Home▸Entomology & Insect Behaviour▸Identifying and Preventing Honey Bee Viruses in UK Colonies

🦠 Identifying and Preventing Honey Bee Viruses in UK Colonies

A 3D honeybee colony where you control Varroa mite load, hygienic behaviour and miticide treatment and watch deformed wing virus spread or retreat through the brood comb and flying workforce.

Entomology & Insect Behaviour3DModerate60 FPS

A 3D honeybee colony where Varroa mite load, hygienic behaviour and miticide treatment drive how far deformed wing virus spreads through the brood comb and flying workforce.

🔬 What It Demonstrates

Varroa destructor mites parasitise capped brood and inject deformed wing virus directly into developing pupae. Higher mite loads push viral prevalence up; strong hygienic behaviour and active miticide treatment push it back down.

🎮 How to Use

Raise the Varroa mite load slider and watch red mite dots and infected brood cells spread across the comb, with shrivelled-winged bees appearing in the flying workforce. Toggle treatment or raise hygienic behaviour to bring the colony back to health.

💡 Did You Know?

UK apiary guidance treats Varroa control, not antiviral treatment, as the single biggest lever for preventing deformed wing virus — because the mite is the main route the virus uses to reach healthy brood.

⚙ Under the hood

An interactive 3D honeybee colony where you control Varroa mite load, hygienic behaviour and miticide treatment, and watch deformed wing virus prevalence spread across an instanced brood comb and flying bee swarm in real time.

deformed-wing-virushoney-bee-virusesvarroacolony-healthbiosecuritydisease-prevention

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install