>Aaron Morris <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >dr pedro p rodriguez  Wrote
>Remove one hundred capped bee larvae, (preferably 50 drones
>and50 workerss,) with a sharp instrument (I use a large needle) and count the
>Varroa mites that you can see parasiting the larvae.
Interesting  what thinkgs beekeepers press into service as bee- tools.  Grass, Bird wings, i guess we all have our favorites, including me.

Instead of a large needle- I like to keep a dissection pick in my beekeeping toolbox.  It is a wooden handle about the size of a pencil with a large sharp probe sticking out of one end.  They are avaialble from college bookstores and Scientific supply places- it is a standard tool in any dissection kit.  These are great for opening up single cells to see how far along the brood are, poking about and removing extra queen cells, or just about anything where you want to poke about with something smaller than a hive tool or a fingertip.  Since they are cheap, I don't mind when I lose or bend one.  Handy thing to have!

The other funny tool I have in my toolbox is a flat plastic hand shovel from a childs bucket and shovel beach set.  When I'm working in my TBH, bits of wax get strewn all over the bottom as i scrape and trim.  The bees just fasten these to the floor unless they are right near the enterance, creating a bumpy nubbly mess.  I use the shovel to scrape together and lift out these scrapings to keep things tidy

Oh- I almost forgot- I have broken many of those frame cleaning tools that the catalogs list- so I had my husband reshape and sharpen up an old horses hoof pick.  It's much tougher than that little wire tool, and it does a dandy job of scraping out grooves and such.  The handle is a lot easier on the hand too!

Anybody else have funny items they keep in their beekeeping kit just because they are so handy?
Please share!
Ellen in Michigan