CBPV - what to do

[SteveG]

In the local area 3 apiaries with CBPV. What to do if found? Bee Inspector recommended - shake out system, A very experienced beekeeper yesterday recommended give them plenty of room and leave only, feed in winter if required but wait and see if they make it through to next spring. A third respected mentor recommended destruction to stop the spread. Nightmare.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Have a read of this thread
https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=46917

 

[Erichalfbee]

Do NOT shake out. Your SBI is wrong and that is out of date information. Affected bees have a poor sense of direction and will return to other clean hives.
You either take them away to get on with it as quite a few colonies recover then re-queen or you destroy them.
I have had CBPV in a colony that was in a line of quite a few hives. They were the only ones affected.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Do NOT shake out. Your SBI is wrong

 

[bingevader]

Some are suggesting to dispatch the colony if you don't have the time or resources.
Personally, having had 3 hives with this over the past several years, I'd give them a chance.
2 of the colonies went on to recover fully (didn't need re-queening).
It would be advisable to move the colony out of the apiary if possible, but I haven't yet had any cross contamination.
Giving them more space in the hive is about all you can do. Social distancing helps with bees and viruses too.
Try to clear out the dead bees and feed is necessary.
There is a suggestion that if the varroa load is high then treating can help.
Nothing to do with the treatment, just an attempt to reduce other stress factors.
If you had Coronavirus, would you want measles on top?!

 

[E&MBees]

In the local area 3 apiaries with CBPV. What to do if found? Bee Inspector recommended - shake out system, A very experienced beekeeper yesterday recommended give them plenty of room and leave only, feed in winter if required but wait and see if they make it through to next spring. A third respected mentor recommended destruction to stop the spread. Nightmare.

I have just had 2 colonies affected by CBPV. Both were very weak. Ended up culling them. My local SBI agreed that was the correct thing to do given the circumstances. She said definitely not to shake out. It’s a hard situation to be in, so many pros and cons.

 

[beeno]

I have just had 2 colonies affected by CBPV. Both were very weak. Ended up culling them. My local SBI agreed that was the correct thing to do given the circumstances. She said definitely not to shake out. It’s a hard situation to be in, so many pros and cons.

You made the right choice and it is a tough one.

 

[SteveG]

Thanks as always all. will give feed back if / when.

 

[Fritillary]

Some are suggesting to dispatch the colony if you don't have the time or resources.
Personally, having had 3 hives with this over the past several years, I'd give them a chance.
2 of the colonies went on to recover fully (didn't need re-queening).
It would be advisable to move the colony out of the apiary if possible, but I haven't yet had any cross contamination.
Giving them more space in the hive is about all you can do. Social distancing helps with bees and viruses too.
Try to clear out the dead bees and feed is necessary.
There is a suggestion that if the varroa load is high then treating can help.
Nothing to do with the treatment, just an attempt to reduce other stress factors.
If you had Coronavirus, would you want measles on top?!

This is certainly in line with my experiences too.

 

[Cole lynch]

Any update?

 

[madasafish]

All three hives at my local allotment had CBPV earlier this year.

We did nothing.

All now fully recovered and very vigorous.

 

[Repwoc]

I think one of mine had it ~ a month ago. I did not very much - made sure it was the last hive at each inspection, cleared out the dead bees and did the usual checks. At one of the regular inspections I opened up expecting the usual 'crop' of dead bees and there were none.

They were superseding last time I looked.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

You can get lucky, the only thing you can do is ensure they have plenty of food, space and a bit of luck.

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

A quick thank you to all. I've just read this thread and the lengthy related one linked above. I have a nuc colony with CBPV that I've been watching for a couple of months. Posts about infectivity and spread, treatment, shaking out (don't), and more, have been extremely helpful. There is some wisdom in the (unspoken) message that the decision to cull, or not, is ultimately one that no-one else can make for you.

 

[madasafish]

All three hives at my local allotment had CBPV earlier this year.

We did nothing.

All now fully recovered and very vigorous.

All still healthy and alive...strong colonies for winter

 

[steve1958]

For the new Beekeepers reading this CBPV is Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus.

 

[Erichalfbee]

For the new Beekeepers reading this CBPV is Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus.

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/a-beginners-list-of-acronyms.272/

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

A good list! Oddly enough, I've been making a list of abbreviations I've found over the past few weeks of being here. I've merged it with the list above and attached it below. There's two I'm not sure about: OP (my guess is original poster) and RAB (but possibly this is a person's initials, seen on the thread about JBM's new moderator position.)

 

[Murox]

A good list! Oddly enough, I've been making a list of abbreviations I've found over the past few weeks of being here. I've merged it with the list above and attached it below. There's two I'm not sure about: OP (my guess is original poster) and RAB (but possibly this is a person's initials, seen on the thread about JBM's new moderator position.)

Re your list - I have always read HB as Himalayan Balsam rather than honey bee (hb)., and shouldn't CCD really be Sudden Colony Collapse Disorder ?

The only RAB I know is Rab C Nesbitt

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Re your list - I have always read HB as Himalayan Balsam rather than honey bee (hb)., and shouldn't CCD really be Sudden Colony Collapse Disorder

although it seems that in general use now the S seems to have disappeared from SCCD which is a shame as it is an important part of describing the phenomenon