Varoa drop boards

[RichardK]

When you place a board under the OMF to measure varoa drop do you grease the board in any way? It occurred to me that perhaps living varoa drop through & then "wander off" which they couldn't if the board was greased. Thanks.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I don’t. I’m not sure many live varroa drop through at all but I have sen the occasional one or two
Natural drop is a really poor way of estimating infestation. It’s extremely inaccurate unless you keep the board in for a while brood cycle and even then it’s probably best to count every day and clean the debris off

 

[user 819]

Where do the varroa wander off to ?
Off on holiday perhaps !!!

 

[blackcloud]

Sahara

 

[Erichalfbee]

Where do the varroa wander off to ?
Off on holiday perhaps !!!

Don’t other creepy crawlies eat them ?

 

[Amari]

When you place a board under the OMF to measure varoa drop do you grease the board in any way? It occurred to me that perhaps living varoa drop through & then "wander off" which they couldn't if the board was greased. Thanks.

I only occasionally check varroa drop and use A4 sticky paper (as per sticky labels), some folk use cooking-oil spray.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It occurred to me that perhaps living varoa drop through & then "wander off" which they couldn't if the board was greased

the varroa calculation tables are all based on dead varroa drop - so if they are alive and wander off somewhere, it makes no difference to the count.
That's why counting varroa during treatment then using the tables to calculate the varroa load is totally pointless.

 

[RichardK]

I only occasionally check varroa drop and use A4 sticky paper (as per sticky labels), some folk use cooking-oil spray.

Thanks for that. I've noticed my boards (when they are in place which is only immediately following OA treatment) having half a dozen or so ants on there scavenging. Will they remove varroa for munching back at their nest?

 

[RichardK]

the varroa calculation tables are all based on dead varroa drop - so if they are alive and wander off somewhere, it makes no difference to the count.
That's why counting varroa during treatment then using the tables to calculate the varroa load is totally pointless.

Interesting - i didn't know varroa calculation tables even existed! Where would i find them?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Interesting - i didn't know varroa calculation tables even existed! Where would i find them?

there's a varroa ready reckoner on beebase - they're all utterly useless though

 

[user 819]

Sahara

Varo-na

 

[Amari]

Thanks for that. I've noticed my boards (when they are in place which is only immediately following OA treatment) having half a dozen or so ants on there scavenging. Will they remove varroa for munching back at their nest?

If the varroa stick so will the ants!

 

[Ian123]

If the varroa stick so will the ants!

Hours more fun counting ants!

 

[Xander]

I grease with a v. little petroleum jelly. I tried a sticky board as used in the greenhouse but it just caught 50 or so bees which had tried to re-enter the hive from underneath and got themselves jammed up in-between the mesh and the sticky board. I've not had any ants on there and would be slightly worried if I did as I don't want those little beggars in my hive.

 

[mychale]

Someone asked about a Varroa count calculator, see Beebase - Varroa

 

[mychale]

There was some discussion about live Varroa wandering off. This is one of the reasons for putting the hive up on blocks or on a stand. It is estimated that 20% of hatching Varroa may drop out of the hive this way and the further they fall after passing through the open floor mesh the lower the chance is that they will find their way back into the hive. I can’t remember the critical distance but stands give a minimal height of 150 mm (6 inches). I use 3 lines of UK house bricks.

 

[mychale]

You may also find this useful: https://nationalbeeunit.com/downloadDocument.cfm?id=1389

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It is estimated that 20% of hatching Varroa may drop out of the hive this way and the further they fall after passing through the open floor mesh the lower the chance is that they will find their way back into the hive.

 

[pargyle]

You may also find this useful: https://nationalbeeunit.com/downloadDocument.cfm?id=1389

Well .... it's got some lovely pictures and there are some good facts in there but considering that it was only written in 2020 there are some glaring ommissions and misconceptions.

1. It states that they recommend monitoring for varroa, indeed, they emphasise monitoring - but fail to mention the easiest and most accurate testing methods of sugar rolls or (not that I recommend it) alcohol wash.

2. They still bleat on about drone cell removal for control of varroa - very old hat and not that effective.

3. There's no mention of OA by sublimation - probably the cheapest and most effective method of mite control.

If this is the best our National Bee Unit can do then I'm a little non-plussed - more so as this could be a document that many new (and a lot of time served beekeepers) could be relying upon. Needs updating I fear ...

 

[pargyle]

There was some discussion about live Varroa wandering off. This is one of the reasons for putting the hive up on blocks or on a stand. It is estimated that 20% of hatching Varroa may drop out of the hive this way and the further they fall after passing through the open floor mesh the lower the chance is that they will find their way back into the hive. I can’t remember the critical distance but stands give a minimal height of 150 mm (6 inches). I use 3 lines of UK house bricks.

It is a good idea to have your hive stands off the ground for a number of legitimate reasons but I'm afraid that the theory of live varroa dropping out of the cells and through the mesh floor, in any significant numbers, was proved to be pie in the sky long ago. The odd one or two live varroa may drop through but as a percentage ...negligible.

The mesh floor was 'invented' with this in mind and in come cases it's actually called a 'varroa floor' ... but it's not .. it's uesful for many reasons but for varroa control it is not.