Opening a colonyPicking a frame to sampleInspecting a frame of honey bees for diseaseUpon shaking bees fall off the frameBees can be scooped for samplingScooped bees are added to sampling bottle and boxFrames are safely bumped against the pan to collect brood samplesBrood samples are important for screening against invasive mitesBrood samples are bottled separately from the adult bees
Varroa, Nosema, Tropilaelaps Lab Screening
Our “wrist action” shaker, shaking samples for VarroaVarroa shaken off the bees are countedHeather, our UMD lab manager, processing a Varroa sample and preparing Nosema subsampleNosema spores inside a bee do not shake off, so further preparation is requiredWe count Nosema spores under a microscope using a hemocytometerBrood bump samples ensure Tropilaelaps are not detected within the United States
National Honey Bee Disease Survey