Monday, August 6, 2018

Sugar Shakin'!

On July 8, I went into the hives and did a sugar shake test. A sugar shake is a manner of sampling the hive to see what level of Varroa mites are present in the hive. 

Varroa mites (varroa destructor) are a tiny parasitic arachnid that are visible to the naked eye, but cleverly hide in bees and under capped brood. They are a huge problem facing honey bee colonies. Varroa was first found in the US in 1987, and has become an enormous problem since. The mites themselves do physical damage to some of the bees, but the bigger problem is that they trigger viruses which exist in the bees, and create a variety of different physical issues such as Deformed Wing Virus (among many others) which can cause an entire colony to collapse. The mite is completely dependent on the honey bee to complete its own life cycle. The question is not whether they are in your hive (they are), it's how many. Which is what this method of mite sampling, the sugar shake, tells you. 

So, I went into the hives to check it out, and took some pictures so you can see the process! After I confirmed that the queen was there and laying and that the bees were doing all the right things and had plenty of honey, I got started.  I set up my supplies: a spray bottle of water and a white surface that I could easily see any mites on, an old cat litter container with a snap on lid, a highly precise peanut butter jar fitted with #8 hardware cloth on the cut out lid and a line to measure the amount of bees, and powdered sugar (the bee's favorite part! Ok, probably the ONLY part of this process they like). 

I found a few frames with capped brood (baby bees who are incubating, and the favorite place to hide for mites), and shook the nurse bees from those frames into the bucket and closed the lid. Once I had gotten the bees I wanted, I closed up the hive. Then, I scooped up the appropriate amount of bees (about 300) into the peanut butter jar and screwed on the lid. Sounds like a harrowing process! Then, the best part - I put a few tablespoons of powdered sugar through the wire lid and SHAKE! I shook the jar for several minutes. This dislodges some of the mites, and encourages the bees to groom one another, further dislodging any parasites. I set them in the shade for a few minutes, then, again SHAKE! I shook the upended jar over the white surface for a good long bit. This shakes out any loosened mites, so we can do a count. 

Pictured below is a close up of an invading mite. All told, I counted 7 mites in this sample. Which isn't great news, but as a newly established colony this year isn't surprising. And knowledge is power! So, next we will see what we're going to do about it. Stay tuned! 

Oh - the second best part - dumping the "ghost bees" back out in front of the hive to get their bearings and head back into the hive. Given that they are covered in sugar,they are VERY popular. This might seem unkind, but it is absolutely necessary. Untreated bees will die, and also continue to spread mites and thus disease in the community. Bee a good neighbor! 


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