drone brood removal: a bee-utiful form of varroa …...2015). insects can be consumed at any stage...
TRANSCRIPT
DroneBroodRemoval:Abee-utifulformofVarroacontrolandsourceofedible
insectprotein
DepartmentofEnvironmentalStudies
IndependentStudyThesis
BridgetGross
Advisors:Dr.SusanClaytonandDr.CarloMoreno
PresentedinPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementfortheIndependentStudy
Thesis
TheCollegeofWooster2018
1
TableofContents
Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….2
Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………………………………...3
Chapter1:Overview:EatingBugsandBees?
1.1EdibleInsects…………………………………………………………………………………………………4
1.2HoneyBees…………………………………………………………………………………………………..11
1.3VarroadesctructorandHoneyBees……………………………………………………………….15
Chapter2:DroneBroodRemoval
2.1OverviewandBackground…………………………………………………………………………….20
2.2ResearchProcedure……………………………………………………………………………………...23
2.3Results…………………………………………………………………………………………………………29
2.4Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………………………34
Chapter3:WhytheBuzzAren’tWeEatingBees?
3.1OverviewandBackground…………………………………………………………………………….40
3.2ResearchProcedure……………………………………………………………………………………...45
3.3Results…………………………………………………………………………………………………………46
3.4Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………………………52
Chapter4:WhatDoesThisAllMean?
4.1ReviewofResults………………………………………………………………………………………….58
4.2GeneralDiscussion…………………………………………………………………………………….….59
4.3ConcludingRemarks……………………………………………………………………………………..65
AppendixA…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...67
AppendixB…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...69
LiteratureCited…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….70
2
Abstract
Bothedibleinsectsandhoneybeesareimportanttoourfoodsystem.Here,thelink
betweenpestmanagementpracticesinapiarysystemsandentomophagy(thehuman
consumptionofinsects)isexplored.Chapter1providesbackgroundinformationon
beekeepingandentomophagy.Chapter2examinesamitecontrolpracticecalleddrone
broodremoval(DBR).Thispracticeinvolvesremovingframesofdronelarvaefrom
colonies.Beekeepersprovidedsamplesofnursebeestoseehowtheirmitelevelschanged
overtime.Overall,mitelevelssignificantlyincreasedfromthespringtothefall,regardless
ofmitecontrolstrategies.Anexperimentwasconductedexamininghowremovingtwo
droneframesimpactedmitelevels;thismethodwasfoundtobeeffectiveinthemonthof
Augustatloweringmitelevels.Chapter3examinesthewillingnessofbugfarmsand
beekeeperstoutilizedronelarvae.Amajorityofbeekeeperswerewillingtoselldrone
larvae,andallbugfarmswerewillingtoselldronelarvae.Chapter4thenexamineshow
thispracticecanbeimplemented,andexplorespotentialavenuesinwhichdronescanbe
betterintegratedintoasustainablefoodsystem.
3
Acknowledgements
Firstandforemost,Iwouldliketothankmyparents,MarcusandRobinGrossforall
theirloveandsupport.Icannotthankyoutwoenoughforallthesacrificesyouhavemade
forme,alltheencouragmentovertheyears,andforlettingmecookinsectsinourkitchen.I
neverwouldhavebeenabletofinishthiswithoutyoutwo.
Iwouldliketothankmyon-campusadvisors,Dr.SusanClaytonandDr.Carlo
Moreno,foralltheirsupportthroughouttheentireI.S.process.Yourguidancehasbeen
tremendouslyhelpfulandappreciated.
IwouldliketothanktheHighlandteamforalltheirloveandsupportoverthepast
fouryearshereatWooster.Youguysremindtonottakelifetooseriously,thatI’mgoingto
findmyway,andmostimportantly,tohavefun.Iloveyouallsomuch,andthanks.
Iwouldliketothankmycolorguardteam,forbeingmyhomeawayfromhome,for
pushingmetobemybest,andforlisteningtomerantaboutcollegelifeandhoneybees.
Lastly,Iwouldliketothankmyoff-campusadvisorDr.ReedJohnson,andeveryone
attheOhioStateUniversityBeeLab.Thankyouallforwelcomingmeintothelab,for
teachingmeeverythingIknowaboutbeekeepingandbeeresearch,andforallthefun
timeswehavehad.
ThisprojectalsocouldnothavebeencompletedwithoutfundingfromtheHenryJ.
CopelandFund,andthePaulC.andEdnaH.WarnerGrantforSustainableAgriculture.
Thankyou.
4
Chapter1:EatingBugsandBees?
1.1EdibleInsects
Haveyouevereatenabug?Itiscommonforpeopleindevelopingnationstoeat
insectsasasourceoffood,butitisoftenfrowneduponbyWesternnations.Thepracticeof
consuminginsectsashumanfoodiscalledentomophagy(Barennesetal.,2015;Shelomi,
2015;VanHuisetal.,2013).Edibleinsectsareinsectsthatarefarmedorraisedforhumans
consumption.ThemostcommonlyconsumedinsectsareColeoptera(beetles)and
Lepidoptera(butterflies,mothsandcaterpillars)(VanHuisetal.,2013).Thetypeofinsect
consumedvariesbasedonaccess;citizensofLaostendtoconsumebeetlesorbutterflies
becausetheyareeasilyaccessibleinthewild(Barennesetal.,2015).Whereas,citizensof
Thailandtendtoeathoneybeesandwaspsbecausetheyaremoreabundant(Grahametal.,
2015).Insectscanbeconsumedatanystageintheirlife,butaremostofteneateninthe
pupalorlarvalstage(VanHuisetal.,2013).ManyWesternersaskthemselves,“Why
practiceentomophagy?”Forsome,entomophagyisanecessity;inAfrica,citizenseat
insectsbecauseothersourcesofproteinarescarce(Ageaetal.,2008).However,
Westernersgenerallydonoteatinsectsduetothe“disgust”factor,lackofaccess,andthe
availabilityofotherproteinsources.Nevertheless,thepotentialadvantagesofintegrating
insectsintotheWesterndietareconsiderableonaccountofthebenefitsintermsof
sustainabilityandreliability.
Westerncitizensoftendonothaveatasteforinsectsduetothe“disgust”factor
(Shelomi,2015;Yen,2009).DeFoliart(1999)hypothesizesthatthedisgustfactorstems
fromthethoughtofbugsbeinggrossor“icky.”Afterreviewingpiecesofpastliteratureand
reportsofWesternbias,DeFoliart(1999)concludesthatWesterncultureviewsinsectsas
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gross,believingthatedibleinsectsbelonginahunterandgatherersocietyandnota
Westernsociety.Intheirreviewofentomophagy,Shelomi(2015)arguesthateatingmeat
isseenasculturallysuperior,suggestingthateatinginsectsisoftenviewedasprimitive.
TelevisionshowssuchasSurvivororFearFactorhavecontributedtotheideaofinsectsas
aspecialtyorweirdfoodbyturningentomophagyintoagame(Shelomi,2015;Yen,2009).
ByframingentomophagyinsuchalightitfurtheringrainsintoWesternculturethatinsects
arenotaneverydayfood,andinhibitsWesternersfromutilizingavalidsourceofprotein.
Asecondbarriertoentomophagy,specificallyintheWest,includesaccesstoedible
insects.Edibleinsectsarenotsoldingrocerystores;infact,themostaccessibleinsectsare
thosesoldatpetstoresaspetfood(VanHuisetal.,2013).IfaWesternconsumerwants
insects,theywillhavetoordertheirinsectsonlinefrombugfarms;whereasmeatsare
availableatalmosteverygrocerystore.Whiletheseonlinestoresexist,shippingis
expensiveandfewfoodproductsexist;suchfoodsinclude:proteinbars,cookies,bolognese
sauce,andflour.Incontrasttoonlineshopping,therearefestivalsthatwillsellinsects,but
thiscontributestotheideaofinsectsasbeingaspecialtyfood,notaneverydayfood
(Shelomi,2015).ProponentsofentomophagyarguethatWesternmedianeedstostart
educatingthepubliconconsuminginsects,andgrocerystoresneedtostartsellingedible
insectstomakethemmoreaccessibletotheeverydayconsumer(DeFoliart,1999).Seeing
insectsonashelfinthefoodaisleorfindingarecipebookinthebookstoremaymake
peoplemoreapttotryedibleinsects(Shelomi,2015).Alackofeasyaccessandvisibility
preventsedibleinsectsfrombecomingmoreofanormandlessofaspecialtyfood.
Lastly,Westerncountriesdonotofteneatinsectsbecauseoftheavailabilityofother
proteinsources.Inunderdevelopednationswhereaccesstomeatislimited,theymay
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utilizeinsectsasaproteinsource(Barennesetal.,2015;VanHuisetal.,2013).However,
Westerncountriesdonothaveaproteingap.Itishardtosellaproductwhenthereis
alreadyaculturallyacceptablealternative.Proponentsofentomophagybelievethat
Westerncountriesneedtobeginacceptingedibleinsects,duetothecontinualrisein
demandformeat(VanHuisetal.,2013).Inorderforthispracticetobecomewidespread,a
portionofWesternculturewillneedtochangetobecomemore“bug-friendly,”andsee
insectsasfoodforeveryone;thiscanoccureitherthroughachangeinthemarketasother
countriesenterthecommercialmeatmarketandmeatdemandbeginstoincrease,or
throughincreasedpopularityofcommercialbugfarms.
WhilstthebarrierslistedaboveexistintheWest,therearemultipleadvantagesto
edibleinsects,suchastheirsustainabilityandreliability.Oneadvantageofedibleinsects
comesintermsofprovidingamoresustainableproteinsource.Inorderforsomethingto
beconsideredsustainable,itmustmeetthethreepillarsofsustainability:itmustbe
sociallyequitable,economicallyviable,andpossessecologicalintegrity(WorldCommission
onEnvironmentandDevelopment,1987).Intermsofecologicalintegrity,edibleinsects
meetthisdefinitionbecausetheyaremoreeasilyrearedandcaredforduetotheirsmall
size.Inthispaper,“meat”isdefinedasthefleshofcattle,chickens,birds,pigsandfish;
whendiscussingtheproductionofmeat,conventionalmethodsofproductionareassumed.
Aninsect’ssmallsizemeansitrequireslesslivingspace,lesswaterandhaslower
greenhousegasoutputsthanconventionallyrearedmeats(CaparrosMegidoetal.,
2014;Grahametal.,2015;Shelomi,2015;VanHuisetal.,2013;Figure1.1).Onaverage,
insectsconverttwokilogramsoffeedintoonekilogramofmass,whereascattle,on
average,converteightkilogramsoffeedintoonekilogramofmass(VanHuisetal.,2013).
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Additionally,aonekilogramsampleofmealwormsproducefewergreenhousegasesover
thecourseofitslifetimethantheanimalsneededtomakeonekilogramofmilk,chicken,
pork,andbeef(OonincxandBoer,2012).TheUnitedNationsfoundcricketstohavehigher
proportionsofconsumablebodypartsandhigherefficiencyinconvertingfeedthan
poultry,porkorbeef(Figure1.2),makingthemoverallmoresustainablebecausehumans
canconsumeahigherportionoftheorganismwhileusingfewerresourcestorearsaid
organism(VanHuisetal.,2013).Overall,insectsaremoreecologicallyviablethan
traditional,conventionallyrearedmeatsbecausetheyproducelesseramountsof
greenhousegases,andrequirefewerresourceswhenproducedontheircurrentscale.
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Figure1.1.Infographicshowingthegramsoffeedandlitersofwaterrequiredtoproduce
onekilogramofdifferentproteinsources.DataisfromVanHuisetal.,(2013)and
infographicdesignedbyJustinkyle.netforLittleHerds.org
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Figure1.2.Comparisonofkilogramsoffeedtoitsedibleweightandliveweight.Edible
weightistheweightwhentheanimalispreparedtobeconsumed,liveweightistheweight
whentheanimalisstillliving.Thefigurealsoincludesthepercentageofeachanimal
humanscanconsumeasfood.FiguretakenfromVanHuisetal.(2013).
Intermsofeconomicviability,edibleinsectsprovidewaysforthoseindeveloping
orpoorcountrieswhocannotgooutandworktoearnincome.Oftentimesthesecollectors
andsellersarewomenandchildrenwhomaynotbeabletoholdformaljobs(VanHuiset
al.,2013).WhileWesternersmaynotneedtorelyoninsectsasasourceofincome,edible
10
insectsdoprovideawaytodiversifytheproteinindustry.Thiscouldbeespecially
importantasthemeatindustrybeginsshiftingtowardssustainableproductionofmeat,
whichoftenleadstoareducedyield.Coveringthelastpillarofsustainability,socialequity,
edibleinsectsareavailableworldwide.Furthermore,thistiesinwithhowinsectstendto
beareliablesourceofprotein.Edibleinsectsarecommonlyutilizedwithindeveloping
nations(VanHuisetal.,2013),meaningthatedibleinsectsareeasilyaccessibletoalarge
rangeofpeoplewhencollectedfromthewild.Insectsthatareconsumedareoften
abundantinthearea,andsinceinsectsusefewresources,theyarealsooftenabundant
evenintimesofdroughtorharshclimates(VanHuisetal.,2013).Thereareover2,111
edibleinsectspeciesworldwide(Jongema,2017),andwhilecollectingfromthewildmay
notbesustainablefortheinsectpopulations(DeFoliart,1999),theyareaccessibleto
almosteveryoneinsomeway,shape,orform.Thus,edibleinsectsoutweightraditional
meatsintermsofsustainabilityduetotheirlowimpactonecosystems,theirreliabilityand
availability,andtheopportunitytodiversifytheproteinmarket.
Asstatedabove,peopleoftenconsumeinsectsthatareabundant,suchascricketsor
beetles.OneinsectthatisuncommontoeatisApismellifera,alsoknownastheWestern
HoneyBee;theyarealsotheinsectofdiscussionforthispaper.Rawdronelarvaeand
pupaearesoft,withJensenetal.(2016)denotingthatconsumerspossesstheabilitytopop
thedroneopenintheirmouthtorevealagooeyinside.Theoveralltasteofrawdrone
larvaeorpupaecanvary,butisoftendescribedassimilartoanut(Jensenetal.,2016).
Researchershypothesizethatforagingactivity,environment,andpossiblygeneticscan
influencetaste(Evansetal.,2016).Aswithmostfooditems,consumersmustbewaryof
allergies.Typicallythosewithshellfishallergieswillhavesomesortofreactiontoinsects
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duetosimilaritiesbetweentheorganisms(Barennesetal.,2015).Thosewithallergiesto
beesorwaspsareadvisednottoconsumebees,fortheimpactsoftheseallergieson
consumptionareunknown(Grahametal.,2015).Whilemarketshaveexploredtheuseof
cricketsandmealworms,itmaybeworthwhiletoexplorethebenefitsofconsumingdrone
larvaeforbothbeekeepersandbugfarms.
1.2HoneyBees
ApismelliferaisaninsectfoundoneverycontinentexceptAntarctica.Theyhavean
intricatesocialorganization,livingtogetherincolonies.Eachcolonycontainsonefertile
femaleQueen,atleast20,000–80,000infertilefemaleworkers,and200-300fertilemales,
alsoknownasdrones(Adjare,1990).Eachbeeplaysaspecificroleinthecolony:Queens
laytheeggsforthecolony,workerskeepthecolonyfunctioning,anddronesmatewith
Queensofothercolonies.Workerbeesperformmostofthecolony’sfunctions.Therearea
numberofrolesworkerstakeon,suchas:thenursebeeswhofeedbrood,foragerswho
leavethecolonytocollectnectarandpollen,guardbeeswhoprotectthecolonyagainst
potentialthreats,broodrearerswhichassistinraisingbrood,andcombrepairerswhohelp
fixcombwithinthehive(Crane,1999;Winston,1987).Thesuccessofacolonydependson
howwellthesocialstructureofthecolonyworks.
Honeybeeshavefourmainlifecyclestages:egg,larvae,pupae,andadult(Crane,
1999;SammataroandYoder,2011;Winston,1987; Figure1.4).EggsarelaidbytheQueen
andwilldevelopintolarvae.Larvaewillspendthemajorityoftheirtimeeating;oncethe
larvalcelliscoveredwithawaxcappingtheyundergofivemolts(Winston,1987).After
approximately20days,thebeeemergesasanadult(Winston,1987).Theentirecycletakes
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21daysforworkers,24daysfordrones,and16daysforQueens(Grahametal.,2015;
Winston,1987).Thelifespanuponemergingvariesbasedonthetimeofyearandfood
resourcesavailable.Aspringworkerbeewillliveanywherefrom30-60days,whereasa
summerworkerbeemayonlylivefrom15-40days.Winterworkerscanlivemuchlonger,
withrecordlifespansbeingrecordedfrom304-320days(Winston,1987).Droneslivean
averageof21-32days,butthoserearedduringlatesummer/earlyautumnareoften
expelledfromthehiveanddie(Winston,1987).Queensliveonaverageforonetothree
years,(Winston,1987).Thehoneybeelifecycleiswelldescribedandimportantin
understandingthefunctionofahoneybeecolony.
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Figure1.4.Lifecycleofeachtypeofhoneybee.Demonstratestheaveragenumber
ofdaysittakesforeachstagetobecompleted.FigurefromBlackiston(2009).
Honeybeesareoneofthemostimportantpollinators(Evansetal.,2016;
SammataroandYoder,2011;VanHuisetal.,2013;VanengelsdorpandMeixner,2010;
Winston,1987).Pollinationofflowersoccursduringthecollectionofpollenandnectar.
Pollenisoftencollectedfromflowerstamen,andnectarfromfloralnectaries(Winston,
1987).Beesaregeneralistpollinators(VanengelsdorpandMeixner,2010),pollinating
morethanonethirdofcommonlyconsumedfoods(MorseandCalderone,2003),including
almonds,apples,avocados,watermelonsandpumpkins.Sincehoneybeesarewidespread
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throughouttheworld,theplantstheypollinatewillvarybasedonthearea.InOhio,honey
beeswillpollinateflowerssuchasTaraxacumofficinale(dandelions),herbssuchasBorago
officinalis(borage),andtreessuchasAcersaccharum(sugarmaple)(Ellsworth,2014).It
hasbeenestimatedthatthevalueofhoneybeepollinationoncropyieldsis$9.3billion
(Cooketal.,2007).Honeybeesareanimportantcommodityforfoodsecurity,providing
humanswithasourceoffoodandincome.
Honeybeedeclinecansignificantlyimpactthepollinatingeconomy.Beekeepers
mayrentouttheirbeesforpollinationservices.Duringthenight,beekeeperswillmove
coloniestoagriculturallandsuchaspumpkinpatches,appleorchardsoralmondorchards,
leavethebeesforafewdays,andthentakethebeesbacktotheirapiary(Horn,2005).An
increaseofcommercialpollinationinthe1950’sledtoanincreaseinbeekeepingduring
thistime(Horn,2005),thusallowingthebeekeepingindustrytobeginflourishing.In2005,
theeconomicvalueofinsectpollinationwasestimatedat$246billion,withatotalof84%
ofcropspeciesdependingoninsectpollinators,specificallyhoneybees(Gallaietal.,2009).
Thedeclineofhoneybeeshashadsignificantimpactsonthepollinatingeconomy,ashoney
beedeclinemeansfewerplantsarepollinated,whichcausesadropinprofitforfarmers
(Gallaietal.,2009). Grunewald(2010)estimatesthatacompletelossofbeepollination
wouldreducethemonetaryvalueofstimulantcrops(ie.coffees,teas,cocoa)by39%,and
thevalueofnutsby31%.TheappearanceoftheVarroamiteinthe1980’ssignificantly
impactedthebeekeepingeconomybyshuttingdowntheQueenrearingindustryand
causingdie-offsofbeecolonies(Horn,2005).Honeybeedeclinesignificantlyimpacts
pollination,anissueasthedemandforpollinationofcropsincreases,andinfluencesthe
livesofbeekeeperswholoseincomewhentheirbeesdieoff.However,certainmitecontrol
15
practicesmaybeabletopreventcolonylosswhilealsoincreasingtheamountofincome
gainedfromhoneybees.
1.3VarroadestructorandHoneyBees
Aswithmostcreatures,honeybeesfaceavarietyofthreats.Onesuchthreatis
Varroadestructor,aparasiticmitethatlivesonhoneybees(Figure1.5).Untiltheearly
1990’s,themitewasclassifiedasVarroajacobsoni(Rosenkranzetal.,2010),andis
commonlyreferredtoasVarroa.TheyoriginallyparasitizedtheAsianhoneybee,Apis
cerenaandtheIndonesianhoneybee,Apisnigrocincta(Grahametal.,2015;Rosenkranzet
al.,2010;SammataroandYoder,2011).TheshifttoparasitizingEuropeanhoneybees,Apis
mellifera,likelyoccurredduringthetransportofcoloniesfromEastAsiatoRussiaduring
the20thcentury(Rosenkranzetal.,2010).WiththeexceptionofAustralia,theirrange
mirrorsthatofEuropeanhoneybees(HoneyBeeHealthCoalition,2017).Varroaisoneof
themostdamagingpeststohoneybees(HoneyBeeHealthCoalition,2017)andrequires
vastamountsofcontrol.
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Figure1.5.Ahoneybeewithtwovarroamites,oneonitsthoraxandoneonits
abdomen.PhototakenbyBridgetGross,August2017.
Ingeneral,theVarroalifecycleiscloselyrelatedtothehoneybee’s(Huang,2012;
Figure1.6).Adultmitesliveonadultbeesandusebeebroodcellsforreproduction.During
reproduction,thefemalemitewillenterthebroodcellandstayatthebottomofthecell
(Rosenkranzetal.,2010).Afterthecappingofthebroodcell,shewillconsumethelarval
food.ThefirstVarroaeggislaidapproximately60-70hoursaftercapping(Ifantidis,
1983),withfemalemitestakingabout5.8daystodevelopandmalestaking6.6daysto
develop(Donzé&Guerin,1994).
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Figure1.6.DiagramofthelifecycleofV.destructor,aspublishedinHuang(2012).
Directlyaftermaturing,Varroawillbeginmating.Maleswillmatewiththefemale
withinthecappedbroodcell(Donzéetal.,1996).Overallreproductiveratesareunclear,as
mitesperformanaverageof7cyclesinlaboratoryconditions(Ruijter,1987),butfield
conditionsoftenonlyallowfor2-3matingcycles(FriesandRosenkranz,1996;Martinand
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Kemp,1997).Femaleshaveaphoreticphasethatislivedontheadultbeeanda
reproductivephaseunderthebroodcapping(Rosenkranzetal.,2010).Varroafeedoffthe
adultbee’shemolymph,oftennotkillingthebeeonceemerged(DonzéandGuerin,1994;
Garedewetal.,2004).However,ithasbeenfoundthathalfofinfectedhoneybeeswillnot
emergefromtheircells(Bowen-Walkeretal.,1999).Ascoloniesdependonworkerbeesto
performmostcolonyfunctions,thelossofworkerstoVarroacancauseacolonytodieoff.
Sincemitesareresponsibleforhalfofcolonyoverwinteringlosses(Whitehead,
2016),theyalsosignificantlyaffectthepollinatingeconomy(Cooketal.,2007),and
numerouseffortsmustbemadetopreventhoneybeedeath.Whenmiteskilloffcoloniesor
makecoloniessick,beekeeperslosethousandsofdollarsintermsofhoneyproduction,and
ecosystemsdegradeastheirpollinatorsdisappear.TocombatVarroa,itisrecommended
thatbeekeeperstesttheirhivesfourtimesayear(HoneyBeeHealthCoalition,2017).
Multiplemethodscanbeusedintestingformitesandcontrollingmites.Thethreemost
commonmitetestsinclude:(i)sugarshakes–theprocessofcoveringbeesinpowdered
sugarandshakingmitesoffthebees,(ii)alcoholwashes–puttingbeesinajarofethyl
alcoholandsiftingmitesoffofbees,and(iii)mitedrops–astickyboardisplacedinsidethe
hivethatcapturesthemitesastheyfalloffbees.Mitecontrolfallsintotwocategories:
chemicaltreatmentandmechanicaltreatment.Mostbeekeepersprefertoavoidchemical
treatmentduetopossiblenegativeimpactsonhoneybeehealth(Whitehead,2016).
Mechanicalcontrolsinvolvesomesortoftrappingornon-chemicaltreatment.Thesetypes
ofcontrolsincludebreedingformiteresistance,broodtrapping,colonysplitting,anddrone
broodremoval,amongothermethods(Whitehead,2016).Typically,beekeeperswillutilize
anintegrativepestmanagement,whichinvolvesusingacombinationofmethodstocombat
19
Varroa(Whitehead,2016).Mechanicalmethodsareofparticularinterestsincetheydonot
utilizechemicals,andarepreferredbybeekeepers.
Mechanicalmethodsofmitecontrolmaybeabletolowermitelevels,whilealso
providingbenefitsintermsofedibleinsects.ThefirstgoalofthisIndependentStudyisto
furtherexaminetheeffectivenessofamechanicalmitecontrolcalleddronebroodremoval
(DBR).ItishypothesizedthathivestreatedwithDBRwillhavelowermitelevels
throughoutthebeekeepingseasonthanuntreatedhives.Thesecondgoalistoexamine
beekeeperandbugfarmwillingnesstoutilizedronelarvaeasapotentialedibleproduct.
Beekeepersandbugfarmswereinterviewedregardingthemarketabilityofdronebroodas
humanfood.Itishypothesizedthatbeekeepersandbugfarmswillbeopentoincluding
dronelarvaeintheirmarkets.Overall,thegoalsofthisproposedresearchistoinvestigatea
viablemethodofDBR,understandtheeconomicbenefittothebeekeeperandexaminea
newsustainablefoodsource.
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Chapter2:DroneBroodRemoval
2.1:OverviewandBackground
AsdiscussedinChapter1,Varroadestructorisaparasiticmitethatisamajorthreat
tohoneybeesurvival,oftenbecauseVarroaisamajorvectorofbee-relateddisease
(Rosenkranzetal.,2010).Dronebroodremoval(DBR)isaformofmechanicalmitecontrol
(Calderone,2005).Methodologiesoftreatmentvary,buttendtofollowasimilarpatternof
trappingmitesindronecells.Frameswithlargerthannormalcombcellsarecommonly
referredtoasdroneframes,asthelargecombcellencouragestheQueentolaydroneeggs.
Tobeginthetreatment,droneframesareplacedinthehive(Figure2.1).Theseframesare
leftinthehivefortwotothreeweeks,andsubsequentlyremovedwhilethelarvaeare
underawaxcapping.Beekeeperscanthentakeoneoftworoutes:(i)killoffthelarvaeor
(ii)placetheframeinanothercolony.Thenumberofframesinitiallyplacedinsideahive
candiffer,asmostresearchhasonlyplacedoneortwoframesinsidethecolony
(Calderone,2005;WantuchandTarpy,2009;Whitehead,2016),buttherearerecordsof
beekeepersplacinguptofourframespercolony(P.Garnes,personalcommunication,April
11th,2017).Dronebroodremovalisoftenperformedinthespring,andbeekeepersmay
stopremovingduringthesummerdependingontheseverityofmiteloads.
ThetheorybehindDBRliesinthefactthatVarroaaremoreattractedtodronesthan
workers.Mitesareeighttotentimesmorelikelytoinfestdronebrood(Bootetal.,1995;
Fuchs,1990),withmitesaveraging2.2-2.6offspringperdroneand1.3-1.4offspringper
worker(FuchsandLangenbach,1989).Thisisinfluencedbyavarietyoffactors,withthe
largestcontributingfactorbelievedtothebethesizeofthecellandrelativedronelarval
size(Bootetal.,1995;Gorasetal.,2016;WantuchandTarpy,2009).Sincedronesspend
21
moretimeundercappingitallowsmothermitesthechancetolaymoreeggs,andthe
relativesizeofdronesprovidesmorenutritiontojuvenilemitesthanworkers(Bootsetal.,
1995;Gorasetal.,2016;WantuchandTarpy,2009).Bootsetal.(1995)foundthatwhenno
otherbroodispresentinacolony,462dronecellscancaptureapproximately95%ofmites
inonekilogramofbees.Thus,thetheoryofDBRisthatremovinginfecteddroneswill
resultinremovingalargeportionofmites.
However,theeffectivenessofDBRisquestioned.DBRisacommonpractice
throughoutEurope,whereitisthoughttobeaneffectiveformofmitecontrolandisa
highlyencouragedpracticebybeekeepingassociations(J.Grenz,personalcommunication,
July11th,2017).ThepracticeisnotwidelyusedintheUnitedStatesbecauseoftheamount
oflaboritrequires(Whitehead,2016).Furthermore,researchonDBRisinconclusiveasto
itseffectiveness.Calderone(2005)foundthatDBRreducedmitelevelsoverayearwithout
requiringanothermitetreatment.Conversely,WantuchandTarpy(2009)reportthatDBR
onlyloweredmitelevelswithinthetwomonthsfollowingtreatment,andthatbyautumn,
mitelevelsmatchedthoseofuntreatedcolonies.VanEngelsdorpetal.(2009)foundthat
DBRlowereddailymitelevels,whereasuntreatedcoloniesexperiencedanincreaseinmite
levels.TheHoneyBeeHealthCoalition(2017)distributesayearlyguideonVarroacontrol
toU.S.beekeepers,notingthatDBRisnotastrongmitecontrolalone,andrequirestwoto
threeremovalstobeeffective.However,intenseDBR(DBRstrategiesthatinvolveinserting
morethanoneframe)maybemoreeffectiveatcontrollingmitelevels(Whitehead,2016).
SomehavetheorizedthatDBRismosteffectivewhenimplementedinlatespring/early
summer,sothecolonycanrecoverthelostbrood(HoneyBeeHealthCoalition,2017),
howevertherearebeekeeperswhouseDBRthroughouttheseason.Inconsistentresults
22
arelikelyattributedtodifferencesinmethodology,andifDBRistobesuccessful,abetter
designedprotocolisneeded.
Figure2.1.Aboxwiththedroneframe(lightgreen)inthefourthframeposition.
TakenbyBridgetGrossinJune2017.
23
2.2:ResearchProcedure
ThegoalofthisresearchwastodeterminetheeffectivenessofDBRasaformofmite
control.ItishypothesizedthathivestreatedwithDBRwillhavelowermitelevels
throughoutthebeekeepingseasonthanuntreatedhives.DatacollectionbeganinApril
2017,asDBRisoftenconductedstartingearlyinthespring.ColoniesarelocatedatEast
BadgerFarm(40°46’52.9”N,81°50’22.3”W)inWooster,Ohio.Sixcolonieswerelocatedat
EastBadgerinApril2017,andwererandomlyassignedtobeeitheracontrolortreatment
colony.Thecontrolcoloniesreceivedregularbroodframes,andtreatmentcolonies
receiveddroneframes.Twoframeswereinsertedintoeachcolonynearthecenterofthe
boxinthebroodchambertoencouragethelayingofeggsratherthanthebeesusingthe
framestostorehoneyorpollen(Winston,1987).Thefirstframewasinsertedinthefourth
framepositionofthecolony(Figure2.2).Sevendayslater,asecondframewasinsertedin
thefifthframeposition(Figure2.3).Twelvedaysafteraframewasinserted,theframewas
inspectedforremoval.Ifitwasfullofcappeddronelarvae,thenitwasremoved.Ifnot,it
wasleftinthehiveandcheckedatalaterdate.Noframeswereleftinthecolonyformore
thantwentydays(Table2.1).Theinsertionofframeswasstaggeredtoavoidremovingtoo
muchbroodfromthecolonyatonce.Alcoholwasheswereperformedoneachcolony
beforethefirsttrialinApril.Atrialbeganwiththeinsertionofthefirstframe,andended
withtheremovalofthesecondframe.Threetrialsofdronebroodremovalwereconducted
acrossApril,MayandJune.
24
Table2.1.Timelineofwhenframeswereinsertedorremoved,andwhenalcohol
washeswereconducted.
25
Figure2.2.Framesarenumberedgoinglefttorightwhenstandingattheentrance
ofthehive.Onthefirstdayoftreatment,frame1isremovedandthefirstresearch
frame(eitheratreatmentorcontrolframe)isinsertedinbetweenthefourthand
fifthframe.
26
Figure2.3Framesarenumberedgoinglefttorightwhenstandingattheentrance
ofthehive.Sevendaysafterthefirstinsertion,frametwoisremoved,alltheframes
exceptthefirstinsertedframeareshiftedoverandasecondresearchframe
(treatmentorcontrol)isinsertedinbetweenthefirstframeandthesixthframe.
Analcoholwashwasperformedbeforetheexperimentstartedtosetabaselinemite
level.AlcoholwasheswerethenperformedattheendofeachtrialandinJulyandAugust.
Eachwashwasapproximatelyfourweeksapart.Totakeanalcoholwash,threebrood
frameswereshakenintoabin,andthebeeswereshakentothoroughlymixthethree
framesofbees.Ahalfcupofnursebees(approximately300bees)werescoopedintoa
27
bottlefilledwith200mLof70%ethylalcohol.Broodframesareidealbecausetheyusually
possesslargernumbersofnursebeesthanpollen,nectar,orhoneyframes.Afterbeeswere
putinthebottle,thebottlewasthentakenbacktothelab.Atthelab,bottleswereshaken
inaGyrotoryWaterBathShakerfor30minutesatspeed8.Thecontentsofthejarwere
pouredoverahoneystrainer,whichisadoubledeckerstrainerthathasaloosemeshon
topandtightlywovenmeshonbottom.Thisseparatedthebeesfromthemites,leavingthe
beesonthetopstrainerandmitesinthebottomstrainer.Thebottlewasrinsedoutwith
waterandagainpouredoverthestrainer,toensureallmitesandbeeswereoutofthe
bottle.Thebeesandmiteswerethencountedtocreateamite/beeratio,following
standardssetbytheHoneyBeeHealthCoalition(2017).Themite/beeratioisalsoknown
asa“percentageofmites,”andaccountsforthenumberofmitesper100bees.For
example,amitecountof3%indicatesthatthereareapproximatelythreemitesper100
bees.
Priortoinsertingtheframe,anestimateofthecolonieshealthwastakenintheform
ofcountingseamsofbees.Aseamofbeesiswhenthespacebetweentwoframesisfilled
withbees;ifthenumberofseamswithinacolonysuddenlydrops,itindicatesadrasticloss
ofbeesandpossiblyadeclineincolonyhealth.Thisestimateensuredthateachcolony,
whetherreceivingtreatmentornot,washealthy.Otherthanmitetreatment,colonies
receivedregularcolonymaintenance,suchastheadditionofboxes,removalofhoney,and
checkingfortheQueen.
Coloniespossesseddeepormediumboxes,oftenhavingacombinationofthetwo.
Deepframeswereusedforthisexperiment.Eachboxheldeightframes.Brightlycolored
shapesweretackedonthefrontofeachhive,withthehopesofpreventingdriftingbetween
28
thehives.EastBadgerApiaryissurroundedbyagriculturalfields,butthehivesthemselves
weresurroundedbywildflowersandtallgrasses.
Colony171,acontrolcolony,wasremovedfromtheexperimentonMay24th,2017.
Thecolonyhadamitelevelof19.9%(19.9mitesper100bees),whichisabovethe
“danger”thresholdof3%,assetbytheHoneyBeeHealthCoalition(2017),anddroppedto
twoseamsofbees.Topreventkillingoffthecolony,orthepossibilityofparasitizedbees
infectingthesurroundingcolonies,thecolonywasmovedtoadifferentapiaryandtreated
withOxalicAcid.Alcoholwasheswereperformedonthecolonylaterintheseasonto
measurehowtheywererecovering.
Toaccountforasmallersamplesize,differentbeekeeperswereaskedtoparticipate
inanalcoholwashsampleinthespringandfall.Alcoholwashesweretakeninlate
June/earlyJuly,andagaininlateAugust/earlySeptember.Betweenthreetotwelvehives
werevisitedateachapiaryinthespring,andthenrevisitedinthefall.Beekeeperswerenot
askedtofollowanyspecificbeekeepingprotocol,buttheirmethodofmitecontrolwas
recorded.Theyeitherdidnottreattheircoloniesformites,treatedwithdronebrood
removal,ortreatedwithOxalicAcid.Oxalicacidisaformofchemicalmitecontrol.One
alcoholwashwastakenatthebeginningofsummertosetabaselinemitecount,andoneat
theendofsummer,whenbeekeepersareusuallytestingformitestodetermineif
treatmentisneededbeforebeesbegintowinterize.
DatawasanalyzedwiththeIBMSPSSprogram.Allassumptionsforstatisticaltests
weremet.Atotalofsevenbeekeepersparticipatedinthealcoholwashsamples,withatotal
of52coloniessampled.ARepeatedMeasuresANOVAwasusedtoanalyzethebeekeeper
29
data.AtEastBadger,fivecolonies,threetreatmentandtwocontrol,wereutilized.A
RepeatedMeasuresANOVAwasalsousedtoanalyzethisdata.
2.3:Results
Atotalof59,573beeswerecounted.Additionally1,503miteswerecountedover
thecourseofthisstudy.Mitelevelsforbeekeepersweresignificantlydifferentbetweenthe
springandfallmeasurements,showinganincreaseovertime(Figure2.4;Repeated
MeasuresANOVA,p:0.005,F:8.601,df:1;50,N:51).Nosignificantdifferencewasfound
betweenthemitelevelsofbeekeepers(Figure2.5;TestofBetween-SubjectEffects,p:
0.169,F:1.604,df:6,N:7).
Nosignificantdifferencewasfoundbetweenthecontrolandtreatmentcolonies
fromtheEastBadgerexperimentforthemonthsofApril-July,butasignificantdifference
wasseenbetweenthecontrolandtreatmentcoloniesinthemonthofAugust(Figure2.6;
Mann-WhitneyU,p:<0.001,N:5,df:4).Datapriortotreatmentwascomparedtodatataken
post-treatment.Therewasnosignificantdifferencebetweenpre-treatmentandpost-
treatmentmitecounts(Figure2.7;RepeatedMeasuresANOVA,p-value:0.190,F:2.858,df:
1),andnosignificantdifferencebetweenthecontrolandtreatmentgroups(Figure2.7;p-
value:0.222,F:2.367,df:1).Therewasnosignificantinteractionbetweenframetype
(controlordrone)andwhentheframeswereinserted(pre-treatmentorpost-treatment)
(Figure2.7;Within-subjectsvariable;p:0.276,F:1.142,df:1).
30
Figure2.4CompiledBeekeeperMiteCounts.Comparisonofaveragemitecountin
spring(LateMay/EarlyJune)andfall(LateAugust/EarlySeptember).Arepeatedmeasures
ANOVAshowedasignificantdifferencebetweenmeanmitepercentagebasedonthetiming
ofthealcoholwash,withanincreaseinmitecountinthefall(p:0.005,F:8.601,df:1;50,N:
51).Errorbarsrepresent+/-1standarddeviation.
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
Spring Fall
MeanMitePercent
TimeofAlcoholWash
p=0.005
31
Figure2.5MiteCountperBeekeeper.Comparisonofaveragemitecountperbeekeeper.
Therewasasignicantdifferencefoundbetweenthespringandfallalcoholwashes
(RepeatedMeasuresANOVA,p:0.07,F:3.449,df:1,N:51).Nosignificantdifferencewas
foundamongbeekeepers(TestofBetween-SubjectEffects,p:0.169,F:1.604,df:6,N:7).
Bluebarsrepresentthefirstalcoholwashtakeninthespring,andredbarsrepresentthe
secondalcoholwashtakeninthefall.Errorbarsrepresent+/-1standarddeviation.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
A B C D E F G
MeanMitePercentage
Beekeeper
32
Figure2.6EastBadgerMiteCounts.ComparisonofaveragemitecountfromApril-
August.Pre-treatmentwashesoccurredinthemonthofApril.Bluebarsrepresentcontrol
colonies(N=2)andredbarsrepresenttreatmentcolonies(N=3).Nosignificantdifference
wasfoundbetweencontrolandtreatmentcoloniesinthemonthsofApril-July,howevera
differencewasfoundbetweencontrolandtreatmentcoloniesinthemonthofAugust
(Mann-WhitneyU,p:<0.001,N:5,mean:7.6322,df:4).Errorbarsrepresent+/-1standard
deviation.
0
5
10
15
20
25
Pre-Treatment April May June July August
MeanMitePercentage
Month
p=<0.001
33
Figure2.7Pre-TreatmentversusPost-TreatmentGraphrepresentsthemeanmite
percentagepre-treatmentandpost-treatment.Bluebarsrepresentcontrolcolonies(N=2)
andredbarsrepresenttreatmentcolonies(N=3).Therewasnosignificantdifference
betweenpre-treatmentandpost-treatmentmitecounts(RepeatedMeasuresANOVA,p-
value:0.190,F:2.858,df:1),andnosignificantdifferencebetweenthecontroland
treatmentgroups(TestofBetweenSubjectEffects;p-value:0.222,F:2.367,df:1).Error
barsrepresent+/-1standarddeviation.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Pre-Treatment Post-treatment
MeanMitePercent
TimeofTreatment
34
2.4:Discussion
TheinitialhypothesisthatDBRwouldlowermitelevelsthroughouttheseasonwas
notmet.Beekeepersshowedanincreaseinmitelevelsthroughouttheseason.Itis
surprisingthatnotreatmentusedbybeekeepers(oxalicacid,DBR,ornotreatment)
loweredmitecontrol.Asmitelevelsincreasedacrossalltreatments,itcannotbe
determinedwhetherDBRwaseffectivefromtheseresults,astherewerelikelyoutside
factorsthatinfluencedmitelevelsofallbeekeepers.However,seeingincreasedmitelevels
inthefallaftertreatingwithDBRinthespringconcurswiththeresultsfromWantuchand
Tarpy(2009).Somebeekeepersalsolostcoloniesorcombinedcoloniesbetweenthetwo
samples;forexample,beekeeperClosttwohighmiteloadcoloniesafterthefirstsample
butbeforethesecondsample.Astreatmentandcareforcolonieswasnotcontrolledforby
theresearcher,itisdifficulttodeterminewhythereisanincreaseinmiteloadovertime
regardlessoftreatment.
Whenexaminingthebeekeeperdata,weseethatmiteloadsincreasedovertime.
Thiscouldbeduetowhatareknownas“mitebombs”–anoccurrencewhereoneortwo
hivesinanapiaryhaveanunusuallyhighlevelofmiteswhenmostothercoloniesinthe
sameapiaryhavelowmitelevels.Mitebombsarenotwellresearched,andapidologists
andbeekeepersareskepticalabouttheiroccurrence(Offord,2017).Itishypothesizedthat
mitebombsmayoccurduetobeesrobbingfromothercolonies,thusspreadingVarroa
betweenhives,orthroughsharedforagingareas(Burnham,2016).Whiletheexistenceof
mitebombsisdebatable,everybeekeeperineitherthefirstorsecondtreatmenthadone
ortwohiveswithextrememlyhighmitecounts,whenothercolonieswereatrelativelylow
mitelevels.Colonieswithrandomlyhighmitelevelslikelyhadanimpactonthedata,
35
raisingtheaveragemiteloadperbeekeeper.Whileunclearastowhetherthesecolonies
areconsidered“mitebombs,”theirhighmitelevelsinfluencedtheresultsofthisstudy.
Anotherissueisthatofclimateandweather.Similartohowfarmersare
experiencingchangesinagricultureduetoclimatechange,beekeepersarenotinghow
changesintheclimateandweatherareimpactingbeecolonies.Summer2017was
particularlycoldinMayandJune,andbeekeeperswerereportingissueswithQueensnot
mating,meaningthattheQueenwasnotlayingeggs,andthusimpactingthebroodlevels
withincolonies.Inordertoregulatehivetemperature,beeswillstopforagingandstay
insidethehiveifitistoocoldoutside,commonthresholdbeing55degreesFahrenheit
(Wilson-Richetal.,2014)Therefore,coldspringsmeanbeesarenottakingadvantageof
bloomingflowers,andthusarenotreceivingthenecessaryfoodneededtosurviveandrear
brood.Conversely,asclimatedataindicatesthatitisbecomingwarmerearlierintheyear,
someresearchersworrythatthismaycauseatemporalmismatchbetweenwhenbees
begintoforageandwhenflowersbloom,andbeesmaydieoffduetonotreceivingenough
pollenandnectar(Wilson-Richetal.,2014).Duetothecoldtemperaturesearlyinsummer
2017,somebeekeeperswerealsoreluctanttoentercolonies.Sincebeeswillstayintheir
hivewhenitiscold,beekeepersareoftenhesistanttoenterthehiveforfearofangeringthe
hiveorharmingthehive.Theeffectivenessofdronebroodremovalmayhavebeen
impactedduetoalackofbroodrearingorlackoffoodduetocoldertemperatures.
ResultsfromtheEastBadgerdatasetarenotconsistentwiththeresultsfromthe
beekeepingdata,orwithWantuchandTarpy(2009).Thebeekeeperdatashowedan
increaseinmiteloadinAugust/September,buttheEastBadgerdatashowsadeclinein
miteloadinAugustforDBR-treatedcolonies.WantuchandTarpy(2009)foundthatDBR
36
loweredmitelevelsinthespring,butsawmitelevelsriseinthefall,converslyatEast
Badgermitelevelsdecreasedinthespring,increasedoverthesummer,anddecreasedfor
DBR-treatedcoloniesinthefall.TheseresultsareconsistentwithWhitehead(2016),who
sawthatDBRtreatedcolonieshadlowermitelevelsinAugustthaninMay.Suchresults
suggestthatDBRiseffectiveatcontrollingmitelevels.
DifferencesseenbetweenresearchregardingDBRarelikelyduetodiffering
protocolsofDBR.Differentresearchproducesdifferentresultsbecausethereisno
standardizedDBRprotocol.EventheDBRprotocolbetweenbeekeepersandEastBadger
weredifferent.TheHoneyBeeHealthCoalitiondoesnotdefineanyexactprotocolfor
beekeeperstofollow.Whitehead(2016)foundthatusingoneframewithDBRwas
ineffective,andsuggestedthatmoreintensemethodsmaybeeffective.A“two-queen
system”canbeused,wheretwohivesshareatopdronebox,makingforeasierdrone
removal,additionally,thissystemiseffectiveinreducingmitelevels(VanEngelsdorpetal.,
2009).Calderone(2005)andWantuchandTarpy(2009)usedtwoframesforDBR,with
varyinglevelsofeffectiveness.Whilesomebeekeepershavehadsuccesswithusingone
frame,researchisshowingthattwoormoreframesmaybemoreeffective.TheEast
Badgerexperimentutilizedtwoframes,adaptingDBRprotocolfromalocalbeekeeper(P.
Garnes,personalcommunication,April11th,2017).Beekeepersinvolvedinthis
experimentutilizedoneDBRframe,anddidnothaveloweredmitelevels,comparedwith
EastBadgercolonies,whichdidhaveloweredmitelevels.Thus,inconcurrencewithprior
literature,itwouldberecommendedthatatleasttwoframesperDBRtreatmentbeused.
Anotherprotocoldifferencebetweenbeekeepersandresearchersisthatresearch
oftenonlyexaminesDBRasaformofmitecontrolearlyoninthebeekeepingseason,as
37
thatiswhencoloniesaremoreapttoreardronebrood(Winston,1987).Colonieswillrear
lessbroodlateronintheseasonduetoanincreaseinhoneyproduction(Grahametal.,
2015;Winston,1987),thusbeekeepersmaybehesistanttoreardroneslateintheseason.
TheexperimentatEastBadgerstoppedimplementingDBRinJune,duetothereasons
listedabove,butdidseelowermitelevelsinAugust.However,autumnistypicallywhen
beekeeperswanttoreducemiteload,asahighmiteloadgoingintowinteroftenleadsto
colonydeath.Therefore,implementingDBRlaterintheseason,suchasuntilSeptember,
andthusremovingmiteslaterintheseason,maybeeffectiveinincreasingcolonyover-
wintersurvival.
ThelengthofDBRimplementationalsodiffers.Mostresearch,includingthisproject,
onlyexaminedtheeffectivenessofDBRoverthecourseofaseasonortwo.Atypical
beekeepingseasonlastsfromMarchtoNovember.However,beekeepersoftenuseDBR
overthecourseofmanyseasons.ItisunknownifperhapsittakesmultipleseasonsforDBR
toappeareffective,orifitiseffectiverightaway.ItisunlikelythatDBRiseffectivewithin
itsfirstseasonofimplementationduetotheneedtolowerthemitepopulation.Asonlyone
monthdemonstratedDBRaseffective,thisresearchwouldnotsupporthypothesesthat
DBRiseffectivewithinthefirstyearofuse.
Thus,researchersmustcontinuetoworktowardsdeterminingaprotocolforDBR.It
isrecommendedthatatleasttwoframesareusedperDBRtreatment.Furthermore,
researchintheareaisneededtodeterminethelengthoftimeforimplementingDBR.This
researchfoundmarginaleffectivenessusingDBRfromApriltoJune,butwouldencourage
furtherresearchinexaminingtheeffectivenessofDBRwhenusedinthemonthsofJulyor
August.Asstatedabove,DBRmayalsobemoreeffectiveafterbeingusedoverthecourseof
38
afewseasons,ratherthanjustasingularseason.Withfurtherresearch,asetprotocolfor
effectiveDBRcouldbedetermined.
Furthermore,DBRmaybemoreusefulaspartofanintegratedpestmanagement
system.ThisissuggestedbytheHoneyBeeHealthCoalition(2017),OntarioBeekeepers’
Association(OntarioBeekeepers’Association),andWhitehead(2016).Onebeekeeper
notedthatDBRworksbetterasaformofmitemanagementratherthanmitetreatment,
andtheuseofDBRmaystillrequireachemicalformofmitetreatmenteveryfewyears.
SinceDBRdoesnotkillallthemitesinthecolony,DBRmayworkbetterasamanagement
strategytokeepmitelevelslowratherthanasatreatmentstrategy.Researchmaywantto
shiftitsfocustoDBRasaformofmitemanagement.Asonlymarginalsuccesswasfound
withDBRtreatmentonitsown,itishypothesizedthatDBRmaybemoreeffectiveaspart
ofanintegratedsystem.
OneimportantstatisticalnotearetheF-statisticforFigures2.5and2.7.Whilenot
statisticallysignificant,theF-statisticsforFigures2.5and2.7werelargeenoughtosuggest
astrongtrendtowardsadifferencebetweenspringandfalltreatments(Figure2.5)anda
differencebetweenpre-treatmentandpost-treatmentmiteloads(Figure2.7).AF-statistic
isoftenclosetoonewhenanullhypothesisisaccepted,andasthestatisticincreases,the
lesserthechanceofacceptingthenull.AstheF-statisticsinFigures2.5and2.7were
greaterthantwo,itmaybeevidencethathadthesamplesizesbeenlarger,adifference
mayhavebeenstatisticallydetected.Therefore,whiletheseresultsconcludethatDBRis
onlyeffectiveinthemonthofAugust,largerinvestigationsintotheareaareneededto
explorethesedifferences.
39
Theimportanceofdetermingeffectiveformsofmitecontrolcannotbestressed
enough.Ifbeekeepersareusinginefficientmethods,thenthecolonyisatriskofcollapsing,
andotherbeesareatriskofreceivingVarroa,resultinginalossofincomeforthe
beekeeperandalossofapollinatorforthesurroundingecosystem.Theeffectivenessof
DBRisstillquestionable,butitislikelytobesomewhateffective,particularlyifitis
includedinanintegratedpestmanagementsystem.MethodsofDBRshouldalsobe
explored,todeterminewhatisthemostefficientformofDBR.Asbeekeeperscontinueto
movetowardsnon-chemicalmethods,determiningwhichmethodsareefficientand
effectiveisoftheutmostimportance.
40
Chapter3:WhytheBuzzAren’tWeEatingBees?
3.1.OverviewandBackground
AsdiscussedinChapter1,entomophagyisthepurposefulconsumptionofinsectsby
humans.Edibleinsectsareinsectsthatareusedasasourceofhumanfood.Barriersto
edibleinsectswithintheWestincludethe“disgust”factor,availabilityofproducts,anda
lackofaproteingap.However,edibleinsectsarebeneficialintermsbeingmore
sustainablethantraditionallyproducedandprocessedmeats.Edibleinsectsrequirelesser
amountsoffeedthantraditionalmeats(VanHuisetal.,2013),fewerresourcesforrearing
(RumpoldandSchlüter,2013),andprovideawaytodiversifytheproteinmarket.
Especiallyasdevelopingcountriesentertheproteinmarketandthedemandformeat
increases,edibleinsectsmaybeabletoprovidealternativeproteinsources.
InNorthAmericaandEurope,edibleinsectscomefromcompaniesknownasbug
farms(Borel,2015).A“bugfarm”isacompanythatfallsintooneofthreecategories:
(i) Theyraiseandsellinsectstoconsumers,oftensellingthewholeinsect,for
example,consumerscanbuybagsofroastedcrickets
(ii) Theydonotraiseinsects,butratherpurchaseinsectsfromanotherproducer
andthenprocesssaidinsectsintodifferentproducts,suchasproteinbarsor
cookies
(iii) Theyraiseinsectsandthenprocesssaidinsectsintoproducts.
Thephrase“bugfarm,”isthecolloquialphraseusedinWesternmediatorefertothese
farms,eventhoughnotallbugfarmsarenecessarilyfarmingbugs.Withinthefieldof
entomophagy,bugfarmsoftenthinkofinsectsaslivestock,andthustrytoaffordthem
41
decentlivingconditionsandhumanedeaths(Waltner-Toews,2017a).Theirworkhelpsto
breakdownstigmasurroundingedibleinsects,andbetterreachWesternconsumers.
Theethicsofhowhumansinteractwithinsectshasbeendiscussedinprevious
literature,particularlywithregardsastowhetherinsectsshouldbeaffordedsentience
(Lockwood,1988).Opinionstowardsedibleinsectstendtofallintotwocategories:a
utilitarianapproachandahumanisticapproach.Anutilitarianapproachiswhere
organismsarethoughttobeusedtoservehumans,acommonexamplebeingtheusageof
animalstodoworkinagriculturalfieldsorprovidefood,whereasahumanisticapproachis
whennatureisconsideredvaluableduetothebondhumansmayformwithnature,for
examplehowpeoplevalueandcarefortheirpets(Kellert,1996).Howpeoplethinkof
honeybeesmayfallintobothcategories;somebeekeepersmaythinkoftheirbeesasapet
ratherthanlivestock,andconversely,othersmaythinkofbeesaslivestock.Peoplemay
eithertakeautilitarianapproachandviewthehoneybeeasaninsecttoservehumans(ie:
providehoney)ortakeahumanisticapproachandthinkofhoneybeesasapartofnature
thatshouldnotbedisturbed.Lockwood(1988)takesahumanisticapproachandimplies
thatbeesaresentientcreaturesthatdeservetoberaisedandtreatedethically.Removing
dronelarvaecouldbeconsideredunethicalduetothekillingofdrones,butalsoethicalin
thatdronesareremovedtoultimatelybenefitthehealthofthecolony.Overall,howpeople
thinkofbeesmaytheninfluencetheirfeelingstowardsconsumingbeesasanedibleinsect.
Fewedibleinsectsareutilizedindustrially,insteadtheyareoftensoldinstreetsor
marketsasawayforfamiliestoearnextraincome(Barennesetal.,2015;VanHuisetal.,
2013).Insomeofthesecases,insectspeciesarecollectedfromthewildbecausetheyare
highinabundance(Barennesetal.,2015;VanHuisetal.,2013)orbecausetheyareapest
42
insect(Hopeetal.,2009).Regardless,someinsectsareusedindustriallyforselling,asseen
withtheNsenenegrasshopperinUganda(Ageaetal.,2008)andcricketsandmealworms
inNorthAmerica(Waltner-Toews,2017b).ThesefarmsintroducetheWesternconsumer
toedibleinsects,specificallybyprocessinginsectsintoproductsthatconsumersare
familiarwith,suchasproteinbarsorcookies.Farmscreatetheseproductsinthehopes
thatconsumerswillbecomemorereceptivetoedibleinsects,whichultimatelyhelps
combatthestigmathatsurroundsedibleinsects.
HoneybeebroodisoftenconsumedinThailandduetoitshighabundance(Graham
etal.,2015;VanHuisetal.,2013),buthasnotyetbeenusedbybugfarmsintheWest.In
additiontobeingusedduetotheiravailability,honeybeesarealsoagoodsourceofamino
acids(Grahametal.,2015;AppendixB;Figure3.1),containingaround30milligramsof
calcium,18.5milligramsofiron,10.25milligramsofvitaminCand25.7milligramsof
vitaminA(Payneetal.,2016).TwodronelarvaesamplesfromEastBadgerFarmweresent
inforaminoacidanalysis,andtheresultsarefoundinAppendixB.Classicbeekeeping
textbooks,suchasTheHiveandtheHoneyBeehavenotedtheuseofdronesashumanfood
sincetheearly1990’s,althoughmethodsofutilizationarelaborious(Grahametal.,2015).
Withinthischaptertheuseofdronelarvaeasanedibleinsectwillbeexplored.Dronesmay
providebenefitsasanedibleinsect,benefittingbugfarmsintermsofmarketexpansion,
andbeekeepersintermsofincreasedincome.
Dronesareanopportunememberofthehoneybeehivetoconsume,asadrone’s
onlypurposewithinacolonyistomatewithvirginqueensofothercolonies,andtheydo
notprovidecareforthehive(Winston,1987).Thus,removingthemfromthecolonywill
notadverselyimpactthesocialstructureofthecolony.Beekeepersmaybeinterestedina
43
systemthatinvolvesusingDBRtocontrolformitesandthensellingthelarvaeforprofit.
Bugfarmsmaybeinterestedindronelarvaeifitexpandstheirmarketandincreases
income.Ifbugfarmsarelookingforwaystoexpandtheirmarkettoincludemoreedible
insectspecies,thenbeekeepersmaybeabletocollaboratewithbugfarmstointroduce
dronelarvaeasanedibleinsect.However,theremustbewillingnessfrombothbeekeepers
andbugfarmstousedronelarvaeasanedibleinsect.Thischapterexaminesbeekeeper
andbugfarmopinionsonusingdronelarvaeasanedibleinsectandanexaminationofbug
farmmarkets.Beekeepersandbugfarmswereinterviewedregardingthemarketabilityof
dronebroodashumanfood.Itishypothesizedthatbeekeepersandbugfarmswillbeopen
toutilizingdronelarvae.
44
Figure3.1.Pink-eyedpupaeanalysisofworkerbrood.Providespercentageofaminoacids
andsugarsfoundinasampleofpupae.DatafromGrahametal.(2015).
45
3.2ResearchProcedure
Thegoalofthisresearchwastoexaminebeekeeperandbugfarmwillingnessto
utilizedronelarvaeasapotentialedibleinsectproduct.Toinvestigatethisgoal,both
beekeepersandbugfarmswereaskedtoparticipateininterviews.Beekeeperswere
initiallycontactedthroughlocalbeekeepingassociations,andthenfurthercontactedvia
phonetosetupaninterview.Someparticipantsalsoparticipatedinthealcoholwash
samplingdetailedinChapter2.Priortostartingtheinterview,beekeepersweregivena
consentformandaskedtosignit.Beekeeperswerealsoofferedablankcopyoftheconsent
formiftheywantedonefortheirrecords.Avoicerecorderwasstarted,andtheinterview
began.Questionsaskedabouttheirmitecontrolstrategies,beekeepingexperience,and
feelingstowardseatinginsects(AppendixA).Aftertheinterviewwasfinished,a
pseudonymwascreatedforthebeekeeper,andusedintheinterviewtranscriptanddata
analysis.
BugFarmswereinitiallycontactedviaemail.Atimeanddateforinterviewingwas
setupoveremail,aconsentformwasemailedtothefarm,andsubsequentlythefarmsent
backacompletedconsentform.Theinterviewwasconductedoverthephone,exceptin
onecasewhereitwasconductedoverSkype.Questionsaskedabouttheirgeneral
backgroundinentomophagy,thecompany/farmtheyworkfor,andtheirfeelingstowards
consumingdronelarvae(AppendixA).Aftertheinterviewwasfinished,apseudonymwas
createdfortheparticipant,andusedintheinterviewtranscriptanddataanalysis.
46
3.3Results
Atotalof15beekeeperswereinterviewedandtheaverageageofbeekeeperswas
43.3yearsofage.Therewasalargerangeincoloniesowned,withthesmallestapiary
includingtwocoloniesandthelargestincluding15,000colonies.Amajorityofbeekeepers
werelocatedinthestateofOhio.Fourbeekeepersarecommercialbeekeepers,beekeepers
whosemainsourceofincomecomesfrombeekeeping;threeareconsideredsideline
beekeepers,beekeeperswhomakeadecentamountofmoneyoffbeekeeping,butoftenstill
relyonanotherjobforincome;andsevenarehobbyistbeekeepers,beekeeperswho
beekeepmostlyforenjoyment.Almostallbeekeeperssoldhoney,whileothersalsosold
Queens,beepackages,beeswax,andbeekeepingsupplies(ie:beeboxes).Beekeeper
opinionregardingDBRwaseitherpositive(53.34%),neutral(33.34%)ornegative(6.67%;
Figure3.2).Opinionswereclassifiedas:
- Positive,meaningtheparticipanteitherindicatedthattheyuse/wanttouse
DBR,oringeneralthoughtwellofDBR.Examples:“Ithinkthisismybest
option,”or“Ithinkit’sprobablyagoodthing.”
- Neutral,meaningtheiropinionwasnotnegativeorpositive.Likelydidnotuse
DBRorwasnotconvincedthatDBRwaseffective,butokaywithothersusing
DBR.Examples:“Itmighthelp,butIdon’tthinkthat’sthewholeanswer,tobe
honest.Butiftheyhaveluckwithitfine.”
- Negative,meaningtheydidnotapproveoftheuseofDBR.Forexample,“Idon’t
feelitisasolidenoughwaytocontrolformites.”
Overallbeekeeperopiniononeatingbugswaspositive,asonly40%ofbeekeepersthought
itwasweird,and60%didnotthinkitwasweird(Figure3.3).Beekeepersmayhave
47
indicatedthattheythoughtconsuminginsectswas“weird”inanumberofways,most
commonlybysaying“that[eatinginsects]isweird”,butalsomayhaveusedwordssuchas
“odd”or“offthebeatenpath,”thewordweirdisusedherebecauseitwasthemost
commonresponsefrombeekeepers.However,only26.67%ofbeekeepershadeatenan
insectwhile73.34%hadnoteatenaninsect.(Figure3.4).Additionally,86.67%of
beekeeperssaidtheywerewillingtoselldronelarvae(Figure3.5).Lastly,80%of
beekeepersthoughtofbeesaslivestock.
Atotaloffivebugfarmswereinterviewed.Theaverageageofbugfarmparticipants
was35.Amajoritywerefoundersorco-foundersofthecompany,withanaveragenumber
of6.6employees.Companieshadbeenrunningforanaverageoftwoyears.Twocompanies
startedtheirbusinessasaresultoftheUnitedNationsdocumentEdibleInsects:Future
ProspectsforFeedandProsperity,twocompaniesstartedduetotheinfluenceofothersin
termsofedibleinsects,andonefarmwasstartedasawaytoprovideamoresustainable
foodsource.Theaverageagerangeoftheirmarketswas23–40yearsofage.Furthermore
amajorityoftheirmarketwasgearedtowardsthoseinterestedinsustainableeating.All
bugfarmswerewillingtoselldronelarvae.Intermsoftheirpurchasinghabits,60%ofbug
farmspurchasedtheirinsectsfromotherproducers.Allfarmssoldtheirproductsonline,
and80%sawthemarketexpandingtoincludenewproducts.Lastly,allfarmsthoughtof
honeybeesaslivestock.
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Figure3.2BeekeeperopiniononDBR.BeekeeperopiniononDBRwasclassifiedas
“positive,”“neutral,”or“negative.”53.34%hadapositiveopinionofDBR,33.34%hada
neutralopinion,and6.67%heldanegativeopinion.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Positive Neutral Negative
Percent
Opinon
49
Figure3.3Beekeeperopiniononeatinginsects.Amajoritybeekeepersdidnotthink
eatinginsectswasweird,as60%didnotthinkitwasweirdand40%didthinkitwas
weird.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Weird NotWeird
Percentage
"Whatisyouropiniononeatingbugs?"
50
Figure3.4Beekeeperconsumptionofinsects.Amajorityofbeekeepershadnot
purposelyeatenaninsect,with73.34%nothavingpreviouslyeatenaninsectand26.67%
havingpreviouslyeatenaninsect.Previousinsectsconsumedincludecrickets,
grasshoppers,andhoneybeebrood.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Have HaveNot
Percentage
"Haveyouevereatenabug?"
51
Figure3.5Beekeeperwillingnesstoselldronelarvae.86.67%ofbeekeeperswere
willingtoselldronelarvae,while13.34%werenotwilling.Onebeekeeperwasunwilling
duetoregulatoryissues,andtheotherdidnotgiveareasonwhytheywereunwillingto
selldronelarvae.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Sell NotSell
Percentage
"Wouldyoubewillingtoselldronelarvae?"
52
3.4Discussion
Thehypothesisthatbugfarmsandbeekeeperswouldbeopentosellingdrone
larvaewassupported,as86.67%ofbeekeeperswerewillingtoselldronelarvae,andall
bugfarmswerewillingtoselldronelarvae.Amajorityofbeekeepersheldaposititive
opinionofDBR.Additionally,60%ofbeekeepersdidnotfindeatinginsectsweird,
indicatingthatsomebeekeepers,specificallythosewhohaveapositiveopinionofDBRand
willingnesstoselldronelarvae,arewillingtoentertheedibleinsectfield.Itis
recommendedthatbeekeepersuseDBRtocontrolformites,asdiscussedinChapter2,and
asawaytoraisedronelarvae.Thenextchallengeisdiscoveringwaysforbeekeepersand
bugfarmstocollaboratewitheachother.
Bothbeekeepersandbugfarmswereaskedtoclassifyhoneybeesaseither
livestock,wildanimals,orpets.Aspreviouslymentioned,allbugfarmsandamajorityof
beekeepersreferredtobeesaslivestock,onebeekeeperreferredtobeesaswildanimals
andonebeekeeperreferredtobeesaspets.Intermsofthelivestockquestion,one
respondentwhowasnotwillingtoselldronelarvaealsothoughtofbeesaspets.Thisisnot
surprising,ifonethinksofbeesaslivestock,thentheywouldbewillingtosellanduse
honeybeestobenefittheirself.Additionally,ifoneweretothinkofbeesasawildanimal,
theymaystillbewillingtousebeeproductssincetheyarenotemotionallyconnectedto
thehoneybee.However,ifonethinksofbeesasapet,thenonewouldlikelynotbewilling
tohurtitduetotheemotionalbondtheyhaveformedwiththeircolony.Thisfollows
Kellert’s(1996)“basicvaluesofnatureandlivingdiversity,”whereutilitarianvaluesare
definedasvaluesthatfocusonhowhumanscanbenefitfromnatureandhumanisticvalues
asvaluesthatallowhumanstodevelopandexpressfeelingsofattachment,bonding,
53
intimacyandcompanionshipwithnature.Beekeepersandbugfarmswhoarewillingtouse
dronelarvaetobenefithumanstendedtofollowtheutilitarianapproach,whereastheone
beekeeperwhothoughtofhoneybeesaspetsfollowedahumanisticapproachandwasnot
willingtoharvesttheirdronelarvae.Ifconsumersweretothinkofbees,oranyinsect,ina
morehumanisticwaytheymaynotwishtoconsumeinsects.Marketingstrategiesand
researchwouldbeneededtodeterminehowpeopleclassifyhoneybees,andinsectsin
general,andhowtomarketdronelarvaeinamoreutilitarianway.
BeekeeperResponses
Surprisingly,amajorityofbeekeepersdidnotthinkeatinginsectswasweird,but
fewhadtriedinsects.Caparros-Megidoetal.,(2014)foundthatBelgiumcitizenswere
initiallyhesitanttoconsumeinsects,butweremoreopentotheideaofentomophagyafter
consumingtheirfirstinsect.Seeingashowbeekeeperswereopentoconsuminginsects
whenfewhaveactuallytriedinsects,theseresultsarenotconsistentwithCaparros-Megido
etal.(2014),perhapsduetohoweachresearchscenarioframedandpresentedthe
question,smallinterviewsamplesize,orthefactthatbeekeepersworkwithinsectsmore
oftenthanthenormalperson.Additionally,somebeekeeperswereacceptingoftheoverall
ideaofeatinginsects,butpersonallydidnotwanttoeatinsects.Forexample:“I’mnot
sayingnobecauseIthinkofcourseyouthinkbugsarebugs,butI’mnotsointerestedin
bugs,”“There’salotofgoodfoodyoucouldeataroundotherthanbugs,”or“Idon’tthink
it’sweird,Ijustdon’thaveadesireto[eatinsects].”Thewillingnesstoselldronelarvaebut
notconsumeinsectscouldbedrivenbyprofit,asonebeekeeperstated,“Ilovemoney,soI
guessIwouldconsideranything,”asaresponsetowhethertheywouldselldronelarvae.
54
Potentially,beekeeperswhoarenotokaywithpersonallyeatinginsectsmaystillholda
stigmaagainsteatinginsects,eventhoughtheyareopentosellinginsects.
Onebeekeeperwasunwillingtoselldronesduetopotentialissueswithregulations.
IntheUnitedStates,edibleinsectsarenothighlyregulated;insectsmustberearedforthe
purposeofbeingconsumedbyhumans,meaninginsectscannotberaisedaspetfoodand
thensoldtohumans,andkeptinthecorrectsanitaryconditionsasdescribedintheFood,
Drug,andCosmeticAct(FD&C)(Lotta,2017).Whilebugfarmshavesentinquiriestothe
FDAandUSDAregardingpotentialregulations,theFDAhasnotimplementedmany
regulations,simplybecausetherearesofewbugfarms(Clinton,2016).Beesandhoneyare
typicallyregulatedbyindividualstates,althoughtheUSDApublishesfederalhoney
standardsforbeekeeperstofollow.Counties/citiesmayalsoregulatebeekeepers,usually
intermsofhowmanycoloniestheycankeep.TheFD&Cwouldpartiallyregulatedrone
larvae,becausedronelarvaeisanedibleinsect.However,itisunknownwhetherbodies
thatalreadygovernbeekeepingandhoneyproductionwouldalsoregulatehowdrone
larvaearereared.Dronelarvaewouldlikelyberegulatedbybothparties,whereregulation
intermsofrearingisdeterminedbythestateandregulationregardingstorage,packaging,
etc.wouldbecoveredundertheFD&C.Overall,regulatingdronelarvae,andedibleinsects
ingeneral,fallsintoanunknownareaasbugfarmsattempttodeterminethebestwayto
produceasafeandsanitaryproduct.
55
BugFarmResponses
Intermsofbugfarms,60%ofbugfarmspurchaseinsectsfromotherproducers,
meaningtheyalreadypossessasystemofpurchasingthattheycouldusetopurchasefrom
beekeepers.Asallfarmswerewillingtoutilizedronebrood,theycouldpotentiallyforgea
relationshipwithbeekeeperstobuydronelarvae.Additionally,allfarmswerelookingto
expandtheirmarket,someintermsofproducttype,andsomeintermsoftheinsectbeing
marketed.Dronescouldbeusedtocreateanewproduct,ascricketandmealworm
productsoftencomeintheformofproteinpowder,proteinbars,orcookies.Dronelarvae
haveadifferenttexturethancrickets,asdronelarvaearemoreviscousandliquid-like
whereascricketsaremoresolidandcrunchy;thus,dronelarvaelendsitselftobeingmixed
intootherfoods,suchasbeingusedingranolaorquiche,meaningdronelarvaecouldlead
toexpandingpotentialproducttypes.Additionally,seeingashowhoneybeeshavenotyet
beencommercializedasanedibleinsect,theuseofdronelarvaeallowsbugfarmsto
expandtheirlineofinsects.
Insomecases,thewillingnessofbugfarmstousehoneybeeswasalreadypresent.
Duringtheinterviews,somebugfarmsexpressedhowtheyalwayswantedtoexpandto
includehoneybees:“Wow,yesifthere’sanywaytogetthem[honeybees],we’dlovethat,”
and“Ohhellyeah,”inresponsetowhethertheywouldbewillingtoselldronelarvae.One
farminparticular,C-fuFoods,showedinterestinutilizingdronelarvae.Theyproduce
texturedinsectproteins,whichiswheretheproteininaninsectisprocessedasatofu-like
substance.Theyfoundthatdronelarvaeleantitselfwelltobeingproducedaspartofa
texturedinsectprotein,meaningthatafarmcouldpotentiallyusedronelarvaeforthe
56
sameproductstheyarealreadyproducingwithcricketsandmealworms,orfordifferent
productsasproposedabove.
Bugfarmsmayalsowanttousedronelarvaeduetothesustainabilityoftheir
production.Edibleinsectsustainabilitydependslargelyoninsectdiet(Halloranetal.,
2017),sincetherearenotanyhumaninputsintermsoffeedingdrones,asbeesforageon
nearbyplantsinsteadofneedingtobefedascricketsdo,beesmaybemoresustainable
thancricketsormealworms.Thesustainabilitylevels,measuredintermsofpotentialCO2,
N2OandCH4emissions,ofedibleinsectsalsodependsontheproductionoftheinsect,such
asanintensifiedapproachversusbeinggatheredfromthewild(Halloranetal,2017).Also,
droneproductiondependsmostlyonhumanlaborinputs(i.e.:addingandremoving
frames)andnotfossilfuelinputs.Cricketandmealwormfarmsoftenusescopiousamounts
ofenergyinputsincreatingtheoptimalenvironmentstoallowforgrowthand
reproductionoftheinsect(Halloranetal.,2017),whereasdroneproductionoftenonly
requirestheuseofafreezertofreezeextracteddronelarvae.Moreresearchonthe
sustainabilityandproductionofdifferentedibleinsectswouldbeneededforbugfarmsto
makeadecisionregardingwhichinsectstofarm.
Theinterviewsfrombeekeepersandbugfarmsshowpromisingresults.Both
groupswerewillingtoutilizedronelarvaeasanedibleinsect.Accesstodronelarvaenow
dependsontheabilityofbeekeepersandresearcherstofindeasierwaystoremovedrone
larvae,asmostmethodsrightnowrelyonbeekeeperseitherremovingdronelarvae
individuallyfromcells,orbangingtheframeonthetable.Bugfarmswillalsohaveto
determinewaystoappropriatelymarketdronelarvaetoconsumers.Overall,aslongas
57
beekeepersandbugfarmsarestillwillingtoutilizedronelarvae,thereispotentialfor
dronelarvaeasanedibleinsect.
58
Chapter4:WhatDoesThisAllMean?
4.1ReviewofResults
ThesecondchapterdiscussedtheeffectivenessofatwoframeDBRmethod.Two
differentdatasetsweretaken:anexperimentalsetatEastBadger,andsamplestakenfrom
beekeepers.Thebeekeeperdatashowednosignificantdifferencebetweenmitelevelsfor
beekeeperswhotreatedwithdronebroodremoval(DBR)versusothermitetreatments,or
anydifferencebetweenmitelevelsinthespringandfall.TheEastBadgerdatashoweda
significantdifferencebetweencontrolandDBRtreatedcoloniesinthemonthofAugust,
withDBRtreatedcolonieshavinglowermitelevels.Fromthisdata,itwasconcludedthat
DBRiseffective,andfutureresearchisneededtodefineabetterDBRprotocolthat
maximizesmitecontrolforbeekeepers.
Thethirdchapterexaminedbeekeeperandbugfarmwillingnesstoutilizedrone
larvaeasanedibleinsect.Beekeeperswereinterviewedregardingtheirmitecontrol
strategies,opinionsonDBR,andopinionstowardsentomophagy.Beekeeperopinionwas
generallypositivetowardsDBRasamitecontrolpractice,aswastheiropiniontowards
eatinginsectsandsellingdronelarvae.Bugfarmswereinterviewedregardingtheircurrent
business,howtheyseetheedibleinsectmarketexpandinginthefuture,andtheirfeelings
towardsconsumingdronelarvae.Allbugfarmswerewillingtoutilizedronelarvae,anda
majorityofbugfarmspredictthattheedibleinsectmarketwillexpandtoincludemore
insectspeciesthanwhatarecurrentlyfarmed.Beekeepersandbugfarmswereaskedto
classifyhoneybeesaseitherlivestock,wildanimals,orpets;amajorityofrespondents
classifiedhoneybeesaslivestock,onerespondentclassifiedbeesasapetandoneclassified
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beesasawildanimal.Fromthischapter,itisconcludedthatbothbugfarmsand
beekeeperswerewillingtoutilizedronelarvaeasanedibleinsect.
4.2GeneralDiscussion
Theintersectionofbeekeepingandentomophagyisnotnew;somebeekeepershad
heardofusingdronesasfood,andonebeekeeperevenhadaquicherecipethatcalledfor
drones.However,theconnectionisworthfurtherexplorationbecauseofitssustainability
inrelationtobeekeepingandourfoodsystem.DBRprovidesbeekeeperswitha
sustainable,chemical-freemitetreatment,andentomophagyprovidesamoresustainable
proteinsource.However,ifdronelarvaeweretobecomeafarmededibleinsect,anumber
ofchallengesneedtobeconsidered.First,beekeepersandbugfarmswouldneedtodecide
iftheywanttocollaboratewitheachother,orworkontheirowntoproduceandmarket
dronelarvae.Furthermore,theyneedtoconsiderhowtomarketdronelarvaeasaproduct.
Lastly,thereisdebatesurroundingpotentialgeneticissuespertainingtoremovingdrones,
andingeneralinsects,fromtheirenvironments.Itisimportanttocontinuouslyexamine
waystoimprovethesustainabilityofourfoodsystem,particularlybyexaminingwaysthat
arenovel,butnotentirelynew.Ifbeekeepersand/orbugfarmsarewillingtothinkthrough
eachchallenge,thendronelarvaemaybecomeamorecommonedibleinsect.
Therearemultipleroutesbeekeepersand/orbugfarmscouldtaketoutilizedrone
larvaeasanedibleinsect.Thefirstmethodisacollaborativemethodbetweenbeekeepers
andbugfarms.Inthisscenario,beekeeperswouldraisedronelarvaeandbugfarmswould
marketdronelarvaeproducts.Thisissimilartothesystemdevelopedbyfarmersand
restaurantsregardingcornsmut;cornsmutisafungusthatdecimatescorncrops,but
60
recentlyrestaurantshavebeenpurchasingthefungustoserveasadelicacy;thisbenefits
farmersinthattheyreceiveincomeforremovinginfectedcrops(Patel,2015).Similarly,
dronelarvaecouldcomeasaresultofapestmanagementsystem,whereDBRisusedto
controlmitelevelsandreardronelarvae,aspreviouslydiscussedinChapters2and3.This
isthepreferredmethod,asitprovidesbeekeepersnotonlywithincome(fromthedrone
larvae),butalsowithaformofmitecontrol.Asforasecondcollaborativemethod,
beekeeperscouldraisedronehives,whicharehivesthatalmostsolelyconsistofdrone
frames,oftenonlyhavingthreeorfourregularbroodframes.Afterraisingthedronelarvae,
beekeeperscanthenextractandfreezeit,andeventuallysellthelarvaetobugfarms.Bug
farmscanthenprocessandselldronelarvaetoconsumersonalargescale.Thesecond
methodisnotpreferred,astheidealbehindthisprojectistodiscoverwaysinwhichwe
canbemoresustainablethroughoutourfoodsystem;whenbeekeepersbegintomass
producedronelarvaewithdronehives,theylosethebenefitsofDBR.
Thereisthenabeekeeperorbugfarmonlymethod.Bugfarmscouldpotentially
starttheirownapiary,harvestdronesandthensellsaiddronestotheircurrentconsumer
base.However,thiswouldrequirebugfarmstoputtimeandmoneyintoanapiary,andthe
costmayoutweighthebenefitsinthiscase.Forbeekeepers,ratherthansellingdrone
larvaetobugfarms,theycouldcreatetheirowndroneproducttosell.Thismaybeidealfor
beekeeperswhodonotproducealotofdronelarvae,andarealreadysellingbeeproducts
atfarmersmarketsoronline.Whilebeekeeperswouldnotbesellingdronelarvaeona
largescalelikebugfarms,theymayfindsuccesswithmarketingdronelarvaedirectlyto
theconsumer,asitisamorepersonalapproach.Thereforeconsumerswhoarenewto
entomophagymaybemoreapttotrydronelarvae.Consumerstypicallydonoteatinsects
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becausetheyarenoteasilyaccessible,ifaconsumerwantsinsectproducts,theyhaveto
seekoutfarmsonline,ratherthanbeingabletopickupinsectsatthenearestgrocerystore
(DeFoliart,1999).However,ifabeekeepersoldtheirproductsatafarmer’smarket,it
wouldbeavailabletoconsumerswhomaynotevenbeseekingoutinsectproducts,and
potentiallyencouragethemtotryit.Sellingdroneproductsatafarmer’smarketincreases
itsaccessibilitytotheconsumer,andpotentiallymaycreatealocalmarketforedible
insects.Ultimately,theroutethatischosenwilldependontheapiary,andtheremaybea
mixofbeekeeperswhoselltobugfarmsandbeekeeperswhoselldirectlytoconsumers.
Otherchallengesincludedeterminingapricepointtoselldronelarvaeand
producingenoughdronestomeetsupplydemands.Somebeekeeperssuggested“apenny
perounce,”andbugfarmswerewillingtospendbetweenthreetosevenUSDperpound.
However,alargerissuemaybetheabilityofbeekeeperstosupplyenoughdrones.Bug
farmsrequested100-200poundsofdronelarvaetobegincreatingandmarketing
products.FramesfromtheEastBadgerexperimentproducedapproximatelyahalfpound
ofdronelarvaeperframe,andsincethereweretwoframesineachcolony,theyproduced
aboutonepoundofdronelarvaepertrialofDBR.Thus,anapiarywith80colonieswould
produceapproximately80poundsofdronelarvae,assumingtheyfollowedsimilarDBR
methodsthataredescribedinChapter2.However,these80poundsarecontingentonthe
beesfillingdroneframeswithdronelarvae,andnotstoringpollenorhoneyintheframes.
Thus,beekeepersmaystruggletomeetdemands.Beekeeperscouldcreatethe
aforementioneddronehives,butthisdefeatsthepurposeofsellingdronelarvaeto
incentivizeDBR.Alternatively,bugfarmscouldpurchasefrommultiplebeekeeperstomeet
demands.Overall,ifabettermethodofDBRisdiscovered,thenbeekeepersmaybeableto
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meetdronedemands.UltimatelyitisimportanttomaintaintheintegrityofDBRasamite
controlandnotcompromisecolonyhealth.
Intermsofcolonyhealth,thereisalsoconcernregardingtheimpactofremoving
dronesfromcolonies.Onebeekeepermentioned,“Ithinkaconofit[DBR]istheissueof
evolution,”whendiscussinghowremovingdronesreducesthegeneticdiversityofthe
colonyandgeneticsavailabletoQueens.AspreviouslydiscussedinChapter1,thelossof
honeybeeshasthepotentialtoharmsurroundingecosystems.Dronesrequirean
abundanceofenergyinputintermsofcareandfoodfromworkerbees(Boes,2010),thus,
theconstantinputofenergy,whichisfrequentlyremovedwithDBR,mayhaveanegative
impactoncolonyhealth.Whileresearchshowsthatworkerbeeswilleventuallystopcaring
fordronesiftherearenotenoughresources,thereislittleresearchregardingtheimpacts
thatconstantlyremovingdronesandforcingcoloniestoconstantlyraisedronesmayhave
onacolony.Tocombatthelossofgenetics,beekeepersmaychoosetoleavenon-infected
dronesinthehive,hopingthatthedronepossessessomewhatbettergenesagainstthe
otherdrones(P.Garnes,personalcommunication,May11th,2017).Regardless,colonies
willreardronesinotherpartsofthehive,evenwhenadroneframeisinsidethehive
(Winston,1987),thuscolonieswillstillhavedronesthatmatewithotherQueenspresent
withinthecolony.
Thisissueofhowremovingdroneswillimpactthegeneticsofthecolonyispartofa
broaderissuewithintheedibleinsectfield.Withedibleinsects,thereareconcernswhen
insectsarebeingremovedfromtheirenvironmentsinsteadofbeingfarmed.Amajorityof
edibleinsectsarenotfarmed,butrathercollectedfromthewild,forexamplethemopane
worminZimbabweiscollectedfromitsnaturalhabitat(Hopeetal.,2009).
63
Environmentalistsarehesitantaboutcontinuingentomophagyinthisformduetothe
issuesofremovinginsectsfromtheirenvironments.Removinganinsectinthisfashionmay
resultinalossofgeneticsforthepopulationasdiscussedabove,andiftoomanyinsects
areremovedatonetime,theinsectpopulationmaynotbeabletoregenerateitselfquickly
enoughanddieout,andtheecosystemmaydeteriorateduetothelossoftheinsect.While
collectinginsectsfromthewildisimportanttotheeconomiesofafewnations(VanHuiset
al.,2013),ashabitatdestructionanddegradationreducestheavailabilityofwildinsects,
collectorsneedtobecarefulnottodecimatethepopulation.
Preferably,edibleinsectswouldbefarmed.Cricketsareoneexampleofafarmed
insect,astheyareoftenrearedinsideabuildingunderidealconditions,similartohowa
farmerraiseslivestock.WithintheUnitedStates,edibleinsectsmustbefarmed,asitis
illegaltosellinsectsasfoodthathavebeencollectedfromthewild(Ramaswamy,2015).
Dronelarvaecouldberearedinmasswithdronehives,asdiscussedearlierinthischapter,
howeverbeekeepersthenlosethebenefitofmitecontrolanddonotacquireotherbenefits
(ie.honeyorqueens)fromcoloniesthatareonlymadeupofdrones.Thus,removing
drones,oranyedibleinsect,wouldneedtobeconsideredbythebeekeeper,and
beekeeperswouldhavetoweighthecostsandbenefitsofusingdronebroodremovaland
sellingdronelarvae.
Bugfarmsandbeekeeperswillalsoneedtoconsiderhowtoappropriatelymarket
dronelarvae.Topreventconsumersfromthinkingthatbeeswerepurposelyharmedinthe
processofmakingdronelarvae,thelabelingofdronesneedstobeinformativeaboutthe
product,butalsoconsumer-friendly.Labelsmaywanttorefertodronelarvaenotaslarvae,
asWesternconsumersprefertoavoidknowingthattheyareconsuminginsects(Caparros
64
Megidoetal.,2014;Shelomi,2015),tosomethingmoreconsumer-friendly,suchas“bee
protein.”Furthermore,itisrecommendedthatpotentialsellersdonotsellrawdrone
larvae,asdronelarvaerotsifitisnotrefrigeratedorfrozenwithinthefirstfewhoursafter
removal.Inadditiontorottingifnotprocessedalmostrightaway,theideaofconsuming
physicallarvaemaybetoodisgustingforconsumers.Ifdronelarvaearetobesold,a
processedproductmaybethebestroute,suchasagranolaordroneflour,sinceitplaysoff
ofwhatbugfarmsalreadydo:sellinsectsinreadymadeproductswithwhichconsumers
arealreadyfamiliar.Inthiscase,consumerswillbemorelikelytoatleastpurchasethe
product.
Publicopinionofthebeemayalsomakeconsumersmoreapttotryinginsects.Ithas
beensuggestedthathoneybeescouldbeusedasa“gatewaybug,”becausethepublic
alreadyhasapositiveopinionofthehoneybee(DeFoliart,1989).Peopletryinginsectsfor
thefirsttimemayalsopreferhoneybeesbecausetheyaremorefamiliarwiththem,
especiallysincebeesareacommoninsectfoundalmosteverywhereintheworld.As
discussedinChapter3,beekeeperfamiliaritywithinsects,specificallyhoneybees,maybea
reasonwhybeekeeperswereopentoconsuminginsectswhilefewhadeveractually
consumedinsects.Conversely,consumersmaybeagainstconsuminghoneybeesbecause
theyareworriedaboutthebeedeclinethathasbeendiscussedinthemedia(Gross,2011).
Multiplebugfarmsnotedthatmarketingbeesasanedibleinsectwillbedifficult,aspeople
wanttosavethebees.Onebugfarmstated,“Ithinkoffthebackeveryone’sgoingtobelike
‘Ohmygodthebees!They’redying!Thebees!’[...]Itwouldhavetohavecarefulmessaging
tohavethatconsumerappeal,butIthinkitwouldbestrong.”Here,abugfarmspeculates
thatthebestwaytomarketbeelarvaewouldbetoexplainhowdronelarvaecomeasa
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resultofDBR,andhowitbenefitscolonies.Thesustainabilityaspectmayneedtobe
emphasizedinordertoconvinceconsumersthatthepracticeisnotpurposelyharmful.
4.3ConcludingRemarks
Bothbeesandedibleinsectswillimpactthefutureofagriculture.Honeybeesare
importantpollinators,especiallyforagriculture,andwemustcontinuetoresearchand
developnewmethodsofmitecontrolthatareefficientandinexpensive.Edibleinsectswill
playaroleasproteinindustrieschangeinthefaceofclimatechangeandpopulation
growth.Asawaytoreducegreenhousegasemissions,peoplewillturntoedibleinsects,
amongothertypesofsustainableprotein,andtheindustrywillcontinuetoexpand.
Throughoutthisproject,theideaofutilizingDBRasamethodofmitecontrolandas
asourceofdronelarvaehasbeenexamined.AsdiscussedinChapter2,DBRisaneffective
formofmitecontrol,specificallyshowingeffectivenessatreducingmitelevelsinthemonth
ofAugust.AsdiscussedinChapter3,theedibleinsectfieldisexpanding,andlookingfor
newinsectstoutilize.Overall,thereispotentialforusingdronelarvaeasanedibleinsect,
asbothbeekeepersandbugfarmswerewillingtoworktorearandprocessdronelarvae.
SellingdronelarvaeessentiallyincentivizesDBRforbeekeepers,somethingthathas
neverbeendonebefore;therearenodirectmonetaryincentivesforbeekeepersto
maintaincolonyhealth,beekeepersarenotpaidtotreatformites(Grunewald,2010).The
methodproposedhereprovidesawaythatbeekeeperscouldmakemoneyoffofaformof
mitecontrolinadditiontokeepingtheirbeeshealthy.Additionally,usingdronelarvae
continuesthecurrentexpansionoftheedibleinsectindustry,andpotentiallybenefitsboth
industries,iftheychoosetoworktogether.
66
Farmingsystemsarecontinuallychanging,especiallyinthefaceofpopulation
growthandclimatechange.Researchersneedtocontinuetolookforintersectingfields,
suchasbeekeepingandentomophagy,asawaytoencouragemoresustainableagriculture.
Diversityiskeywiththisideal,asfarmingsystemsarenot“onesizefitsall.”Forexample,in
somecountrieswormsareraisedasanedibleinsectinsteadofcricketsbecauseofthe
climateofthecountry.Similarly,utilizingdronelarvaelikelywillnotworkforevery
beekeeperacrosstheglobe.Weneedtoexploremultiplesustainableagriculturalsystems
topreventoverexploitationofasingularsystem,whichwilllikelyharmtheorganisms
involved.Lastly,weneedmultiplesystemsbecause,justasnoteverysystemwillfitevery
country,differentlifestyleswillrequiredifferentmethods;somepeoplecanpurchase
sustainablyproducedmeatsoradoptavegetarianlifestyle,whileotherscannot.Ultimately,
weneedtocontinuetoreexamineouragricultureindustrytofindwaystoreduceour
greenhousegasemissions,bemoresustainable,andprotectthehealthofanimalswithin
theagriculturalfield.
67
AppendixA
InterviewforBeekeepers:
Basicdemographics:
- Age
- Numberofcolonies
- Location
- Howlonghaveyoubeenbeekeeping?
- Whatdoyouconsideryourbees:livestock,wildanimals,orpets?
- Isityourprimarysourceofincome?
- Doyousellanybeeproducts?
- Canyoutellmeaboutyourmitecontrolstrategies?
- What’syouropinionondronebroodremoval?
- Haveyoueverthoughtabouteatingbugs?
- Iftherewasamarketforsellingtheirdronebrood,wouldyouconsiderit?
- Thankyouforyourtimeandresponses.Isthereanythingelseyouwouldliketo
add?
- Doyouhaveanyquestionsforme?
68
InterviewforBugFarms:
Basicdemographics:
- Ageofinterviewee
- Theirrole/job
- Sizeofcompany(scale)
- Howoldisthecompany?
- Whereisthecompanylocated?
- Whatdotheyproduce?
- Whydidyoupickthefieldofentomophagy?
- Couldyoutellmeaboutyourmarket?
- Howdoyouseethemarketchangingoverthenext5-10years?
- Doyoupurchasefromotherproducers?
Ifyes:Howwouldsomeonewhowantstointroduceanewinsectenterthefield?
Ifno:Wouldyourbusinessmodelallowforyoutopurchasefromotherproducers?
- Somebeekeepersaredebatingsellingtheirdronelarvaeasahumanfood.Doyou
thinkthereisroominthemarketforeatingdrones?
- Whatdoyouconsiderbees:livestock,wildanimals,orpets
- Thankyouforyourtimeandresponses.Isthereanythingelseyouwouldliketo
add?
- Doyouhaveanyquestionsforme?
69
AppendixB
AminoAcid PercentWetWeightSample1 PercentWetWeightSample2
Taurine 0.14 0.15
Hydroxyproline 0 0
AsparticAcid 3.36 3.41
Threonine 1.36 1.38
Serine 1.28 1.31
GlutamicAcid 5.22 5.31
Proline 2.12 2.06
Lanthionine 0.21 0.22
Glycine 1.53 1.58
Alanine 1.51 1.54
Cysteine 0.34 0.34
Valine 2.03 2.06
Methionine 0.76 0.77
Isoleucine 1.77 1.79
Leucine 2.76 2.81
Tyrosine 1.93 1.99
Phenylalanine 1.46 1.48
Hydroxylysine 0.03 0.03
Ornithine 0.03 0.03
Lysine 2.37 2.41
Histidine 0.87 0.9
Arginine 1.68 1.71
Tryptophan 0.47 0.55
CrudeProteinContent 36.65 36.81
Dronelarvaeanalysisbywetweight.Providespercentageofaminoacidsandcrudeprotein
foundinafivegramsampleoflarvae.AnalysisdonebytheExperimentalStationChemical
LaboratiesattheUniversityofMissouri.
70
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