First of all, we are beekeepers who want to keep bees for the production of uncontaminated honey and wax. Secondly, the members of De Duurzame Bij are through with controlling the Varroa mite with chemical means.
The beekeepers of De Duurzame Bij select Varroa-tolerant colonies. These colonies are not entirely devoid of Varroa, but the mites don’t hamper the colonies in their growth and production of honey. As of 2016, we select for Varroa tolerance using indigenous Apis mellifera mellifera colonies (AMM).
The board of the De Duurzame Bij foundation coordinates the selection programme and is responsible for the selection of drone colonies on the mating station Neeltje Jans. Of course, these drone colonies have been tested for Varroa tolerance.
The board has 3 members: dr. Marleen Boerjan (president / treasurer), Henk Kok (secretary) and Egbert Touw (coordinator mating station). Until his death, on November 5, 2017, Prof. dr. Job van Praagh has greatly contributed to the scientific underpinning of the selection programme of De Duurzame Bij.
Members of De Duurzame Bij are organised in working groups:
- Queen rearing.
- Working with small cells.
- Morphometric analysis of AMM.
- Modelling of mite drop counts.