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.

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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

14

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).

17

Figure1.6.DiagramofthelifecycleofV.destructor,aspublishedinHuang(2012).

Directlyaftermaturing,Varroawillbeginmating.Maleswillmatewiththefemale

withinthecappedbroodcell(Donzéetal.,1996).Overallreproductiveratesareunclear,as

mitesperformanaverageof7cyclesinlaboratoryconditions(Ruijter,1987),butfield

conditionsoftenonlyallowfor2-3matingcycles(FriesandRosenkranz,1996;Martinand

18

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?"

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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

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beekeepersandbugfarmsarestillwillingtoutilizedronelarvae,thereispotentialfor

dronelarvaeasanedibleinsect.

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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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