Sugar Shake Test (3-in-1) Varroa Tester

Test I - check for infestation

1. Collect around 300 bees. Fill container A up to the second level with them.

2. Close container A with cover B

3. Put a teaspoon of powdered sugar into container C.

4. Screw the container C to the bottom of the container A and shake it for 1-2 minutes, so that the powdered sugar sprinkles the bees thoroughly.

5. Make sure that most of the powdered sugar has fallen to the bottom of container C, then unscrew only the container C.

6. Pour water into it to dissolve the sugar. Count the mites that float in the water.

7. Up to 3 mites - small infestation, 3-10 - medium. Above 10 - large.

8. release the bees.

Test II - on the level of mite resistance to drugs

1. Fill container A with about 150 bees collected from brood frames (from the same hive as test 1) - let them reach level 1 of the container.

2. Close the container with the lid B. Wear gloves! Attach the drug strip to container A by threading it through the lower slot of the H-shaped holder. The end of the strip is to stop on the bar.

3. Place the tester in a dark place at room temperature. The drug strip is supposed to be on top! Wait six hours.

4. Remove the strip. Shake the container several times over a piece of white paper.

5. If the number of dead mites is greater than the% of Test 1, there is no resistance to the drug.

Test III - on hygienic behaviour of bees

1. Remove the patch with sealed 10-15 day-old brood.

2. Use the spikes on the container A or C to destroy a fragment of the brood patch by pushing the spikes into it along its entire length 2-3 times

3. Put the plaster in the hive. If more than 70% of the cells have been cleansed after 6 hours, more than 90% after eight hours, and 100% after a day, the family has a good hygienic instinct.