Norroa: "Birth Control for Varroa Mites"

WEBVTT

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in a world brimming with complexity few creatures

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embody harmony like the honeybee with tireless

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precision she dances from bloom to bloom each

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motion guided by millennia upon millennia of

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instinct each act in service to the whole and

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then There are the beekeepers, watchful stewards

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of this ancient symbiosis. Part agriscientist,

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part poet, they move along their hives with the

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efficiency of mow, levy and curly, tending to

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the bee's needs as best they can comprehend,

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and with the infrequency of a waterfall in the

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Sahara, sometimes running off flapping and flailing

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like a penguin on a hot sidewalk. This is their

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journey. Welcome, welcome to Bee Love Beekeeping

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presented by our great friends over at Man Lake.

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On a recent episode I mentioned that Naroa, a

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new Varroa treatment, had just been approved

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by the EPA. I also promised that we'd get someone

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from Naroa on the show. Today we'll have a conversation

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with product experts from Greenlight Biosciences,

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the makers of Naroa, to tell us all about it.

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First from the Bee Love newsroom, so sorry for

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the bad news Alaska beekeepers, but small hive

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beetles have just been confirmed for the first

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time in the southeastern part of your state.

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It's believed that the pest came in bee packages

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from Mississippi earlier in the year. So check

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your hives closely and take care of the problem

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before it spreads. Next, do you have any idea

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what regulations your state has in place for

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beekeeping? West Virginia and many other states

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have local, city and county regulations that

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are just all over the place. As a solution, West

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Virginia's 2026 legislative session is considering

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a new statewide beekeeping rights bill. The bill

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is designed to protect and support beekeeping

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in West Virginia by ensuring that the West Virginia

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Department of Agriculture remains the sole authority

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over apiary regulations. This bill prevents cities,

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towns, and counties from banning or restricting

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beekeeping and strengthens legal protections

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for beekeepers. This measure replaces two previous

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bills that just weren't quite doing the job.

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Here's why the Bee Bill matters. If passed, the

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Bee Bill will prevent local bans on beekeeping.

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Cities, towns, and counties would no longer be

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able to regulate or prohibit beekeeping. Similar

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laws exist in states like Florida, Tennessee,

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and Indiana, and from what I hear they're working

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pretty well. The bee bill would eliminate unnecessary

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licensing. Local governments could not require

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beekeepers to obtain special licenses or permits

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to keep honeybees. The Bee Bill would strengthen

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legal protections for beekeepers. The bill raises

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the legal standard for nuisance complaints against

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beekeepers, making it harder for frivolous lawsuits

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to disrupt responsible apiary management. And

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lastly, if the bill passes, it earmarks funds

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for pollinator license plates and designates

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use of funds for projects related to pollinators.

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good luck west virginia beekeepers we're on your

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side now let's learn all about naroa the promising

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new varroa treatment i'd like to welcome to the

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show today eric walgren and adam pockle from

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naroa hey good morning guys morning actually

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morning for me i'm sure it's afternoon for you

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and you guys are with Greenlight Biosciences.

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We're going to hear all about it today. The latest,

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greatest, bestest of all time Varroa treatment,

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which is something that don't we wish there was

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a Holy grail there? Yeah, that'd be nice to find

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that. I want to jump into it because the thing

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that I don't know really anything about is RNA

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and your website says you're the first RNA based

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treatment for Varroa mites. So Which ever one

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of you wants to jump in what do you mean by that

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what does that do and why should we like it are

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any plays an important role in. Every living

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organism so there's kind of a hierarchy in biology

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there's DNA RNA and proteins RNA is what translates

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the the. code within DNA translates that message

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and tells our body what proteins to make out

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of that code that's within the DNA. There's several

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different types of RNAs. Several is kind of an

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understatement. What everyone is probably familiar

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over the last several years is mRNA, messenger

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RNA. What Neuroa uses ultimately is it starts

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as double stranded RNA. I'm going to try not

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to get too into the weeds here. The double stranded

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RNA in neuroa, the active ingredient is called

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vadaskana, binds to the mRNA, the messenger RNA

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that's naturally in varroa mites, and it blocks

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the message that that mRNA is trying to deliver

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in the varroa mite body. Because it's blocking

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that message, there's a specific protein in the

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body that does not get made. And because that

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protein doesn't get made, ultimately the bromides

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are not able to lay eggs. This process is called

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RNA interference. It's a natural process that

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constantly happens in every living organism.

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It's how our bodies regulate themselves. It starts

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natural processes, it stops them. It's how cells

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regulate themselves. So we're using this natural

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process to our advantage. And because of this

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natural process, this time we're stopping the

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process of a protein being produced. And like

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I said, without that process, without that protein

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in bromides, in this instance, the bromides can't

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lay eggs. Okay. I'm going to give you a warning

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right now up front because I'm not a scientist.

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A lot of this, I don't understand that well.

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So I'm going to sort of repeat some of it back

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to you in English and you tell me if I get it

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right. Okay. That's fine. So number one, it's

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different than the COVID MRNA vaccines, which

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lots of people are nervous about right now. That's

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not what it is. It's also not a poison, which

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is basically what most Varroa treatments are,

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is we're trying to poison one bug without poisoning

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the other bug, the host bug. That's correct.

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Okay, I'm doing good so far. Yeah, the basic

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takeaway is it's a birth control for varroa mites.

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It's highly targeted at the varroa mite and we're

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using a natural biological process to specifically

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target a unique set of base pairs in the varroa

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mite. So we are trying to figure out that magic

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equation of how to target one bug and not another,

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one pest and not another non -target organism.

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The way we do that is through this process called

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RNA interference, but essentially we're blocking

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messenger RNA. I love the way you put that because

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that's something I can understand. Birth control

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for Varroa. Okay, so in fact the Varroa is not

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actually going to be killed by what you have.

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It's not going to be able to reproduce so obviously

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they're going to die off after a while. You know

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I'm curious how long do Varroa live? It depends

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on the time of year because the trade -off between

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laying eggs it takes a lot of energy so during

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the brood you know the season when the bees are

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brooding up, your queens are laying, the mites

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are also laying eggs. Generally mites live for

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a month or so because they're laying eggs and

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expending a lot more energy. Overwintering when

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bees are clustered up and then the mites aren't

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laying eggs as well, they can live for longer

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because they're not spending energy laying eggs.

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They're going to live longer over the winter

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just like your winter bees can live longer. Biologically

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they're a little bit different so they'll live

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longer too. During the summer when you're hive

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is growing and the mite population is growing

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with them. A month, maybe two months, their lifespan

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is a lot shorter. So this actually works faster

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in summer than winter? It works whenever mites

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are reproducing, yeah. All right, I think I get

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it. So tell me what kind of research you've done

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that proves how effective it is. This has been

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developed for 15 years now. We're the third company

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to work on it. The trials that we've done, we

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have five years worth of field trials with a

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number of different commercial beekeepers in

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several states actually across several countries

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at this point but in the U .S. we've worked with

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commercial beekeepers in several states using

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thousands of colonies and we consistently show

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that applied when mite levels are low because

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it doesn't kill them it stops their population

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so you want to apply it when that population

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is low so you can maintain that and it will keep

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those populations low for up to 18 weeks and

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we've done that for several years now like I

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said in several states so in the north like Idaho,

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North Dakota, Maine, and southern states like

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Florida and Georgia, and we always get the same

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results. There's just a really flat population

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growth for a few months until finally they've

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used up what's stored in the hive. There's nothing

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left to work. And then through drift, other things

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where new mites are coming in that haven't been

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affected, finally they'll start to reproduce,

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and then we do see population growth eventually.

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So if you have a bad infestation, knock it down

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with something strong first and then use this

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as a follow -up, a preventative. It almost sounds

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like every spring we ought to just stick this

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in our hives. I mean, that's the idea, right?

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I mean, you don't want the damage to be done

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and then have to use a knockdown and then a row.

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You'd rather get in front of bromite reproduction

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upfront. I mean, it works great early pre -honey

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flow spring, but anytime your mites are low and

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it's applied, the bees store it's delivered in

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a sugar syrup pouch so the bees store that sugar

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syrup into the brood nest and it gets incorporated

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into brood food and that's where the mite meets

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the active ingredient so as that nurse bee delivers

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that larval feeding that mite squeezes in and

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hides under that larvae she absorbs the active

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ingredient and through absorbing that active

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ingredient through submersion it does that process

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we talked about where it shuts down her ability

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to lay eggs to your point like you said There's

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certainly times when you can knock the population

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down with a traditional miticide. We've done

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trials like that in the fall last year and it

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worked great. I'm doing the same trial right

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now in southern states and we saw really positive

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results with that. Beekeepers are going to have

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great ideas. They're going to figure out how

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it works in their operations. We've had a lot

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of people, you can just see the wheels turning

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of how they can incorporate it at different times

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and how it would help their operation, be it

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in the fall, commercial operations, going into

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almond pollination. midsummer dirts, all sorts

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of different ways that they kind of come up with

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ideas of how it would benefit them. Is it safe

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with honey supers on? It's safe. We have a tolerance

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exemption, so it's safe to be in honey. But because

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it's in a sugar syrup, the mites get exposed

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through brood food. You want to apply it without

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supers so that they'll store it down in the brood

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boxes. Now, The bees will empty those pouches

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in just a day or so and then like any other syrup

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that you feed to them, they'll move it around

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and they'll store it within a week and then you

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can put supers on after that. So what we've been

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telling people is treat it like any other syrup

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that you'd provide to them through your feeders.

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Once that feeder is empty, give it a week, 10

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days, whatever you're comfortable and then you

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can put your supers on after that. So tell me

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exactly how the application works. You mentioned

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put it on top of the supers. What does it look

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like? Is it a bag? Is it one of these cardboard

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strips? It's a sugar syrup pouch with a decal

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adhesed to it and then it has a tab you pull

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and it exposes perforations underneath that the

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bees put their proboscis in and suck the syrup

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down. So it's designed to be applied it can be

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applied on the bottom board or on top of the

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frames but if you do put it on top of the frames

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you need to use a spacer. So this sounds really

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safe, but I get why you don't want to use it

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with honey supers on. Are there any other side

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effects that we need to know about or concerns

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that we should have with it? It's so targeted

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that it doesn't have any effect on the pupae,

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the larvae, or the adult bees or the queens.

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The only thing to think about is from a strategy

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perspective is that high mite load and it's not

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killing mites. But what it's doing is it's interrupting

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that growth of the varroa mite. So when applied

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At the right times of year, it equates to that

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four and a half months of control with one application,

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but there's no harm to the bees. Now you two

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guys personally, are you also beekeepers or just

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scientists? I'm a beekeeper, yeah. I actually

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met Greenlight Biosciences three years ago as

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a beekeeper. They had bees on their corporate

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campus and I worked for a company that managed

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bees on corporate campuses. About 600 colonies

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up and down the East Coast. Greenlight Biosciences

00:13:28.679 --> 00:13:31.159
was one of those partners, and so I was leading

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hive tours showing, you know, the employees of

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the company, the honey, the queen, the brood,

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all the good stuff. During one of my hive tours,

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unknown to me, everyone on the hive tour was

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an entomologist. I would have been much more

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nervous if I knew that, but I was leading the

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hive tour, and one of the participants starts

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pointing out bromites on the frame as I'm holding

00:13:52.700 --> 00:13:55.480
it up. So I asked her if she was a beekeeper,

00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:57.519
and she said, no, I'm not a beekeeper. And I

00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:00.059
go, well, how do you know what bromides are?

00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:02.220
And she says, well, we count them in my lab.

00:14:02.840 --> 00:14:04.980
And I go, okay, can I talk to you after the hive

00:14:04.980 --> 00:14:07.700
tour? So I talked to her and I learned about

00:14:07.700 --> 00:14:09.759
the technology like three years ago. So I started

00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:11.559
following them on LinkedIn and the rest is history.

00:14:11.980 --> 00:14:14.860
Cool. And Adam, you're the scientist. Yeah. So

00:14:14.860 --> 00:14:17.200
I was an apiary inspector, found out about green

00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:20.000
light and what they were doing. And then I was

00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:22.200
just really excited about the technology and

00:14:22.200 --> 00:14:24.840
when I had a chance to come on. I just got really

00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:26.279
excited about that. But yes, I'm a beekeeper

00:14:26.279 --> 00:14:28.419
too. So I actually got a bottle. Eric and I are

00:14:28.419 --> 00:14:30.600
going to do a honey swap. I don't know if you

00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:32.919
can see it. So I got a bottle of my honey here.

00:14:33.659 --> 00:14:35.519
It's not picking up with the background, but

00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:37.519
I got it here so I don't forget to pack it for

00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:38.899
the next conference that we're both going to

00:14:38.899 --> 00:14:41.399
be at. So speaking of conferences, where can

00:14:41.399 --> 00:14:43.399
we see you guys if we want to meet you and ask

00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:45.840
a bunch of questions in person? Next is Montana.

00:14:45.840 --> 00:14:48.659
I'm in Montana tomorrow, leaving tomorrow for

00:14:48.659 --> 00:14:54.629
Montana. We'll be in right now, Oregon. Texas,

00:14:54.629 --> 00:14:58.590
California, AHPA, ABF, North American Honey Bee

00:14:58.590 --> 00:15:00.769
Expo. I'm sure I'm forgetting some. The full

00:15:00.769 --> 00:15:04.429
list is on our website, neuroa .com. So with

00:15:04.429 --> 00:15:06.929
a lot of treatments that are out there, you can't

00:15:06.929 --> 00:15:10.409
use them above 80 degrees Fahrenheit or something

00:15:10.409 --> 00:15:13.049
like that. And there's dangers, there's reasons

00:15:13.049 --> 00:15:16.370
for that. Even things that we consider to be

00:15:16.370 --> 00:15:21.129
pretty safe for bees like oxalic acid. We're

00:15:21.129 --> 00:15:23.990
told, wear all this protective gear. What do

00:15:23.990 --> 00:15:27.250
we have to do for neuroa? So neuroa is different

00:15:27.250 --> 00:15:30.070
than anything we've had for use as beekeepers.

00:15:30.389 --> 00:15:32.330
There is no temperature restrictions. Any working

00:15:32.330 --> 00:15:34.049
temperature, you can work your bees, you can

00:15:34.049 --> 00:15:36.389
apply neuroa. It's so safe that actually there's

00:15:36.389 --> 00:15:38.990
no special PPE needed to apply it. If you're

00:15:38.990 --> 00:15:40.730
a beekeeper that doesn't bee keep with gloves

00:15:40.730 --> 00:15:42.570
or you don't bee keep with a veil, there's no

00:15:42.570 --> 00:15:45.129
special PPE to apply it. That is pretty nice.

00:15:45.610 --> 00:15:48.100
There's no temperature restrictions either. Whatever

00:15:48.100 --> 00:15:51.580
temperature you work your bees in whether that's

00:15:51.580 --> 00:15:53.559
Well any temperature restrictions that's safe

00:15:53.559 --> 00:15:57.960
for working bees. So 50 degrees 105 degrees anywhere

00:15:57.960 --> 00:16:01.000
in between you can apply it storage temperatures.

00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:04.879
We just say room temperature You don't want to

00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:08.720
keep it above a hundred degrees long term So,

00:16:08.720 --> 00:16:10.559
you know, don't just keep it out in some shed

00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:13.179
where it's gonna you know, if you're in in Texas

00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:16.519
or Florida and it's your sheds gonna be a hundred

00:16:16.519 --> 00:16:20.269
and 50 degrees for weeks on end. Don't keep it

00:16:20.269 --> 00:16:22.789
out there, but keep it in your garage. Keep it

00:16:22.789 --> 00:16:24.870
on a shelf in your basement or something. It

00:16:24.870 --> 00:16:27.409
can be in a hot vehicle all day long while you're

00:16:27.409 --> 00:16:29.490
out working your bees. That's no problem for

00:16:29.490 --> 00:16:31.350
a day. Just long -term you don't want to let

00:16:31.350 --> 00:16:34.049
it be really hot. Then it can start to degrade.

00:16:34.210 --> 00:16:37.070
Cold is no problem. We've done freezing studies

00:16:37.070 --> 00:16:39.490
to make sure that if it does freeze it'll thaw

00:16:39.490 --> 00:16:41.710
just fine. That's not a problem. That was definitely

00:16:41.710 --> 00:16:43.490
something I thought about living in North Dakota.

00:16:43.649 --> 00:16:45.350
We think about things freezing all the time.

00:16:45.470 --> 00:16:47.789
no temperature restrictions and it has a two

00:16:47.789 --> 00:16:50.169
-year shelf life. So if you buy some now and

00:16:50.169 --> 00:16:52.169
you don't use it all up, it'll be just fine next

00:16:52.169 --> 00:16:54.690
year. Lady just teed off and hit a tree by the

00:16:54.690 --> 00:16:58.330
way. I wish you could have heard it. It was all

00:16:58.330 --> 00:17:02.250
different sound. By the way, that is a real golf

00:17:02.250 --> 00:17:05.170
course behind me. This isn't one of those superimposed

00:17:05.170 --> 00:17:09.950
deals going on. There they are now. Are you a

00:17:09.950 --> 00:17:13.029
beekeeper who loves sharing tips, asking questions,

00:17:13.250 --> 00:17:15.450
and showing off your latest honey haul? Then

00:17:15.450 --> 00:17:18.650
join The Hive, introducing the Man Lake beekeeping

00:17:18.650 --> 00:17:22.329
community on Facebook, your new go -to for everything

00:17:22.329 --> 00:17:25.539
honey bees. Whether you're struggling with mites,

00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:28.559
trying a new winterization method, or just need

00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:31.859
to know what that weird thing on your frame is,

00:17:32.180 --> 00:17:35.220
our group is a supportive, spam -free zone for

00:17:35.220 --> 00:17:38.059
beginners and pros alike. Stop scrolling through

00:17:38.059 --> 00:17:40.839
endless forums and connect directly with beekeepers

00:17:40.839 --> 00:17:43.859
and the professionals at Man Lake in one buzzing

00:17:43.859 --> 00:17:46.400
place. We'll put a link to it down in the show

00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:50.259
notes. Just click over and join up. We have listeners

00:17:50.259 --> 00:17:52.940
that are all kinds of beekeepers, including some

00:17:52.940 --> 00:17:55.759
that are treatment -free beekeepers. So of course

00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:57.880
they're going to be hesitant to use anything,

00:17:58.059 --> 00:18:00.839
but can you maybe give them some reasons why

00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:03.160
they should consider this? One of the things

00:18:03.160 --> 00:18:05.539
I talk about is many of the reasons why treatment

00:18:05.539 --> 00:18:08.279
-free beekeepers are approaching it is because

00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:11.680
they're having to deal with the mitigating the

00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:14.900
risks of putting other products that could harm

00:18:14.900 --> 00:18:17.980
the bees into the colony. So Naroa is a completely

00:18:17.980 --> 00:18:21.220
different angle. It's not affecting the bees

00:18:21.220 --> 00:18:23.740
at all. It's not even killing the mites. It's

00:18:23.740 --> 00:18:26.079
biologically interrupting the Varroa mite's ability

00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:30.019
to reproduce. So if the concern from the treatment

00:18:30.019 --> 00:18:33.160
-free side is safety and not having to worry

00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:35.440
about killing your queen or harming the brood

00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:38.559
or them cannibalizing eggs or pulling brood,

00:18:38.940 --> 00:18:41.579
none of that happens with Naroa. So you might

00:18:41.579 --> 00:18:44.140
feel comfortable with it even if you're quote

00:18:44.140 --> 00:18:47.740
treatment -free. talk all why I think treatment

00:18:47.740 --> 00:18:49.599
-free is not a great strategy, but that's, you

00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:50.920
know, everyone's going to do what they need to

00:18:50.920 --> 00:18:52.779
do. Some, some people that are treatment -free

00:18:52.779 --> 00:18:55.000
are very experienced beekeepers. But if the,

00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:57.359
if the concern from the treatment is not putting

00:18:57.359 --> 00:19:00.539
an acid or a synthetic chemical into the colony,

00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:03.019
a neuro is neither of those. It's not an acid

00:19:03.019 --> 00:19:05.380
or a synthetic chemical. It's a new biological

00:19:05.380 --> 00:19:08.099
target. Good way to put it. Adam, you had something?

00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:11.359
Yeah, there's, I know that we've had some people

00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:13.660
express concerns that this is something that's

00:19:13.660 --> 00:19:16.849
GMO. or something like that. And that's also

00:19:16.849 --> 00:19:20.029
not the case. This isn't anything that's changing

00:19:20.029 --> 00:19:23.630
the genetic makeup of rural mites. It's not touching

00:19:23.630 --> 00:19:25.890
anything like that. It's, like I said, it's just

00:19:25.890 --> 00:19:27.990
working with everything that's already available

00:19:27.990 --> 00:19:30.990
within the mites biology. It breaks down super

00:19:30.990 --> 00:19:33.710
fast. There's no residues really within even

00:19:33.710 --> 00:19:35.869
a couple of weeks of introducing it into the

00:19:35.869 --> 00:19:38.190
hive. It's not an organic treatment. We're not

00:19:38.190 --> 00:19:40.829
getting organically certified, but it's all kind

00:19:40.829 --> 00:19:44.180
of organically made. a fairly natural process.

00:19:45.019 --> 00:19:47.240
Everything's derived from yeast, basically. I

00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:49.500
can't tell you how chemistry is not my strong

00:19:49.500 --> 00:19:51.279
suit. But the best I can tell you is that it

00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:53.619
all originates from yeast. So we're not incorporating

00:19:53.619 --> 00:19:55.420
a whole bunch of other bacteria, a whole bunch

00:19:55.420 --> 00:19:57.920
of dangerous things as we make this. So it's

00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:00.200
all kind of yeast -derived. It's like an RNA

00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:04.460
you'd find in food you eat, with the unique nucleotides

00:20:04.460 --> 00:20:07.779
that target the bromide. But we eat RNA every

00:20:07.779 --> 00:20:09.839
time we eat, every time we drink something. We

00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:12.950
interact with nucleotides. all the time in our

00:20:12.950 --> 00:20:15.450
day -to -day activities. This is more like an

00:20:15.450 --> 00:20:18.450
RNA that you would consume as a human with the

00:20:18.450 --> 00:20:21.009
addition of a target that the burrow might attach

00:20:21.009 --> 00:20:23.910
to that. Okay, there's something I didn't warn

00:20:23.910 --> 00:20:27.250
you guys of ahead of time. As beekeepers, there's

00:20:27.250 --> 00:20:29.529
something that we like to do on this show. For

00:20:29.529 --> 00:20:31.970
the guests that come on, I like to give them

00:20:31.970 --> 00:20:35.190
a chance to tell one of their most fun, wild,

00:20:35.329 --> 00:20:38.309
and crazy, painful, embarrassing, or whatever

00:20:39.139 --> 00:20:41.779
beekeeping stories that they've had can either

00:20:41.779 --> 00:20:45.119
of you think of one god there's more i've had

00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:47.299
i've had so many probably hundreds just pick

00:20:47.299 --> 00:20:50.720
one or two i guess always one that i probably

00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:54.440
the most stings i've ever taken in one single

00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:57.920
sitting was when a thunderstorm rolled in and

00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:00.599
i had like six or seven supers high and i was

00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:02.599
going down to do a mite wash so i had all the

00:21:02.599 --> 00:21:05.900
supers scattered on this one hive and i was about

00:21:05.900 --> 00:21:07.940
ready to do a mite wash and then the storm just

00:21:07.940 --> 00:21:09.819
started cracking and the thunder cracked and

00:21:09.819 --> 00:21:12.259
I don't usually be keep with anything but a veil

00:21:12.259 --> 00:21:15.160
but man I learned my lesson that day to always

00:21:15.160 --> 00:21:17.460
carry a full suit with me because I got stung

00:21:17.460 --> 00:21:20.519
more than I could count. So they reacted to the

00:21:20.519 --> 00:21:23.220
storm and just went crazy on you? They did yeah

00:21:23.220 --> 00:21:25.680
there's nothing I could do no amount of smoke

00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:27.869
I basically just had to run for the truck. Did

00:21:27.869 --> 00:21:30.029
you count how many stings? You know how you tell

00:21:30.029 --> 00:21:31.869
yourself stories, but you know, I never really

00:21:31.869 --> 00:21:33.990
counted, but I always say like a hundred, enough

00:21:33.990 --> 00:21:36.190
to get my heart pounding, but I don't really

00:21:36.190 --> 00:21:38.690
know exactly the number. Yeah. All right, Adam,

00:21:38.789 --> 00:21:41.430
your turn. Oh, I'm going with a happy one. I'm

00:21:41.430 --> 00:21:43.930
trying to decide which one. I've got two in mind.

00:21:44.410 --> 00:21:46.410
Coming, spending a lot of time as an apiary inspector.

00:21:46.630 --> 00:21:48.990
I like to do a lot of education outreach. I work

00:21:48.990 --> 00:21:51.170
with the local zoo science museum, managing hives

00:21:51.170 --> 00:21:53.410
there. I've started getting my son into beekeeping.

00:21:53.730 --> 00:21:55.890
He goes out with me. you always kind of wonder

00:21:55.890 --> 00:21:57.750
how much your kids are listening to you when

00:21:57.750 --> 00:21:59.130
you're telling them stuff and how much they're

00:21:59.130 --> 00:22:01.269
just kind of nodding along and saying okay dad.

00:22:01.670 --> 00:22:05.210
Last year he was in second grade last year and

00:22:05.210 --> 00:22:07.730
got to do kind of a show and tell thing and he

00:22:07.730 --> 00:22:10.069
wanted to wear his his beekeeping suit for his

00:22:10.069 --> 00:22:12.069
show and tell. That was his thing was his beekeeping

00:22:12.069 --> 00:22:14.250
suit and it's supposed to be like a little five

00:22:14.250 --> 00:22:17.650
or ten minute thing where the class gets to ask

00:22:17.650 --> 00:22:19.450
him questions about it they show it off and that's

00:22:19.450 --> 00:22:21.740
it. So I went there to help him put it on because

00:22:21.740 --> 00:22:24.539
he kind of struggles to get his veil on himself.

00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:27.960
And it turned into a 45 minute Q &A about honeybees.

00:22:28.140 --> 00:22:30.420
Nothing about him, all about honeybees. It was

00:22:30.420 --> 00:22:32.519
like he was doing a master class on beekeeping.

00:22:32.740 --> 00:22:34.500
And these second graders were asking awesome

00:22:34.500 --> 00:22:37.779
questions about honeybees and beekeeping and

00:22:37.779 --> 00:22:40.079
asking about the queen and what happens if this

00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:42.279
happens. What do you do if this happens? What

00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:44.480
about this? And the questions that they were

00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:46.240
asking and the way he was answering them, it

00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:48.519
was like... this kid's actually listening to

00:22:48.519 --> 00:22:50.279
me and this kid's actually paying attention when

00:22:50.279 --> 00:22:52.619
we go out to the hives and it was a proud moment

00:22:52.619 --> 00:22:55.359
as a dad and as a beekeeper it was like you know

00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:57.279
as a mentor watching someone that you've taught

00:22:57.279 --> 00:23:00.680
it was just really cool seeing this little I

00:23:00.680 --> 00:23:03.160
mean at the time seven -year -old seeing the

00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:05.500
next generation coming up and actually paying

00:23:05.500 --> 00:23:07.359
attention knowing what they're doing and this

00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:10.619
little kid know what he was doing with bees and

00:23:10.619 --> 00:23:14.019
yeah it was really fun that is so great so you

00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:16.089
can edit mine out I like that one better We'll

00:23:16.089 --> 00:23:18.609
put them both in. We like to hear other people's

00:23:18.609 --> 00:23:22.130
pain. Yeah. You know, we've talked about this

00:23:22.130 --> 00:23:23.970
before on this show, but I don't mind bringing

00:23:23.970 --> 00:23:26.650
it up again. Heat keeping is such a great family

00:23:26.650 --> 00:23:29.390
thing. Get your kids involved. Get your grandkids

00:23:29.390 --> 00:23:33.170
involved. Get grandpa involved. Get whoever that

00:23:33.170 --> 00:23:35.589
is comfortable with it, you know, and is interested

00:23:35.589 --> 00:23:38.069
in it. And you'd be surprised how many people

00:23:38.069 --> 00:23:40.589
are interested in it. It's a great family thing

00:23:40.589 --> 00:23:42.980
to do together. And now he likes to bring his

00:23:42.980 --> 00:23:45.359
friends with so we got a couple kids suits that

00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.019
he can bring friends and his best friend across

00:23:48.019 --> 00:23:51.339
the street six months ago any flying bug that

00:23:51.339 --> 00:23:53.559
we that they'd see playing outside he'd run away

00:23:53.559 --> 00:23:56.380
screaming we brought him with once this spring

00:23:56.380 --> 00:23:58.700
this spring uh it was the second time we went

00:23:58.700 --> 00:24:02.339
out to the hives and he came out wasn't sure

00:24:02.339 --> 00:24:04.619
how it was gonna go and we got done he said can

00:24:04.619 --> 00:24:06.799
i come with every time you you go to your bees

00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:10.019
he helped me extract a little bit and yeah he's

00:24:10.019 --> 00:24:13.029
he loves it now Oh, that's really fun. Yeah,

00:24:13.130 --> 00:24:16.170
this kid went from being terrified of any insect

00:24:16.170 --> 00:24:18.369
to, yeah, he wants to come with every time I

00:24:18.369 --> 00:24:20.130
work with bees, even if my son doesn't come with.

00:24:20.390 --> 00:24:22.349
Before I let you go, I want to talk to beginners

00:24:22.349 --> 00:24:25.829
here for a second. So if you guys would just

00:24:25.829 --> 00:24:29.240
give a little two or three minute primer. And

00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:31.720
if somebody is thinking about getting into beekeeping

00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:35.359
or new at beekeeping, what is varroa? Why should

00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:38.279
you care? And why can't you just ignore it and

00:24:38.279 --> 00:24:41.000
hope nothing will happen? So varroa is the number

00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:43.640
one threat to honeybee colony health. You could

00:24:43.640 --> 00:24:46.400
say worldwide. We can address the problem with

00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:48.660
the different miticides that we have. We haven't

00:24:48.660 --> 00:24:51.079
had a lot of new miticides in the last decade.

00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:54.700
If you can focus in on the number one pest of

00:24:54.700 --> 00:24:56.740
the honeybee, you have a good chance at being

00:24:56.740 --> 00:24:58.960
a successful beekeeper and it's a little challenging

00:24:58.960 --> 00:25:01.539
because you as a new beekeeper you have to monitor

00:25:01.539 --> 00:25:04.140
for those mites you have to test you have to

00:25:04.140 --> 00:25:06.819
then put something in the colony and the traditional

00:25:06.819 --> 00:25:09.920
ones that we've had at our for our use can be

00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:12.299
sort of intimidating because with them they have

00:25:12.299 --> 00:25:14.720
temperature restrictions they have risks or they're

00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:16.119
a synthetic chemical if you don't want to use

00:25:16.119 --> 00:25:18.720
any synthetic chemicals so as a new beekeeper

00:25:18.720 --> 00:25:23.539
if you can learn three things varroa mites how

00:25:23.539 --> 00:25:26.490
to recognize Queen events in your colony. Do

00:25:26.490 --> 00:25:28.049
you have a queen in there or not? And then how

00:25:28.049 --> 00:25:30.569
to recognize and if you have enough food I mean

00:25:30.569 --> 00:25:32.170
you you're putting yourself in a great place

00:25:32.170 --> 00:25:34.430
to be a good beekeeper but for Oh mights being

00:25:34.430 --> 00:25:37.109
the biggest pest and The one that we have tools

00:25:37.109 --> 00:25:39.109
at our disposal that we can actually attempt

00:25:39.109 --> 00:25:42.289
to keep our colonies healthy in 2025 going to

00:25:42.289 --> 00:25:45.640
2026 staying on top of it from spring all the

00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:47.339
way through. If you can just learn how to make

00:25:47.339 --> 00:25:49.839
sure that your colony's varroa mites are low

00:25:49.839 --> 00:25:51.880
consistently, you have a good chance at having

00:25:51.880 --> 00:25:54.720
overwinter colonies and being a successful beekeeper.

00:25:55.160 --> 00:25:57.640
Great summary, Adam. The way I like to describe

00:25:57.640 --> 00:26:01.000
it is if you go out hiking, everyone knows, you

00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:02.980
know, if you spend any time outdoors, what ticks

00:26:02.980 --> 00:26:06.160
are. Imagine a tick on you the size of a dinner

00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:09.200
plate. And that's what a varroa is for a honeybee.

00:26:09.339 --> 00:26:12.799
It's the largest parasite to host. relationship

00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:15.079
in the animal kingdom. And bees, when they get

00:26:15.079 --> 00:26:16.700
out of hand, can have more than one varroa mite

00:26:16.700 --> 00:26:19.319
on them. So they're doing tremendous damage.

00:26:19.380 --> 00:26:21.420
They're really spreading diseases. So it's really

00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:24.700
important to keep them under control. One varroa

00:26:24.700 --> 00:26:27.799
mite in a colony in February can actually turn

00:26:27.799 --> 00:26:31.799
into, we did the math, 10 or 12 ,000 varroa mites

00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:34.740
by September, the way that they reproduce. So

00:26:34.740 --> 00:26:37.039
it can turn into a big problem in a relatively

00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:40.039
short amount of time. It's an insanely huge problem

00:26:40.039 --> 00:26:43.000
that people really overlook. for that same reason.

00:26:43.039 --> 00:26:45.099
They think that it isn't a big problem, but one

00:26:45.099 --> 00:26:47.660
can turn into a huge problem very quickly. So

00:26:47.660 --> 00:26:50.039
yeah, learning how to recognize that is crucial.

00:26:50.220 --> 00:26:52.940
As a new beekeeper, it can also be really hard

00:26:52.940 --> 00:26:55.839
to know how to overwinter, like Eric said. So

00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:58.339
learning how to just manage resources is really

00:26:58.339 --> 00:27:02.079
important. And unless you live in places like

00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:06.779
Nova Scotia, Molokai, Kauai, Kangaroo Island

00:27:06.779 --> 00:27:10.119
in Australia, Unless you're in one of those really

00:27:10.119 --> 00:27:13.619
isolated really lucky places You have Varroa

00:27:13.619 --> 00:27:16.160
in your hive if you bought a package or you bought

00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:21.599
a nuke You have Varroa already If somehow you

00:27:21.599 --> 00:27:24.759
believe your bees do not have any mites at all

00:27:24.759 --> 00:27:27.980
Well, there are bees from other colonies, especially

00:27:27.980 --> 00:27:30.319
drones coming around and dropping some in your

00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:33.799
hive Don't assume that you got the good batch

00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:36.819
Because it's everywhere. It just is we have to

00:27:36.819 --> 00:27:39.039
admit it We have to deal with it part of what

00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:42.140
we do on this show is give people an idea of

00:27:42.140 --> 00:27:44.960
all the different ways to deal with it Okay,

00:27:45.480 --> 00:27:47.400
even if you're treatment free you're dealing

00:27:47.400 --> 00:27:50.740
with it in some ways and if you use treatment

00:27:50.740 --> 00:27:53.579
There's lots of different ways that you can different

00:27:53.579 --> 00:27:55.380
things you can be comfortable with different

00:27:55.380 --> 00:27:58.950
times of year So do your research and we're not

00:27:58.950 --> 00:28:00.630
going to tell you what to do. We want you to

00:28:00.630 --> 00:28:03.529
make the best decision for your bees. Be intuitive,

00:28:04.309 --> 00:28:06.849
do your research and then do what's going to

00:28:06.849 --> 00:28:09.970
be best for them. So my other last, last question

00:28:09.970 --> 00:28:13.549
is, is Naroa available right now? And if so,

00:28:13.549 --> 00:28:15.569
where? Because I read that it was just approved

00:28:15.569 --> 00:28:18.430
by the EPA here in the States. Yeah, it was,

00:28:18.450 --> 00:28:21.150
uh, so it was registered on September 25th. Yeah.

00:28:21.150 --> 00:28:23.890
So we've only been federally registered for a

00:28:23.890 --> 00:28:26.519
few short weeks. But we've already have nearly

00:28:26.519 --> 00:28:29.220
20 states available for purchase and then by

00:28:29.220 --> 00:28:31.779
the time this airs we expect some more. We even

00:28:31.779 --> 00:28:34.000
got California which is traditionally one of

00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:36.039
the harder ones to get but they did a thorough

00:28:36.039 --> 00:28:37.900
review and we were on a fast track with them

00:28:37.900 --> 00:28:40.420
and it just is a testament to how safe Narrow

00:28:40.420 --> 00:28:43.400
is. Most of us don't understand the process so

00:28:43.400 --> 00:28:45.779
the EPA approves that we assume you can send

00:28:45.779 --> 00:28:48.279
it out all over the country but there is a little

00:28:48.279 --> 00:28:51.579
process in each state too right? Yeah, every

00:28:51.579 --> 00:28:53.680
state has their own process. Each state is a

00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:55.500
little different. Some of them you just fill

00:28:55.500 --> 00:28:57.519
out a paper and pay your fee. Some of them have

00:28:57.519 --> 00:28:59.400
to do a little review. Some of them you can do

00:28:59.400 --> 00:29:01.319
online. Some of them you have to fill out an

00:29:01.319 --> 00:29:04.799
actual paper form and send it in. And then each

00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:07.640
one's review process takes a little bit different.

00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:09.700
So we're working through all that. Like Eric

00:29:09.700 --> 00:29:13.019
said, we're at near 20 states at this moment.

00:29:13.160 --> 00:29:15.039
By the time this airs, it'll probably be more.

00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:17.599
New ones are coming on all the time. So it sounds

00:29:17.599 --> 00:29:19.720
like by the end of the year you'll have maybe

00:29:19.720 --> 00:29:23.220
the majority of states. How hard is it to be

00:29:23.220 --> 00:29:25.619
approved in other countries? It's about like

00:29:25.619 --> 00:29:28.160
going through EPA. So we're under review in Canada

00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:30.240
right now. Talking with our regulatory team,

00:29:30.259 --> 00:29:32.740
they're actually probably more difficult to get

00:29:32.740 --> 00:29:35.779
registered with than in the United States. We're

00:29:35.779 --> 00:29:38.200
under review in Mexico, we're under review in

00:29:38.200 --> 00:29:42.420
New Zealand, and we are submitting in the European

00:29:42.420 --> 00:29:44.599
Union. We're submitting with them this month.

00:29:44.859 --> 00:29:48.859
Each one has a different process. They all require

00:29:48.859 --> 00:29:51.220
the same data but they want their studies done

00:29:51.220 --> 00:29:54.180
in their geography so we've got to do the same

00:29:54.180 --> 00:29:57.119
studies all over again in every region. It's

00:29:57.119 --> 00:29:59.660
not an easy or a cheap process. All that to say

00:29:59.660 --> 00:30:01.720
it's a lot of time and money to bring something

00:30:01.720 --> 00:30:04.640
to market. So if you live in the EU or Australia

00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:08.140
or even Canada or New Zealand you may have to

00:30:08.140 --> 00:30:10.920
be patient for a while to get this. If it's government

00:30:10.920 --> 00:30:12.640
you have no idea how long it's going to take.

00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:15.259
could be a year or two or who knows. Exactly.

00:30:15.339 --> 00:30:17.420
But the fact that it's safe and it's proven here

00:30:17.420 --> 00:30:20.180
hopefully will speed that whole process up. When

00:30:20.180 --> 00:30:23.839
it comes to Naroa, which is new to me and I can't

00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:26.160
wait to try it, I'm just going to ask you Eric

00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:29.559
the last two questions that are the key to everything

00:30:29.559 --> 00:30:31.579
in the bottom line to this whole conversation.

00:30:32.180 --> 00:30:34.319
Number one, is it safe and number two, does it

00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:36.859
work? Yeah, I mean it's incredibly safe. It's

00:30:36.859 --> 00:30:39.119
one of the safest if not the safest rural control

00:30:39.119 --> 00:30:41.980
we have. It's so biologically targeted, the bromide,

00:30:42.180 --> 00:30:44.180
it kind of solves that problem that we've been

00:30:44.180 --> 00:30:47.819
trying to solve is affecting the pest and not

00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:50.200
the non -target organisms. So we're using a biohack,

00:30:50.299 --> 00:30:53.099
we're using biology to do that. So it's incredibly

00:30:53.099 --> 00:30:55.500
safe and, you know, it's been in development

00:30:55.500 --> 00:30:58.339
for over 10 years. This sort of technology won

00:30:58.339 --> 00:31:01.599
the Nobel Prize back in 2006. We're all the way

00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:04.460
back and now we're in 2000, almost 26. We actually

00:31:04.460 --> 00:31:06.839
have products now through Greenlight Biosciences

00:31:06.839 --> 00:31:09.390
that address these pests and some of these. crops

00:31:09.390 --> 00:31:12.109
and in our case beekeeping. So incredibly safe,

00:31:12.309 --> 00:31:14.809
incredibly effective. We saw consistent results

00:31:14.809 --> 00:31:16.650
in different geographies in the United States

00:31:16.650 --> 00:31:19.730
showing up to four and a half months of control

00:31:19.730 --> 00:31:23.170
with a single application. And you guys are also

00:31:23.170 --> 00:31:26.829
experienced beekeepers and are telling us, yeah.

00:31:26.940 --> 00:31:30.259
You've used it. It works good. So, Eric and Adam

00:31:30.259 --> 00:31:33.099
from Greenlight Biosciences with the product

00:31:33.099 --> 00:31:35.700
Naroa. We'll stick a link down in the show notes.

00:31:35.779 --> 00:31:37.960
If anyone wants to do more homework, check out

00:31:37.960 --> 00:31:40.420
your website. It'll be there. Thanks for being

00:31:40.420 --> 00:31:42.819
with me, guys, and I'll see you in January at

00:31:42.819 --> 00:31:48.119
Nobby. Thanks for having us. Thank you. Thanks

00:31:48.119 --> 00:31:50.640
for joining us on Be Love Beekeeping presented

00:31:50.640 --> 00:31:53.740
by Man Lake. If you like this content, I hope

00:31:53.740 --> 00:31:56.640
you'll share it with a friend, follow and subscribe

00:31:56.640 --> 00:32:00.099
to this podcast, and even sign up for our newsletter

00:32:00.099 --> 00:32:03.480
at BeLoveBeekeeping .com. Also just a shout out

00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:06.019
to Vita Bee Health for their support, we appreciate

00:32:06.019 --> 00:32:09.079
them. Vita's Varroa control range of products

00:32:09.079 --> 00:32:12.640
includes Apistan, Apagard, and now Varroxan,

00:32:12.920 --> 00:32:16.619
extended release oxalic acid strips. Thanks guys.

00:32:17.039 --> 00:32:19.480
And remember, if you're not just in it for the

00:32:19.480 --> 00:32:22.019
honey or the money, you're in it for the love.

00:32:22.500 --> 00:32:23.400
See you next week.