by Texas Homesteader ~
Beekeeping is an ever-learning endeavor. We realize there is still much to learn and we’ll learn more as time goes by. Two very important things we’ve already learned are:
- Each beekeeper will keep their hives differently in a way specific to their circumstances, and
- Varroa mites are an ever-present danger for bees
So monitoring your hive periodically for Varroa mites is important. Thankfully it’s also pretty easy to do. C’mon in, I’ll show you what we did for our Varroa mite inspection!
We watch for Varroa Mites each time we inspect the hive but DANG Varroa are so small! It’s difficult to look for Varroa mites when looking through a beekeepers veil at constantly-moving wave of bees on each frame.
So RancherMan likes to monitor mite activity by putting out a sticky board trap for them in the spring, summer and fall. Now seems like a good time to take a closer look and do a more formal Varroa mite inspection.
Using Sticky Boards To Monitor Hive
So RancherMan set up the sticky boards for each hive. A sticky board is just a white plastic board with a grid printed on it.
He used a paintbrush and cooking oil to coat the surface to make it sticky. Some beekeepers prefer to use shortening or petroleum jelly. As I mentioned before each beekeeper is going to work their hives in a way that works for their situation.
After RancherMan thoroughly coated the boards he slid them into the bottom of the hives just below the screened bottom board.
It’s recommended to leave the board in place for about 3 days and then remove the board and check for mites.
Inspecting Sticky Board
When we removed the boards they were covered with various hive trash, bee parts, wax comb parts, etc. It took a strong light and a magnifying glass to see a few Varroa.
This is a close-up of one of the sticky boards when we removed it 3 days later. Whoa, that’s a lot to look through!
Varroa Mites In The Hive
With the reflections of the oily board and in the light of our shop, my camera isn’t good enough to zoom in close enough to point out the Varroa and deliver a clear picture for you to see.
But I’ve found when I accompany RancherMan to the hive I can be the photographer. I take lots of close-up pictures of the bees while he’s visually inspecting the hive.
Then I download those pictures to the computer and zoom in for a closer look. It’s been tremendously helpful for us.
Below is a shot of a bee we discovered during the hive inspection. She’s sporting an easy-to-see Varroa mite. In relation to the size of the bee, this is a huge parasite!
If possible it’s recommended to treat Varroa problems after the honey harvest since some of the chemicals typically used can affect the honey.
In this area of NE Texas the honey is typically harvested around the first of July although in stronger hives a harvest can be made in late summer. RancherMan decided since the honey harvest is well over it’s a good time for us to treat the hive.
That way the bees can go into the challenging cold winter months as healthy as possible.
There are many ways to treat your bee hives for Varroa. Some are more organic and some involve chemicals.
RancherMan has been doing research on the best way for us to keep our hives healthy. See how we decided to treat our hive for Varroa and why.
~TxH~
BEEKEEPING SERIES:
- Preparing For the Hives
- Obtaining Your Bees
- Inspecting Your Hives
- Feeding Bees With A Frame-Feeder
- Expanding The Langstroth Hive
- Performing A Walk-Away Split
- Performing A Frame-Swap Split
- 5-Minute Beehive Stand
- Adding A Honey Super To Your Hive
- Catching A Bee Swarm (With Video)
- Requeening A Beehive – Things We Didn’t Know
- FOUR 5-Frame Nuc Boxes From 1 Sheet of Plywood!
- Varroa Mite Treatment For Your Apiary
- Preparing Your Hive For Honey Harvest
- Proper Honey Bottling Tips
- Purifying Your Beeswax
- MYO Beeswax Lip Balm
- Homemade Beeswax Jar Candles
- Beeswax Wraps – A Natural Solution To Plastic Wrap
…And MUCH More!
See All Our Beekeeping Posts
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Bees can have mites? Never knew that!
Me too Charlotte, We’re learning so much this first year of beekeeping. We just yesterday captured our first bee swarm. It’s pretty late in the year to be trying to grow a hive from a swarm but if we didn’t come get them they probably would have been exterminated since they were in a water-meter box. Fingers crossed they recover & survive the winter! ~TxH~
Oh.. So weird, I’ve never considered the idea that bees might carry mites. How annoying. Thanks for sharing your beekeeping stories, my husband and I would love to do that someday.
I love your beekeeping updates