No single inspection number tells the whole story of colony health. A low mite count can hide a colony that is drifting-in reinfestations from weak neighbours; strong hygienic behaviour can offset a moderate mite load. This lab combines four real early-warning indicators into one weighted composite risk score, the same logic used in quantitative apiary risk models.
Research apiaries have found that combining just two or three weighted indicators — rather than relying on mite counts alone — meaningfully improves early detection of colonies heading toward collapse, often weeks before visual symptoms appear.
Four real early-warning indicators — mite load, hygienic behaviour, drift exposure and brood-break status — combine into one weighted composite risk score, driving a live dial and a hive of bees that visibly calm or grow agitated as risk changes.
Each indicator is normalised and weighted (mite load 35%, hygienic deficit 30%, drift exposure 15%, brood-break lapse 20%) into a single 0–100 composite score, shown as four bar-chart pillars and a needle gauge, exactly as combined risk models are built in practice.
Move the four sliders to change mite counts, hygienic removal rate, drift exposure and time since the last brood break. Watch the pillars, the gauge needle, the risk badge and the bee swarm's colour and agitation respond in real time.
A colony with a moderate mite count but excellent hygienic behaviour can carry less real risk than one with a lower mite count but poor hygiene and heavy drift — which is exactly why composite scores outperform single-metric thresholds.