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.