A simple smartphone could soon become an essential ally for beekeepers in their battle to control the varroa mite. A mobile application for identifying and counting these tiny parasites in the hive – developed in Switzerland – has just been released for beekeepers.
New technologies are supporting beekeepers in their fight against the varroa parasite. Apizoom Sàrl, a Swiss start-up, supported by EPFL and assisted by Agroscope’s Centre for Bee Research in Bern and Identitas AG, has developed a mobile application for automatically counting varroa mites on the varroa tray of a beehive. The application, winner of the canton of Fribourg’s 2020 Agricultural Innovation Award, could become a valuable beekeeping tool, eventually replacing the tedious process of making a visual count of dead varroa mites.
More information on this new app for beekeepers can be accessed here, including information on how to download this new tool in the fight against varroa mite.