Doing a Sugar Shake Test for Varroa Mites in Mountain Bees

Mountain beekeeping in Colorado still requires responsibilities to managing your hives including testing and managing varroa mite populations.

Mountain bees seem to struggle less with the challenges of mite infestations, but it can be easy to spread mite populations to native bees, so preventing the spread is essential.

Good beekeeping practices include regular sampling for mites and treating when indicated. In this video, I show you how to do a sugar shake test, using powdered sugar ( a non-toxic method) to test for varroa mites in a newly established mountain beehive.

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[raincoast]

If you have pine trees, the dry needles make great fuel for the smoker. Light the smoker fuel and place it in the smoker fire down.

[leroybrown]

... I personally are highly allergic to bees.... but I just love them so much...(my daughter who works at Disney world...& I have matching 🐝 tattoos)and need have been her favorite'animal' - yes I know it's an insect !- since she was a young girl.... I've learned even more watching you... with all your knowledge and respect for such a magnificent animal...

[RobBenson]

Great info, we’re going for bees again this year. Excited to follow!

[garyshaffer]

Ok nice job. The only thing i seen you did wrong is. You should have gotten your sample from a frame of brood. The nurse bees will have the most mites. If you shake your frame into a box what a minute. The field bees will fly back to the hive. And the nurse bees will stay better sample that way. Thank for sharing you did a great job.