>
> >we did several years of mite research - mite numbers on Monday don't mean
> much by Friday.


Here in Calif, we've done many years of mite research.  Thousands of mite
samples by both sticky boards and alcohol wash.  Tracking hives over many
months.  In our experience, mites follow biology, and intrinsic rates of
reproduction.

Stickyboard counts indeed vary wildly from day to day, which is why we
don't use.  Alcohol washes are far more consistent, and unlike you, we see
little change between Monday and Friday, unless there are collapsing
colonies in the vicinity.

We also observe our bees closely, often inspecting dozens of hives every
day to look for signs of virus epidemics in the brood.  In our experience,
they correlate strongly with the mite infestation rate, and at certain tip
points (otherwise called "thresholds").  And those tip points are largely
dependent upon colony protein levels.

In answer to Gary's question, not everyone would consider those on his list
to all be "successful" beekeepers.  The successful ones that I know all
have treatment thresholds, generally pretty damn low.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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