The Mite Monitoring Measure and Manage Project.
The aim is to provide a platform which allows beekeepers to anonymously record the following:
Real time mite infestation levels
Treatments utilised and timeframe
The platform would feedback the following information to the beekeeper:
Individual historic mite levels to any given site
Potential exponential Mite Population Growth (MPG) within their sites
Anonymised mite levels on a grid map display in their area
Treatment, treatment-free management options
Mite resistant and treatment malfunction criteria
The platform would also provide baseline information to:
Varroa research projects
Treatment manufacturers
About Mite Monitor Measure and Manage Project
Mid Canterbury beekeepers have been involved in a pilot project collecting and inputting mite levels into a database over the 2020 beekeeping season with the aims of being prepared if there was an excessive varroa mite incursion, ascertaining the costs to beekeepers and providing a ‘port of call’ when real time issues occur.
Mite Monitor Measure and Manage (MMMM) Project’s vision is to detect a mite incursion early and provide the appropriate responses. This in turn will improve beekeepers’ understanding of their varroa infestations and help refine their management, while remaining anonymous.
If you would like to express your interest in the project, please register your contact details with the team using the Register Now button below.
Mite Monitor Measure and Manage
It is important to monitor your beehives for varroa mite levels so you can make informed management decisions.
Why Monitor?
High mite loads after treatments can mean one of four things:
mite reinvasion
management issues
treatment malfunction
mite resistance to treatments
How to Monitor
One way is Sugar Shaking:
Method:
You will need:
500ml preserving jar with metal ring
OR 1kg plastic jar with lid
3mm wire mesh
½ cup measuring cup
White sheet of paper, plastic meat tray or ice cream container
Spray bottle of water
Use a 500ml preserving jar with a metal ring or if using plastic jar cut the centre out of the lid. Cut a piece of wire mesh (3mm openings) in a circle to cover the jar, then friction fit it into the metal ring or plastic lid. Pour ½ cup water into the jar and mark the line, dry the jar.
Collect about 300 (1/2 measuring cup) bees in the jar to the marked line and add about 1 tablespoon of icing sugar on top of the bees.
Gently roll the sugared bees for 3-5 minutes, ensuring each bee is coated with sugar. Let the jar sit for a few minutes, then turn the jar upside down and shake the jar above a piece of paper. The mites and sugar will pass through the mesh, but the bees will remain in the jar. The bees won’t be killed, so they can be put back in the hive. If the sugar makes the mites hard to find, put the sugar through a fine sieve. This will allow the sugar to escape but the mites will be retained. The mites can then be dumped onto the piece of paper for counting or into a plastic container.
If you cannot see the varroa spray a little water over the icing sugar, it will dissolve and the varroa is easily seen. Recovery is said to be 70% of mites for a brief shaking.
A study showed 79.8% recovery if the bees are shaken 3 times, or until no more mites fall out. It is best not to reuse the same icing sugar between hives, since the very fine particles are the ones that dislodge the mites and these particles cover the bees and also blow away in the wind.
The reason the sugar shake method works has not been determined, but it may be that either the sugar interferes with the sticky pads on the legs of the mites that help them cling to the bees, or the sugar makes the mites stop feeding on the bees and attempt to groom themselves.
What Does the Mite Count Mean?
It depends on the time of year and when treatments were used to what the mite levels tell you. The more you monitor the better picture you get. Remember 1 mite can multiply very quickly.
The following is a general assumption once treatments are removed:
0 – 2 Mites per 300:
Fairly low mite level, keep monitoring.
3 – 5 Mites per 300:
Recommend the use of a miticide to increase chances of the colony surviving the winter.
6 – 10 mites per 300:
Use of miticide is critical to prevent losing the colony at the end of winter.
11+ Mites per 300:
Essential to use of a mite to decrease the threat of the hive collapsing and creating a horizontal transmission (spread) of mites to neighboring colonies.
Mite Monitor FAQS - Download here (PDF)