Colony set-up and management/maintenance
Replace queens with high mite levels and or poor hygienic behavior
Good Beekeeping Practices
Duration: 7 min
Infographic, Video
© Stefano De Pascale
The tolerance to varroa infestation or to other diseases can be due to the honeybee queen. In case of inadequate level of tolerance, it could be useful to replace the queen.
To evaluate the hygienic performance of the queen (and the colony) the pin test is a good method. This technique consists of piercing with a pin pad a comb section of 50 capped cells and checking how many of them have been removed by the bees. The more dead cells are removed, the higher is the hygienic behaviour.