Managing Varroa settings

In the settings, under the Varroa section, you’ll find three pages for adapting the basics of Varroa monitoring to your operation.

Managing Varroa measurement methods

Under Manage Varroa measurement methods, you define which methods you use to record Varroa counts (e.g. sticky board, powdered sugar sample, wash method, brood inspection). You can rename existing methods, create new ones, and set how each one is calculated.

Weighting measurements against colony infestation

Under Weighting measurements against colony infestation, you set, for each measurement method, how a recorded raw value is converted into a colony infestation percentage. For every method you build a chain of ranges (raw measurement value → colony infestation) — use Add range to add further steps, and Remove range to delete one. Methods that aren’t fully set up yet are marked with a warning icon on their tab. Don’t forget to apply your changes with Save.

Managing treatment methods

Under Manage treatment methods, you define the methods you use to treat colonies against the Varroa mite (e.g. formic acid, oxalic acid). For each method, you also set:

• Abbreviation – a short abbreviation (maximum 5 characters) shown in the assessment chart instead of a generic placeholder.
• Treatment duration – the typical length of a treatment in days. If this is set to a value greater than 0, treatment recording also asks for an end date in addition to the start date (see “Recording a varroa treatment”).
• Assessment-free days – the number of days (withdrawal period) after a treatment during which measurements aren’t included in the colony’s assessment.