Tropilaelaps monitoring.

Tropilaelaps are red brown in colour and measure approximately 1mm long by 0.5 mm wide. They have eight legs, but their front pair can often be mistaken for antennae.

They are fast moving and will characteristically run around the rim of open brood cells.

Frame with patchy brood pattern and cannibalised larvae and pupae.

The symptoms of a Tropilaelaps infestation are very similar to that of Varroa. If you see any of the following you should investigate further to determine the cause.

Patchy “pepper pot” brood pattern with perforated brood cappings.
Dead chewed down and cannibalised brood.
A general weakening of a colony.
Adult bees with stunted abdomens and deformed wings.

Tropilaelaps detection using brood uncapping.

Brood uncapping

Tropilaelaps reproduce in honey bee brood in much the same way that Varroa do. However, Tropilaelaps have a shorter phoretic phase and spend less time outside of the sealed brood on combs or adult bees, making it less likely for a beekeeper to spot an infestation. Tropilaelaps is not currently in the UK, however it is important that beekeepers proactively monitor for Tropilaelaps, even if they don’t suspect an infestation, as early detection and action will be crucial to irradicating an incursion of this deadly parasitic pest. Checking the sealed brood for mites is the most reliable way to detect Tropilaelaps.

Brood can be uncapped using tweezers to individually examine cells or wax hair removal strips can be used to uncap larger sections of brood in one go. Uncapping using tweezers can be time consuming and does kill a small section of brood. Wax hair removal strips have the benefit of being faster to use and not killing brood.

Details of how to carry out both techniques are in the video and leaflet.

Icing sugar roll

Tropilaelaps have a short phoretic phase, where they spend only 1 or 2 days on the combs and adult bees before returning to the sealed brood to reproduce. Using an icing sugar roll of bees to monitor for Tropilaelaps is less effective than brood uncapping but still offers a quick, easy and non-destructive way of monitoring your colonies for Tropilaelaps.

You will however need some extra equipment to carry out this technique

A 500ml container with a mesh lid or a commercially available mite checker.
Some icing sugar, approximately 50g per hive you want to monitor.
A half cup measuring scoop.
A hive roof or large bowl like a washing up bowl.
A sealable plastic bag or container to collect the icing sugar.
A fine white muslin cloth or coffee filter.
A sieve.

Details of how to carry out this technique are in the video and leaflet.

Tropilaelaps detection using an icing sugar roll.