Data for: A survey of UK beekeeper’s Varroa treatment habits

The global spread of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor instigated a
substantial decline in both managed and feral honeybee (Apis mellifera)
colonies mainly across the Northern hemisphere. In response, many
beekeepers began to treat their colonies with chemical acaricides to
control mite populations in managed colonies. However, some countries or
beekeepers allowed their bees to develop mite-resistance by adopting a
“treatment-free” approach, rather than using selective breeding programs.
Yet, the distribution and proportion of beekeepers either treating or not
within the United Kingdom (UK) are unknown, as it is in most Northern
hemisphere countries. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a
beekeeper survey to determine the current treatment strategies within the
UK. We gathered 2,872 beekeeper responses from an estimated 30,000 UK
beekeepers belonging to 242 bee-associations in the winter of 2020/21. The
survey indicated that the majority (72–79%) of UK beekeepers are still
treating their bees for Varroa, typically twice-yearly using
chemical-based methods. Six percent or 1,800 UK beekeepers were
treatment-free for six years or more. This is reflected by our finding
that 78 associations out of 242 consist of responders who entirely
treated, while only four associations had more than 75% of their members
that were non-treating. Overall treatment status was not affected by
association currently. Using the baseline data from this survey it will be
possible in the future to observe if a shift towards treatment-free
beekeeping occurs or not.