Varroa mite monitoring 2019 with the OAHN Bee network

The 2019 Varroa Monitoring Strategy – Monitor your Varroa Mites:

The goal of the Varroa Mite Awareness Campaign 2019 is to increase knowledge of Varroa mite testing and treatment in Ontario, and to gain information from all parts of the beekeeping sector (hobbyist and commercial) about Varroa levels.  The OAHN bee network’s goal is to provide high quality information that beekeepers can use to make the best possible treatment decisions in the fall of 2019 based on real data.  Here’s the scoop:

Between September – October, all beekeepers in Ontario are asked to check their Varroa levels in their hives.  After recording your Varroa levels, visit THIS PAGE, and log your results and county to win some great prize packs from beekeeping sponsors! The results will be mapped without any identifiers (no names, addresses etc), and only down to township/county level, and posted on this page.  All levels of beekeepers, all sizes of operations are encouraged to contribute; the more Varroa counts we have, the better armed we can be to make good treatment decisions this fall!  The logging system is quick and easy to use, and is customized to commercial vs. smaller operations.  Logging your levels can be done from anywhere you have cell reception. We are leaving a wider window this year for the data entry, so that you can also enter your Varroa counts before treatments, and then after treatments to monitor for treatment success.

Here’s a presentation by Paul Kozak and Nuria Morfin of the OAHN network, covering the goals and important points for Varroa monitoring this year: https://www.oahn.ca/resources/introduction-to-varroa-monitoring-2019/

and at this link you’ll find everything else you’ll need to know about Varroa monitoring techniques, survey links and prize listing for sharing your Varroa counts, and more:

https://www.oahn.ca/resources/varroa-monitoring/