Free Access
Issue |
Apidologie
Volume 31, Number 6, November/December 2000
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|
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Page(s) | 707 - 716 | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/apido:2000155 |
DOI: 10.1051/apido:2000155
Apidologie 31 (2000) 707-716
A simplified technique for counting Varroa jacobsoni Oud. on sticky boards
Nancy Ostiguy - Diana Sammataro
Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
(
Abstract:
The most common method used to assess the level of mite infestation in a bee colony is to count all the
mites that fall onto sticky boards placed on the bottom of a colony. Unfortunately, this is a laborious
and boring task. Therefore, a stratified sampling technique was devised to accurately estimate the number
of mites on sticky boards. The technique, when compared to a census count of all mites, resulted in a
coefficient of determination of 0.97 or greater. The stratified sampling protocol in which we randomly
selected 33% of the cells on a sticky board and did not choose new random numbers for each sticky board
resulted in an accurate estimate of the number of Varroa jacobsoni. This technique gave a mean
percent error of
for any one estimate of a sticky board.

Keywords:
stratified sampling / Varroa jacobsoni / mite / sticky board
Correspondence and reprints: Nancy Ostiguy
nxo3@psu.edu
Copyright INRA/DIB/AGIB/EDP Sciences