An Examination of a Feral Honeybee Colony for Parasites: 9
All photos copyright 2001, David L. Green  Unauthorized use prohibited
October 14, 2001, Stuckey, SC

Opened Drone Brood

   The cappings have been opened to expose the white drone pupae in the cells. Heavy varroa infestations will be obvious at this point, with adult varroa mites easily seen on the pupae. Light infestations might be missed by this examination

   It was getting dark as I finished tranferring the hive, so I did not perform one additional test for varroa, which is more sensitive than drone examination. When I have an opportunity, in the next few days, I hope to perform a shakedown test of some adult bees by dusting them with powdered sugar. This is preferred to the former practice of doing an ether roll, because the adults used in the test will survive. At this late date in the season, and with all the damaged brood, we certainly don't want to lose any more of the population than absolutely necessary. They will not begin to replace adults (brood up) until mid to late January.

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