A middle entrance for beehives

View the project final report

Commodities

• Animals: bees

Practices

• Animal Production: parasite control
• Education and Training: on-farm/ranch research
• Pest Management: integrated pest management, physical control

There are a number of low-impact methods for reducing mites in apiaries, but none is completely effective and some are labor intensive, hard on the brood, or can only be used in warm weather. The farmer will test a new idea of relocating the entrance to the hive so that it is above the brood and below the honey, which may tend to reduce the number of Varroa mites as compared to a conventional bottom-entry hive. With both, mites fall off the bees and land on the bottom board; perhaps if the entrance is placed higher, the mites cannot reattach to a different bee. Mite rates, hive weight, honey yield, and other indicators of health will be compared to controls, and outreach will be through a producers’ association and through a newsletter.