I'm not down on sticky board counts--I'm just suggesting that for
> making good management decisions, they take some  serious expertise, and a
> lot of time and visits to the hives.

I really enjoy the attention Allen has posted on BEE-L and his website on
his results and conclusion on his website.

The point I take away is the point most commercial beekeepers eventually
come around to.

All testing for varroa sticky board or rolls leave quite a bit of a margin
of error.

Hobby beekeepers have plenty of time on their hands and can test each hive.
Hobby beekeepers have pushed researchers from the start to give *exact*
numbers on when to treat. As Randy points out interpreting drops or rolls
can be hard to interpret with a large margin of error.

>> >On the other hand, levels of mites may mean different things than they
>> did back then. Mortality may occur at lower levels than before or higher
>> levels, even, depending on viral load on the one hand and mite tolerance
>> on
>> the other.

The only good varroa is a dead varroa. Let varroa loads remain and virus
issues arrive.
Basically varroa testing and interpretation ( as presented by researchers )
is full of problems.
( personal experience)

> I'm in complete agreement Pete.  The bee/mite/virus relationship is
> different now than it was years ago when most of the sticky board research
> was published.  This is likely one reason why most bee researchers have
> shifted to mite washes.

Mite washes are full of problems also.

I would like to see Allen attempt to take and interpret mite washes on his
web site next year.

testing 300 bees in fall when hive population is highest is a guess. However 
drops and rolls are all researchers have came up with.

> Also in complete agreement!  I use Apiguard at half dose, and am
> experimenting with MAQS at half dose (1 strip per hive).  Am actually mid
> trial right now.  I do so to minimize the stress upon the colony due to
> treatment, and to avoid queen loss issues.  But this requires treating
> prior to mite infestation rate reaching high levels.

I do not see the purpose myself. Sounds like a big waste of time.
opinions are allowed on BEE-L are they not?

Has been raining all day. Not a drought buster but a step in the right
direction. Sorry for the gulf coast but the rain is badly needed here.

bob

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm