High-viscosity adhesive sheets serve as a critical containment and measurement tool within a beehive. Placed at the bottom of the hive, their primary function is to immediately immobilize falling Varroa mites, preventing survivors from returning to the bee cluster. This creates a stable platform for technical personnel to perform accurate counts, which are essential for assessing colony health and the effectiveness of mite treatments.
These sheets transform the bottom of the hive from a passive floor into a precise analytical instrument. By permanently trapping fallen mites, they prevent data loss caused by mite recovery or bee cleaning behavior, enabling a quantitative assessment of infestation levels.
The Mechanics of Mite Capture
Immobilizing Surviving Mites
When treating a colony for Varroa mites, not every mite is killed instantly. Many are merely stunned or weakened by the medicinal treatment.
Without a high-viscosity surface, these survivors can recover and crawl back up into the frames to re-infest the bees. The adhesive coating ensures that any mite touching the sheet remains trapped, guaranteeing that the "drop count" accurately reflects the impact of the treatment.
Preventing Hygienic Removal
Honeybees are naturally hygienic and will actively clean debris from the hive. This includes carrying dead mites out of the entrance.
If mites fall onto a dry surface, house-cleaning bees often remove them before a beekeeper can perform a count. The adhesive sheet secures the mites in place, preventing the bees from altering the sample size and ensuring the data remains intact for analysis.
The Analytical Value
Measuring Treatment Efficiency
The data collected on these sheets is the primary metric for evaluating kill efficiency. By counting the mites trapped daily, technical personnel can determine if a specific treatment protocol is working effectively or if resistance is developing.
Assessing Overall Mite Load
Beyond active treatment, these sheets allow for the monitoring of "natural mite fall."
This provides a baseline assessment of the total mite load within the colony. Accurate daily counts allow beekeepers to make informed decisions about when intervention is necessary, rather than guessing based on visual inspection of the bees alone.
Essential System Requirements
The Necessity of a Physical Barrier
While the adhesive sheet is the capture mechanism, it cannot work in isolation. A wire support mesh or wooden grid is required to act as a physical barrier above the sheet.
This mesh separates the active bee cluster from the monitoring area. It allows small debris and mites to fall through to the sticky paper but prevents the bees from coming into contact with the adhesive or grooming the mites off the paper.
Common Pitfalls
Reliance on adhesive sheets without a barrier results in bees getting stuck or successfully cleaning the board, rendering the data useless. Furthermore, if the viscosity is too low, stunned mites may escape; if the board is not checked regularly, debris accumulation can cover the adhesive, reducing its capture rate.
Making the Right Choice for Your Goal
To get the most value from high-viscosity monitoring sheets, align your usage with your specific objective:
- If your primary focus is Treatment Verification: Count and clean the sheets daily to track the immediate "kill rate" of the chemical or organic protocol you are testing.
- If your primary focus is Routine Monitoring: Use the natural drop count over a set period (e.g., 3 days) to estimate the total infestation percentage of the colony.
Accurate data is the difference between guessing at colony health and managing it with precision.
Summary Table:
| Feature | Purpose | Benefit for Beekeepers |
|---|---|---|
| High-Viscosity Coating | Immobilizes stunned or weakened Varroa mites | Prevents re-infestation after treatment |
| Debris Retention | Secures fallen mites and debris in place | Prevents bees from removing samples (accurate data) |
| Quantitative Platform | Facilitates daily drop counts | Enables precise assessment of treatment efficiency |
| Natural Drop Baseline | Monitors mite load during non-treatment periods | Guides informed intervention decisions |
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References
- Marco Lodesani, Raffaele Dall’Ollio. Evaluation of early spring bio-technical management techniques to control varroosis in Apis mellifera. DOI: 10.1007/s13592-018-0621-z
This article is also based on technical information from HonestBee Knowledge Base .
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