A dipping station is provided for coating bee hive frame members with a coating of wax. The dipping station comprises a housing having a reservoir for receiving a supply of melted wax. The reservoir approximates the dimension of a frame member. The dipping station is provided with a heating element to melt the wax placed in the reservoir. Water is added to the reservoir to avoid overheating the wax. Individual frame members are dipped into the reservoir containing the melted wax whereby they are coated with melted wax as they are dipped into and removed from the reservoir.

A dipping station is provided for coating bee hive frame members with a coating of wax. The dipping station comprises a housing having a reservoir for receiving a supply of melted wax. The reservoir approximates the dimension of a frame member. The dipping station is provided with a heating element to melt the wax placed in the reservoir. Water is added to the reservoir to avoid overheating the wax. Individual frame members are dipped into the reservoir containing the melted wax whereby they are coated with melted wax as they are dipped into and removed from the reservoir.

The strip containing acaricide, is formed by a variety of compartments, placed in parallel and joined to each other, that serve to house an acaricide substance in semi-solid state, characterized in that the tube-shaped compartments, by their internal part will be: square, rectangular, cylindrical, hexagonal, or any geometrical shape and the inlet open at both ends, the inlet passage of less than 5 mm, within it, an acaricide substance is deposited, that acts by contact, the sizes of the containing strip, are ranging from 10 mm to 500 mm long, from 10 mm to 400 mm wide, from 1 mm to 5 mm high, the said limits included.

The invention relates to a device for examining the infestation of honey bee colonies with Varroa mites. The device contains a container with a bottom, side walls and a cover. Within the container there is a means which causes the Varroa mites to drop off the bees, but does not harm the bees, and a means for fixing the dropped Varroa mites to the bottom of the container. The invention furthermore relates to a method of examining the degree of infestation of honey bee colonies with Varroa mites using the device according to the invention, and to a method for examining the sensitivity of the Varroa mites of a bee colony to various acaricid-containing active compounds using the device according to the invention.

The invention relates to a device for examining the infestation of honey bee colonies with Varroa mites. The device contains a container with a bottom, side walls and a cover. Within the container there is a means which causes the Varroa mites to drop off the bees, but does not harm the bees, and a means for fixing the dropped Varroa mites to the bottom of the container. The invention furthermore relates to a method of examining the degree of infestation of honey bee colonies with Varroa mites using the device according to the invention, and to a method for examining the sensitivity of the Varroa mites of a bee colony to various acaricid-containing active compounds using the device according to the invention.

A miticidal beehive entranceway is provided having a solid substrate coated with a thymol-containing composition and having holes dimensioned to compel bees entering/exiting the beehive to walk through the holes and contact the thymol-containing composition, thereby exposing mites attached to the bee to a killing dose of thymol while not injuring the bee. In some embodiments, the entranceway may have agitating bristles (which may be coated with thymol) extending into the entranceway, which contact the body of the bee to agitate or dislodge the mites attached to the bee, further enhancing mite removal or death.

A miticidal beehive entranceway is provided having a solid substrate coated with a thymol-containing composition and having holes dimensioned to compel bees entering/exiting the beehive to walk through the holes and contact the thymol-containing composition, thereby exposing mites attached to the bee to a killing dose of thymol while not injuring the bee. In some embodiments, the entranceway may have agitating bristles (which may be coated with thymol) extending into the entranceway, which contact the body of the bee to agitate or dislodge the mites attached to the bee, further enhancing mite removal or death.

The present invention is based on a plurality of benefits from the extracts of mycelia of individual fungal species, and mixtures of species, to provide an armamentarium of defenses from multiple stressors in order to help bees survive a complex of symptoms collectively called colony collapse disorder (CCD). More particularly, the present invention utilizes specific concentrations of extracts from pure cultured mycelium from mushroom forming fungi to reduce harmful viruses in bees and to increase the longevity of bees.

The present invention is based on a plurality of benefits from the extracts of mycelia of individual fungal species, and mixtures of species, to provide an armamentarium of defenses from multiple stressors in order to help bees survive a complex of symptoms collectively called colony collapse disorder (CCD). More particularly, the present invention utilizes specific concentrations of extracts from pure cultured mycelium from mushroom forming fungi to reduce harmful viruses in bees and to increase the longevity of bees.

A small hive beetle trap configured to be located beneath a beehive is provided. The trap includes a frame formed from one or more frame members, including a front frame member; an opening for bees to enter and exit the hive via the trap; a small hive beetle entry including at least one channel configured to direct small hive beetle and their larvae that enter the small hive beetle entry away from the hive; a corrugated panel held by the frame and adapted to direct the beetles or the larvae that evade the small hive beetle entry into the troughs of the panel and into at least one opening located within each trough; and a removable tray located beneath the at least one channel and the corrugated panel for collecting and trapping the beetles and/or the larvae that pass through the at least one channel and the opening.