Counting phoretic Varroa destructor mites dislodged from honey bees (Apis mellifera) sampled under the escape board: a simple, precise and rapid method

Abstract

In order to control infestation of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor infestation, it is essential to determine mite density in a colony. In daily practice, the beekeeper needs a simple, reproductive, safe and fast method. We have developed a new technique of sampling under the escape board to count dislodged mites from bees and compared it with the measure on brood - which is considered as the "Gold Standard." On average, the number of mites measured under the escape board was 60% lower compared to the number of mites measured on brood and the ratio escape board/brood was proportional to the number of mites counted on brood with a narrow dispersion around the predicted value (the 95% limits of agreement around the bias were ± 23%). This new method is simple, rapid and safe, inasmuch as dislodging and counting mites from sampled bees can be performed later on.

Keywords:

• Varroa destructor
• escape board
• sampling method

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Lucie Mazoit MA for her critical review of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

J.P., P.B., JX.M. sells honey and J.P. sells bee queens and colonies.

Additional information

Funding

The CETA Mellifera received funding from the Nature & Découverte foundation.