A greased sticky board serves as a critical preservation mechanism for accurate data collection. It is necessary because falling mites are lightweight and nutritious to scavengers; without a sticky medium to secure them, wind, bee wing-fanning, and hungry ants would remove the mites before they can be counted, resulting in a dangerously inaccurate assessment of the infestation level.
Core Insight: The grease layer converts a passive surface into an active retention tool. While gravity brings the mites down, the grease prevents scavengers—specifically ants—from "stealing" the evidence, ensuring your mortality count reflects the true drop rate rather than the rate of predation.
Preserving Data Integrity
To make informed decisions about colony health, your data must be complete. The sticky board addresses three specific threats to data accuracy.
Preventing Scavenging by Ants
The most overlooked variable in mite counting is the activity of scavengers. Dead Varroa mites are a protein source for ants and other small insects.
If a board is not greased, ants can carry away a significant portion of the fallen mites within hours. This leads to an underestimation of the mite population, potentially causing a beekeeper to delay necessary treatment. The grease creates a physical barrier that traps the mites and deters these scavengers.
Counteracting Hive Ventilation
A honeybee colony is a high-airflow environment. Worker bees constantly fan their wings to regulate temperature and humidity.
This generated air current is strong enough to blow dried, lightweight mite carcasses off a smooth surface. The grease acts as an anchor, holding the mites in place against both natural wind and the internal ventilation currents of the hive.
Securing Live Mites
Not all mites that fall to the bottom board are dead. Some may be groomed off by bees or dislodged during movement.
Without a sticky agent like Vaseline or vegetable oil, a live mite can simply crawl back up into the hive and re-attach to a host bee. The viscosity of the grease traps these live mites, preventing re-infestation and ensuring they are included in the "natural drop" count.
Optimizing the Monitoring Process
Beyond securing the sample, the physical properties of a greased board improve the workflow for the beekeeper.
Enhancing Visual Contrast
Effective monitoring requires accurate manual counting. Using a white cardboard or plastic base coated with a clear sticky agent (such as glycerin or Vaseline) creates a high-contrast background.
This makes the dark, reddish-brown mites stand out clearly against the white surface. This contrast is essential for differentiating mites from other hive debris like wax cappings or pollen, reducing the margin of error during microscopic or visual inspection.
Ensuring Transport Integrity
Samples often need to be moved from the apiary to a lab or indoor space for counting.
A greased surface fixes the mites in position, allowing the board to be handled, bagged, and transported without the samples sliding around or bunching together. This prevents the loss of data during the logistical phase of monitoring.
Common Pitfalls and Trade-offs
While greased sticky boards are effective, they rely on correct implementation to function properly.
The Necessity of Screens
You cannot place a greased board directly into the hive where bees walk. The sticky substance does not discriminate between mites and honeybees.
A screened barrier or mesh must be installed between the brood box and the sticky board. This allows mites to fall through while preventing worker bees from accessing the grease or "cleaning" the board themselves.
Debris Saturation
The sticky surface captures everything that falls, not just mites.
If left too long, the board will become saturated with pollen, wax, and other hive trash. This "background noise" can make identifying mites difficult. The stickiness is only effective as long as the surface isn't completely coated in debris.
Making the Right Choice for Your Goal
The type of sticky agent and board you use should align with your specific monitoring objectives.
- If your primary focus is immediate field assessment: Use a white card coated with Vaseline. The high viscosity holds mites securely for a quick visual check in the apiary, even if it's windy.
- If your primary focus is laboratory analysis: Use sticky detection papers or vegetable oil on cardboard. These are often easier to cover with transparent film or place in vinyl bags for safe transport without damaging the sample.
- If your primary focus is strictly counting natural mortality: Ensure your setup includes a screen separator. Without the screen, the bees will clean the board, and without the grease, the ants will clear it; both scenarios render your data invalid.
By securing the sample against biological and environmental loss, the greased sticky board transforms a guess into a calculated metric.
Summary Table:
| Threat to Data | How a Greased Board Solves It | Result for Beekeeper |
|---|---|---|
| Scavengers (Ants) | Traps mites in grease, making them impossible for ants to carry away. | Accurate mortality counts. |
| Hive Ventilation | Acts as an anchor against wing-fanning and wind currents. | Prevents loss of dry samples. |
| Re-infestation | Captures live groomed-off mites, preventing them from returning to the hive. | True drop rate measurement. |
| Visual Errors | Provides high contrast (white base + clear grease) against brown mites. | Easier and faster counting. |
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References
- Lioba Hilsmann, Ricarda Scheiner. Towards a Stable Host–Parasite Relationship Between Honey Bees and <i>Varroa</i> Mites Through Innovative Beekeeping. DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.70101
This article is also based on technical information from HonestBee Knowledge Base .
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