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3 hours of knowledge! Now online. 

Originally held: 22 April 2025

Watch the recording here: https://youtu.be/K-yRRHLROdc

Did you miss our expert webinar on Tropilaelaps mites? The full recording is now live! Learn from leading scientists and experienced beekeepers about:

The biology and expanding distribution of Tropilaelaps mites in Europe
Latest detection and surveillance methods
Effective control strategies, including acaricide trials and cultural management
Preparedness and critical gaps for European beekeepers and beyond.

This event, jointly hosted by Apimondia Federation and BeeGuards, and with technical support by #auburnuniversity brought together top experts to discuss how to identify, monitor, and manage this emerging threat to honey bee colonies.
Whether you’re a beekeeper, researcher, or just passionate about bee health, this is essential viewing!

Follow the BeeGuards Tropilaelaps homepage. https://tropilaelaps.info/

We are happy to announce that BeeGuards newest publication is in the air in the Bee World magazine. The hot topic now is the Tropilalaps mites slowly approaching europe. Find the article here https://doi.org/10.1080/0005772X.2025.2483730 and do your research on the exciting homepage: https://tropilaelaps.info/, where you find all you need to know.

Listen to our podcast where we talk about our project, we go deeper, but we also talk about and with our partners. Meet our project and our partners. Enjoy the podcast while driving or doing something else.  

In 2024, Tropilaelaps was confirmed for the first time in Europe, infesting honey bee colonies in southwest Russia and Georgia. These reports mark a continued movement towards the west from origins in Asia. Migratory beekeeping and bee stocks sales are likely pathways for the rapid movement of this dangerous mite. Test your bees for Tropilaelaps.

Monitor your colonies for Tropilaelaps mites. Tropilaelaps mites are statutory notifiable pests in many different countries, and so you must inform your local authorities immediately if you have any suspicions that the mite is present. Mite samples and photographs can be useful evidence to share with the authorities. Beekeepers can reduce mite spread by considering importing or migrating bee stocks from regions with a low risk of mite presence.

How to detect the Tropilaelaps mite easy:

Have a closer look at this nice video. Please share with your colleagues all over europe.

Download our leaflet with the latest update on Tropilaelaps: https://beeguards.eu/?sdm_process_download=1&download_id=994

Pim Brascamp, Aleksandar Uzunov, Piter Bijma and Manuel Du composed “The Genetics of Selection in Honeybees”, a new cost-free eBook published by Wageningen University. The book aims to help breeders and bee experts understand subtle elements of honey bee selection, which previously needed to be addressed. The current version is 44 pages of condensed material in four chapters: Breeding Goal, Quantitative Genetics, Breeding Value Estimation, and Selection. It is available in chapter or whole pdf book mode.

Download here. Or have a look for more downloads on our downloadpage.

Authors consider this material as work in progress and appreciate and welcome comments and suggestions for improvement.

The BeeGuards members: Aleksandar Uzunov, Cecilia Costa and Giovanni Cilia are an important part of the author team on this breaking new article. You need to read.

First to confirm findings of the harmful Tropilaelaps mercedesae mite in Western Georgia (Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region). Infested honey bee colonies (of the Caucasian honey bee, Apis mellifera caucasica) across three beekeeping sites showed high levels of infestation. Tropilaelaps are spreading and create increasing concern for beekeepers. In these colonies, T. mercedesae was found alongside another harmful mite, Varroa destructor, both showing high reproductive success. This discovery raises alarms for beekeeping in Georgia and Europe, and immediate steps are needed to monitor and control its spread to protect bees and agriculture.

Download on: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/385048575_First_Report_on_Tropilaelaps_mercedesae_Presence_in_Georgia_The_Mite_is_Heading_Westward

In this video (https://tropilaelaps.info/media/video-gallery/) you can follow the instructions on how to apply the new method under field or lab conditions. The video is based on the experience and results available in the preprint article:

Uzunov, Janashia, Chen, Costa, Kovacic A scientific note on “Rapid brood decapping” – a method for assessment of honey bee (Apis mellifera) brood infestation with Tropilaelaps mercedesae.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.10.09.616962v1.article-metrics

Still from the EURBEE10 conference in Tallin. Download the poster

BeeGuards poster on Migratory habits of Slovenian beekeepers

EURBEE-10. BeeGuards poster on: Migratory habits of Slovenian beekeepers and their economic
efficiency

Download Now!807 Downloads

Strong contribution from WP2 Breeding experts at the International Apicultural Asia Regional Symposium in Beijing. Chao Chen and Alex Uzunov organized a satellite breeding conference with contributions from Australia, North America, Asia and Europe. Cecilia Costa, Jesus Yaniz and Marin Kovacic presented different aspects and perspectives on honey bee breeding, alongside other experts from Australia, Canada, China, Germany.

The 2024 International Apicultural Asia Regional Symposium is set to convene at the Miyun Youth Palace and Rui Haimu Resort in Beijing, China from 2rd- 4th September, 2024, drawing honey enthusiasts, beekeepers, researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders from across Asia and beyond. This symposium is envisioned as a pivotal event poised to elevate the apicultural industry to new heights, fostering a sustainable and dynamic economy centered around beekeeping activities.

Read the poster of Melanie Parejo, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) et al. Presented on Applied Hologenetic Conference 2024 in Copenhagen. Focus was on BEEGUARDS WP4: Study of the honeybee holobiont to unravel management and environment-driven changes in colony resilience. Simply understand what we do in our project. Read more about the conference on: www.appliedhologenomicsconference.eu

You can download the poster on our download page.