Too Few Mites to Study? Naturally!

Hi brac,

Mite counting, it's the only real way to get a handle on what's happening with the mites in a hive.

I setup a test yard in the mid-1990's and starting counting mites in 1996. Natural mite drop was counted daily in a few hives, twice-a-week in half the hives, and once a week in the rest. I'd count them this way about 9 months out of the year. And then I pick a couple of hives and monitor the mite fall once a week during the other three months.

The trays were divided into grid squares which simplified the process. I could have used a statistical approach to reduce the actual counting. But I counted them all anyway.

And you get real fast and good at it after awhile. I could actually just look at mite tray and usually guestimate the number of mites within 10 percent of the actual count.

I continued counting mites this way until I experienced mite counting/bee size measuring burnout. You can read about that experience in the "Done For" towards the bottom of the page here:

http://bwrangler.litarium.com/seasonal-bee-size/

It just about did both my marriage and my beekeeping in.

But there was a silver lining to that dark cloud. Through it I learned to trust what I saw with my natural beekeeping experience. And I don't need to count a single mite today.

Re: Too Few Mites to Study? Natural Beekeeping Works

Hi Guys,

I've suffered from this same problem.

I've attempted to document small cell broodnest cleansing and was defeated.

First year, a bazillion mites, bald headed brood at the purple eye stage, and a tray full of bee damaged, dieing, and dead mites. But no camera.

Second year. New digital camera. But few mites, no bald headed brood, and an empty mite tray.

I've written more about that experience here:

http://bwrangler.litarium.com/too-few-mites-i-know-the-feeling//

Man, I thought somebody would get excited about the low mite count Dr. Mangum has been tracking and skip right by his mite counting machinations. Anybody still read the bee journals?

Maybe everybody is out working their bees while I sit here recovering from yesterday's snow blizzard. I hope so.

So little interest in this topic. Maybe I should have used a different title like: "Famous beekeeping mathematician mite counts debunks world renown scientific study!" ))

I'm gone again.

BW,
I am very excited about this. Last year i attended a treatment-free beekeeping conference which focused on the topic of small cell beekeeping, and since then I am eagerly making the transition to regressing the bee size and using natural comb, not feeding sugar as a routine and not adding chemicals to the hive.

In addition I purchased some small cell, treatment-free, northern raised stock to work with while I am regressing the bees I already have. It is too early to tell how this is panning out, but the beekeepers who are already doing it are reporting excellent results. Mites are no longer a problem for them.

Of course, many people are still locked into the old ways. I am glad that I am only beekeeping for three years now, because if I had a huge pile of drawn-plastic-large-cell foundation I might be reluctant change over. But as it is, I can't wait to get rid of the stuff.

There is something very gratifying about looking at bees on freshly drawn, natural comb. Some of the old comb I got with my first nucs are repulsive by comparison.

But the bees are in some serious trouble here, and so will we be with out them. So I say bees first. I am the Lorax, I speak for the bees.