> In the meantime, we are faced with the question of how to calculate
> efficacy for treatments.

My favored method is to take 300-bee broodnest samples for alcohol
wash from all hives, then rank them by mite number, then assign
treatments alternately down the ranked list (independent upon
placement of hives in the yard).

Or sometimes I used randomized block design, with each block of hives
receiving all tested treatments randomized in the block.

Then I like to normalize all mite infestation rates to 100% (or 1), so
that controls and treated hives all start at the same place.  Then it
is very easy to visualize the practical effect of the treatment by
taking mite washes for months after the treatment.  The control plot
will generally go up.  The plot for a good treatment will go down for
some period of time, and then eventually start climbing again.  the
end result is very clear.  You will see an example of this in an
article that I recently sent to ABJ.

Randy Oliver

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