Hi! I am a newbee and just found these guys on my bottom board. Are they pollen mites? If so, do I treat in any particular way?
Yes, pollen mites. Well done! No treatment needed. You can’t prevent them, and they don’t each much. They don’t hurt the bees either
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I remember posting something similar last year. 
Oh my goodness, thank you so much. I really don’t want my colony to fail so I’ve been so stressed every time something comes up or I do something new like add another box. I appreciate the advice so much. 
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Wow, thanks for the lesson and photo. I’ve never come across pollen mites. I wonder if we have them in Aus.
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I made some elder flower cordial last season. You don’t wash the flowers but soak them in water and then strain. Absolutely covered in pollen mites.
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Nice publication! Not much on the mites, but they are the ones listed as Mellitiphis alvearius.
Here is a slightly more detailed summary - only one page, but good information:
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D’oh! What is on the photo then?
I think that the photo of 4 insects/mites in @ABB’s article is not the best for showing the real shape of the creatures. I am guessing that they are long dead specimens, and the way the legs tuck under them doesn’t help when you are comparing with the live mites in @Weirdscience360’s excellent live specimen photo. I stick with pollen mites, and nothing to worry about 
Do you think that they may be Tropilaelaps mites, @ABB?
My response to Bianca was rather about the presence of pollen mites in Australia.
But if we agree that the pollen mite is Mellitiphis alvearius (maybe there are other variants called “pollen mites” in different locations?), then look at the shape of the shields and length of legs in relation to them from the page you have posted:
and now this:
Definitely not Mellitiphis alvearius.
As for tropilaelaps, I think the front must be a bit more roundish than what @Weirdscience360 posted. Plus stance is not really “that”. I don’t think it is tropilaelaps. But it is mite for sure!
Here is a video of a living specimen.
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OK, now I understand what you were saying better, @ABB, thank you. The photo at the top of this thread is absolutely typical of pollen mites that I have seen in the US (where @Weirdscience360 is located) and the UK. However, many arthropods look similar and are challenging to identify when dead, or sometimes even in still photos.
My understanding is that Tropilaelaps is not yet in the US - mainly southeast asia and some in Australia. So I think that the OP is OK to watch and wait, and keep taking lovely photos.
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Sorry about confusing you 
All I needed to ask was the Latine name of the creature.
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