The Collapse of a High Mite Hive

Do you simply look for mites on bees during frame inspections or gauge apparent health based on the number of bees? Watch this disturbing video that documents the downfall of an untreated hive at the end of summer.

Products featured in this video:
Varroa EasyCheck: https://www.betterbee.com/pest-manage...

*Message from Dr. Peck, Betterbee’s Director of Research and Education:*

"As a varroa scientist, it's frustrating to warn people in the spring about the dangers of ignoring their mites, only to have the same beekeepers come back in the fall wondering why their bees have died.

I set this hive up as a demonstration and a warning to beekeepers of the harm that unmanaged varroa mites can do. By simply providing this healthy, untreated colony with a few frames of drone comb and then ignoring their mites, they grew to a huge size, made plenty of honey… and then collapsed, died, and were robbed out in the fall. In a matter of weeks all of the bees died, the brood were left to rot, and some of the mites made their way into nearby hives. In that time, the only other colony in this apiary saw their mite numbers skyrocket. Betterbee even had to give free miticides to one of our employees with hives up the road, to apologize for the influx of mites his bees received from this collapsing colony.

In my research, I've watched mites do this over and over again. So when I warn you to keep your mites in check, and I send you the link to this video, please take my message to heart and plan to monitor and fight your mites. And if you ignore me and mites kill your bees, too, please shoot some footage and send it in, so we can edit it onto the end of this video to make the warning that much stronger."