> To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Whats on a sticky board > Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2000 22:34:33 +0100 > >Allen Dick writes as follows: > >I have not been able to identify many of the translucent and organic >shaped things on the floor, and would love to have some input into what all >I am looking at. A hobby beekeeper, but well trained in scientific method (Retired physician), I will give this a try although I have spent only 8 weeks watching counts every 3 days on two colonies with 1/8 inch hardware cloth screened bottoms. I hope this helps someone, and myself! To fabricate a sticky board, I choose to coat a piece of poster cardboard, like school children use, with a heavy coat of mineral oil, both sides after placing parallel lines (6) equidistant with a heavy pencil (making a crude grid), length wise; to make possible counting mites in a smaller area than the whole board . I chose to place and leave this setup in for 24 just hours before counting . (To restrict junk to read through...uncapping wax particles, pieces of propolis, wax moth larvae droppings, webbing, etc, etc. After all, the only thing we are interested in is the varroa I.D. What I saw rather quickly: 1. A foreboding number of Varroa, between 15 and 20 inside of each set of spaces, dominately in the four middle sets, gave a total drop of nearly 100 mites in 24 hours. Info from the archives suggested that a spontaneous drop of 15 to as many as near 100 was potentially very serious, but some of this data appeared less than well documented. Now, some observations on the mite appearance: What I thought to be immature mites varied in color from very, very light tan, sometimes almost translucent, to slightly darker tan;, and I I shortly recognized that they frequently were lying on their backs, legs side up, and this 'ventral' side was of concave shape (like a saucer). Further if touched, few moved. If immature, this might be due to their immaturity, they may at this stage be more vulnerable to the oil (if indeed the oil kills mites) or immaturity could simply reduce mobility. Mature mites, some of which seemed a bit larger than the cited 1.0-1.1 mm (no measurement attempted), also sometimes upside down, and if so, also appear dead....until they are touched with a pin or such; then often wiggle, hop or junp, almost like "panic", sometimes righting themselves and moving off less than an inch or occasionally a little more. When right side down the convex dorsal surface especially in sunshine was glistening dark brown to nearly black and without a 2 times magnification (ordinary reading glass) one can scarcely recognise their toe tips sticking out from under one side of her shell. Males are very small (as I understand it) and don't leave the cell where he breeds his mature sisters, except by accident; I could not identify anything I thought might be a male, not did I expect to. My impression was that about 15-20% of the mature mites were not dead and would move placidly off a short distance. Other things observed- two or three small wax moth larvae only one alive, a few balls of wax moth feces, and few very scattered areas where coarser small piles of wax grains from wax moths chewing....one of the the colonies which should have had ten frames of bees and 6-7 of brood consisted of only 6 frames of beess and equivalent brood reduction. This is submitted only to assist identification of stickly board material, and make no reference to significant mite counts, treatment modalities, or other features. I remind you that this spring I have not yet identified mites in colonies, having retreated when the situation described was found. I hope others will describe their sticky board contents. I think at this point it is quite simple to do, and some quantitation of the infection appears to me important. Regards, Bob Barnett Birmingham, Al US 34 Deg. N, 87 Deg E.