Varroa Mesh Floor

As the mites fall off their bee hosts they will fall through the mesh.

Varroa mesh floor.

All of my national hives had varroa floor inserts above solid wood floors but these restrict ventilation far more than an open mesh floor. All well and good. An open mesh floor could have a ventilation area of 18 by 18 totalling 324 square inches. They can only thrive in a honey bee colony and if unchecked can spell the end of a hive.

Some designs and uses these are a selection of designs of open mesh floors called screened bottom boards in the u s that have been generated by different individuals for ventilation or monitoring varroa mite fall. Varroa mites are an external parasitic mite that attacks honey bees these attacks cause a disease known as varroatosis. It attaches to the body of the bee and weakens the bee by sucking fat bodies. Inevitably the design of the floor also influences the entrance to the hive.

In practice it will be less about 250 square inches allowing for struts and battens. Varroa destructor varroa mite is an external parasitic mite that attacks and feeds on the honey bees apis cerana and apis mellifera the disease caused by the mites is called varroosis. Floors can be as simple as a sheet of ply with three lengths of softwood to raise the brood box up slightly. It is thought that up to 20 of hatching varroa may drop out of the hive this way.

The idea is that mites that accidentally fall from adult bees fall through the screen and become ant food. The list at the top left identifies some of the types by the name of the inventor or proponent of the design. 21 99 including vat at 20. Varroa floors can also be fitted with a removable slide below the mesh floor.

Primarily these are used to count the numbers of varroa mites but i find the other detritus more interesting. Tbh floor in spring. The white crumbs are wax the brown crumbs are found beneath brood areas some hives have slide out floors under a varroa mesh designed to permit examination of what is falling from the combs above. The main benefit to a mesh floor is that varroa falling from the frames above drop through the metal mesh and meet a chilly end in the grass below.

The varroa mite can reproduce only in a honey bee colony. The solution is simple a woven wire mesh flooring. Mesh floors are often said to control varroa. However open mesh floors are increasingly preferred providing good air circulation and easy varroa monitoring.

National hive varroa floor black epoxy steel 8 mesh 2 48mm aperture 0 7mm wire diameter 400mm x 500mm x 4 in stock.