charlievictorbravo
Drone Bee
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2012
- Messages
- 1,802
- Reaction score
- 77
- Location
- Torpoint, Cornwall
- Hive Type
- 14x12
- Number of Hives
- 2 - 14x12
One of my two hives appears to be developing a Varroa problem so I have started daily monitoring.
Today, for instance, the hive had a natural mite drop of 9 mites. OK, one day's results should not be taken in isolation but the question I have concerns the number of, what appear to be, immature mites. In the attached photo, taken through the eyepiece of my dissecting microscope, shows the 9 mites that dropped, collected together on a piece of white paper. In the bottom right-hand quadrant, there are 3 mites that are almost entirely white. Reference to 'Managing Varroa' suggests these are likely to be immature female mites, which do not survive outside the cell.
With these immature mites making up 33% of the mite drop, the question that arises is "should they be counted as Varroa in determining the level of infestation in a colony?"
When my 7 day moving-average gets to 10mpd, I intend to take appropriate action - probably vaporised Oxalic Acid.
CVB
Today, for instance, the hive had a natural mite drop of 9 mites. OK, one day's results should not be taken in isolation but the question I have concerns the number of, what appear to be, immature mites. In the attached photo, taken through the eyepiece of my dissecting microscope, shows the 9 mites that dropped, collected together on a piece of white paper. In the bottom right-hand quadrant, there are 3 mites that are almost entirely white. Reference to 'Managing Varroa' suggests these are likely to be immature female mites, which do not survive outside the cell.
With these immature mites making up 33% of the mite drop, the question that arises is "should they be counted as Varroa in determining the level of infestation in a colony?"
When my 7 day moving-average gets to 10mpd, I intend to take appropriate action - probably vaporised Oxalic Acid.
CVB