"Sugar Shake"

This is a test to see how many varroa mites your bees have. First you scoop up bees into a jar.












This should be enough, about 300 bees.















Add some powdered sugar and roll around. The bees are not happy now. but the mites are even less happy and they will release their hold on the bees and fall off. Now you can shake the jar with the screen wire on the top. The mites will fall out and you can count them.
After counting the mites you can determine if the infestation is bad enough to treat.








The bees are now released from the jar in front of the hive entrance. They are covered with powdered sugar which they will clean off. They are busy fanning their pheromones so everyone can find their way home.












This one landed on my jacket, still covered with sugar.