I have received a lot of emails, calls, and messages about varroa this year. In our own yards, the lack of nutrition and harsh conditions have set the stage for tougher than normal varroa hits, and I suspect many of you are seeing the same.  Though I can’t possibly answer all the questions here, today I want to provide you with some resources and tips for identifying and addressing varroa concerns.  

Varroa mites are an external pest found on adult honey bees and on drone and worker pupae.  All the varroa that are present outside of brood cells are female adult varroa, and they are oval-shaped reddish-brown mites that are 1.5 mm wide. To me they look like tiny little ticks (And similar to ticks, they spread diseases through their bites.)

Unfortunately, although varroa mites are visible to the human eye, it’s impossible to assess the number of varroa in a hive with a visual inspection only. There are signs that your hive is experiencing high mite counts, which exhibits itself in the form of a disease called Parasitic Mite Syndrome.  Some signs include.....(click to keep reading!)