Varroa Mites and Small Hive Beetles?

[allisono]

Hi everyone,

I am a new beekeeper and did a powdered sugar drop/dusting on both of my two hives on Sunday.  Both my hives are pretty strong from what I can tell...  In doing the powdered sugar (I live in Florida by the way) I counted about 20 mites in each hive and 2-4 small hive beetles after leaving it on an hour as advised by one of the guys at Dadant (I'm wondering if I shouldn't have left it on longer after reading a few other posts).  What is a healthy population of Varroa mites and Small Hive Beetle suppose to be?  Is this 1-hour estimate an acceptable test or do I need to repeat and leave the stick board on longer?

Thanks,

Allison 

[AR Beekeeper]

Actually, you can count in 10 minutes and the drop will be almost the same as waiting 1 hour.  The numbers you drop will vary, there will be a few fall and if you dust a day or two later the amount will double or triple.  It depends on how many are hatching and comming out of the cells.  Dust on a schedule and look for a trend to develop.  When you start counting hundreds it is time to treat if you are sensitive to losses.

[allisono]

Thanks for the advice :) 

[kedgel]

Check out this site:  http://www.extension.org/pages/25099/university-of-florida-bee-disease-videos

Our own hometown bee guru Jamie Ellis has the inside scoop on the pests that are the bane of our existence.