Mite trap idea

[MikeCinWV]

So i had the house to myself overnight for the first time in over 20 years a few years ago and got to watch a ton of bee videos with out anyone complaining.  One was from the university of florida about varroa mites.  It said that the mites are triggered to go in the cells by a pheremone the bees emit to cue the capping of the cell.  They enter just before the cells are capped.

What if you took a frame, removed the foundation, replaced it with a sticky board.  Now cover that frame with #8 mesh so mites will have access to the sticky board but the bees would not.  Then spray a synthetic capping pheremone on the stcky board.  Place this frame in the brood area and it should attract and catch mites without harming bees or honey.  Just need someone to isolate and reproduce the capping pheremone.  Would be easy to use multiple times or even continuously.  Bees might try to "cap" the mesh or maybe not since the #8 is completely different in size and shape to a cell.?  Not sure, might have to clean hardware cloth with a torch periodically.  If they didn't gum up the hardware cloth maybe you could just use a stcky board under a screened bottom board?

[Dallasbeek]

Lots of moving parts to that idea, Mike.  KISS -- Keep It Simple Stupid -- is my motto.

[MikeCinWV]

I totally agree with the KISS principle, try to live my life by it.  I'm not being clear.  Only thing that would move is a slide in sticky board.  The rest is just a standard frame with #8 on both sides to keep the bees away from sticky.  Slide sticky board in top groove of frame if a frame had to be used at all.  Possibly could work with standard screen bottom board.  Really the idea is to use the mites nature against them by using a capping pheremone to lure them to a sticky board or wherever.

[paus]

Mike: you mentioned the screened bottom board.  This would be a great Idea with an oil pan, this would attract the mites rather than have to rely on mites to drop in the pan.  Now where can such a pheromone be obtained?

[Acebird]

There is a difference between pheromone trigger and bait.  The pheromone tells the mite that the bees are capping cells and there are no cells on the sticky board.  I don't think the mite will be fooled but you can try it.

[Michael Bush]

People have been working on pheromones for Varroa traps.  Here and other places.  Dr. Marion Ellis from UNL spent some time in France helping them with that idea back somewhere in the early 200s.  Nothing came of it that I know of.