NMC-CREES aids research on honeybees in CNMI

The Northern Marianas College Cooperative, Research, Education, and Extensions Services recently assisted the University of Guam in its research on the health and abundance of honeybees in the Commonwealth.

NMC-CREES staff Robert Deleon Guerrero and Lee Roy Sablan both helped Christopher Rosario, a research assistant at UOG’s Entomology Lab, in going around Saipan taking samples from domestic and feral bee colonies to test them for diseases and parasites.

Christopher Rosario, right, a research assistant at the University of Guam’s Entomology Lab, went around Saipan taking samples from domestic and feral bee colonies to test them for diseases and parasites. (Contributed Photo)

In Guam, Rosario’s research tests honeybees for parasitic varroa mite, a mite that can kill an entire bee colony if untreated. The mite has decimated colonies throughout the U.S. mainland and Hawaii.

The three studied feral honeybee hives on Saipan from May 13 to 15 and also on June 18, as part of the National Honeybee Health Survey.

“The task was to locate hives around the island, whether at residential or jungle areas, and once a hive is located, we assist Chris Rosario in taking a sample of bees from the hive,” said Deleon Guerrero.

The biggest challenge, Deleon Guerrero said, was wearing the bee suit. “The suit is a full body suit so it is hot, in addition to Saipan’s weather. You sweat a lot but to me I enjoy fieldwork. One of the best experiences handling the bees was getting a glimpse of the queen bee. There’s only one queen bee amongst thousands of other bees swarming and flying around. It is very, very rare to see it, as the worker bees are constantly protecting her closely, and she’s quite a beauty.”

Besides being hot, the suit is also no guarantee that you won’t be stung, Sablan said.

Rosario said he was astonished at the number of honeybees found on Saipan. He surveyed many hives and collected composite samples from two feral hives. He sent the samples to the University of Maryland Bee Research Lab to get them tested for parasites, pest, and viruses.

Guerrero said they found many feral beehives around or close to the Saipan airport. Some feral beehives were on ironwood trees along Beach Road, while vacant and hollow telephone poles were some of the places that sampling was done.

Rosario continued to Tinian as well where his work focused on mapping out feral hives only. Using a global positioning system device, he was able to map out seven feral hives and one domestic hive.

He returned to Saipan on June 18 where he was again was assisted by Deleon Guerrero and Sablan.

He was also able to contact local honeybee keeper Rosiky Camacho and collected samples from his bee farm. The samples were sent to the NHBS Research lab to check how healthy Camacho’s bees are.

Rosario also collected samples from another feral hive using a bee vacuum he made.

Dr. Ross Miller, an entomologist at the University of Guam’s Western Pacific Tropical Research Center, suggests that if Guam can be declared a varroa-free zone, beekeepers on the island may be able to fill the market demand for queen bees that are certified free from the infesting mite.

Rosario places the collected samples in a special bee box, which is then freeze blasted, packaged with ice, and sent to the U.S. mainland via DHL.

According to him, this process is better than placing the bees in alcohol because tests on viruses and diseases can still be conducted. (By DENNIS B. CHAN, dennis_chan@saipantribune.com)