An Albuquerque-based company claims to have a possible solution for the declines in honey bee populations.

Known as Terra Vera, the fairly new company that launched in 2020 started as a way to boost crop production, particularly for cannabis. The company advertises itself as providing amino-acid based crop protection and nutrients. 

Carlos Perea, the company CEO, describes the venture into apiculture as an accidental discovery. Some of Terra Vera’s early customers also kept bees. They reported that their bee colonies were looking healthier after using Terra Vera’s products. Terra Vera began investigating the possibility that its system might benefit bees. In particular, it looked at how the technology could be adapted to address the devastating impacts of varroa mites.

This technology, Perea said, is an offshoot of a different product first developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory more than two decades ago. He said the original technology took salts and converted them “into a chemistry that’s effective at killing pathogens in water for making it potable or drinkable.”

In the early 2000s, Perea was the CEO of a company known as MIOX Corporation, which converted the technology developed by Los Alamos into a commercial application. However, he later left New Mexico to work in a role where he was acquiring cannabis operations in the United States. 

Perea said one of the problems faced at the cannabis operations was plant disease.

“So plants, like people, when you put them in proximity, one gets sick, they all get sick, and you lose your yields,” he said.

Perea approached a friend, Justin Sanchez, who had continued working for his previous company after Perea had sold it. He said to his friend, “hey, we’re killing viruses and bacteria in water. I’d like to do this on plants.”

Sanchez, who worked as the chief technology officer at MIOX, mentioned that he’d developed an offshoot of the technology that could be applicable to agriculture.

Sanchez and Perea teamed up to found Terra Vera.

Perea said the end goal for Terra Vera was to replace the pesticides that are harming the environment and getting into food supplies.

They did not initially look at the technology as a possible solution for apiculturists struggling with mites. But, when the possibility emerged, the experiments began.

Perea said that when Terra Vera realized that the technology could really help with the problem of varroa mites killing off bee colonies, “we really put our energy and focus into this area, and that’s kind of how we’ve evolved the company.” 

This year, Terra Vera launched a bee division known as ApiVera and brought on Jeff Pettis, an experienced entomologist and honey bee expert.

Pettis has an extensive resume that includes leading research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Beltsville Bee Laboratory.

“Terra Vera’s technology is groundbreaking, as it’s the most promising safe and sustainable solution that I’ve seen that can improve bee colony health and survival rates,” Pettis said in a press release announcing the launch of ApiVera. “By launching ApiVera with a dedicated focus on developing and expanding the reach of bee health solutions, we can help more beekeepers than ever before and in turn make a positive impact on our environment and food systems around the globe.”

The varroa mite

Perea told NM Political Report that Terra Vera has come up with a product that uses food-grade ingredients that could be purchased from a health food store in a fogger to kill the deadly varroa mite that has been causing colony collapse in honey bees.

“The varroa mite is the number one threat to honeybees on a national and international basis,” Perea said.

The varroa mite arrived in the United States in 1987 from Asia, where it acts as a parasite to the Asian honey bee. The mite acts similar to a tick, attaching to the bee and feeding off of it.

Since varroa mites emerged as one of the largest threats facing the bee industry, researchers have been looking for ways to go after the mite safely. 

Terra Vera tested its products on privately-owned beehives on a nearly 500-acre ranch near Chico, California, where there are abundant wildflowers, walnut trees and thistles. 

Should its product become fully commercialized, ApiVera’s miticide will join a list of botanical products aimed at killing varroa mites. These include Apiguard, which uses an ingredient derived from thyme, and HopGuard, which uses compounds derived from hops plants.

Perrea said that one of the downsides of his company’s product is the cost of the fogger, which can range from $500-$1,000. However, that is a one-time investment and the miticide itself is relatively affordable. Terra Vera estimates that it will cost less than $1 per hive to apply the products, depending on the size of the hive.

That is one difference between ApiVera’s miticide and a product like Apiguard, which is a gel that clings to the bee’s body. Multiple trays of the Apiguard gel can be acquired for less than $50. But Terra Vera claims that its product is more effective than some of the alternatives, including Apiguard.

Terra Vera recently began testing its product with the help of beekeepers in the greater Albuquerque metropolitan area and is collecting data and assessing the colony health both before and after its product is applied.

Honey bees vs native bees

Honey bees are not native to the United States and Perea said Terra Vera’s bee division—ApiVera—is not yet sure if their technology could also provide benefits to native bee species. While the native bees are not susceptible to the varroa mite, Perea said there are other diseases as well as pesticide use that are harming native bees. 

Perea said ApiVera is also exploring whether their product can be used against other parasitic mites, though it is still very focused on honey bees. The other pest that ApiVera is looking at is known as tropilaelaps mites. Like the varroa mite, the tropilaelaps is from Asia, though it has yet to reach the United States.

While a lot of the discussion about the declining pollinator populations has focused on honey bees, groups like the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation say that the focus should instead be on native bees that are more likely to be at risk of extinction and are often more effective pollinators. Honey bees can even harm native bees by competing for the same resources.

With that in mind, some might question why it is important to save honey bees in North America at all. According to the USDA, the honey bee is a vital player in the country’s agricultural system, in part due to the crops brought over from other parts of the world. For example, almonds are highly dependent on honey bees. While experiments are underway to see if other bees, such as the native blue orchard mason bee, could pollinate almonds, there are challenges because blue orchard bees don’t live in large hives and humans must coax them to live in the dense populations needed to provide adequate pollination at large orchards. 

The U.S. Geological Survey states that honey bees increase the value of the country’s crops by $15 billion annually, but warns that honey bees should not be introduced to areas like parks or conservation areas.

For local beekeepers that may be concerned about the varroa mite going after their colonies, Terra Vera anticipates having their product available for commercial use soon. Pre-orders will be available in October and more information can be found at terravera.com.