom board or sticky board to measure the mite drop.
Third step is to use a varroa product like FormicPro. FormicPro is 100% organic but can taint your honey supers. Best to use as directed with ventilation within the hive.
Fourth step is in 24 hours after the first treatment of FormicPro is to measure the mites that dropped on the sticky board. Then write down that count and clean your sticky board.
Fifth step is to measure the mite drop at the 48 hour mark. Write down your mite count and clean your sticky board.
Sixth step is to measure the mite drop at the 72 hour mark. Write down your mite count and clean the sticky board. Repeat thru the 6th day.
You should be seeing a heavy drop on each of the first three days and then the counts should drop to almost nothing by day 4. If you continue to see heavy mite drops on your sticky board it is advised that you begin another round of treatments as outlined by FormicPro.
Beekeeper Advice
The beekeeper can take a smart phone and take pictures of a side of a frame full of honey bees. Then that evening enlarge the photo and begin looking for Varroa on your bees. If you see over 10 varroa on a frame of bees it is time to start a FormicPro treatment.
Always treat your colony right after you harvest the honey from the hive. I do a treatment just after I pull the honey from a hive.
If you have to treat in the Spring or in the Summer, be sure to take the honey off the hive while a varroa treatment is being given to the colony. Place the honey back on the hive when there is no treatments being made.
No matter what type of honey bee, all bees are at risk of Varroa.