> In areas with cold winters, on the other hand, if the mite kills a colony
> during cold weather when there is no robbing, that genetic line of mites
> will perish along with the colony.

Currently, in our very urban backyard, if you include mating nucs and cell builders, there are 16 or 17 colonies...certainly the equivalent of 10 nice building singles and then some.

I use honey to feed the cell builders (I just pour or spoon a few TBS on a top bar once or twice a day).  This time of year, I can leave a container of honey open on the top cover of a hive, and the bees simply don't touch it.  I don't know how long a mite can live after the colony dies, but it should be a few more weeks before any robbing is taking place (if what is going on in my overcrowded backyard is any indicator).  The colonies (made up from a mix of packages and our own overwintered bees) all have some capped honey (from deadouts)....some are quite small, some 2 boxes packed full of bees.

So, I don't think there is much (if any) robbing right now...however, this time of year I can imagine a collapsing colony spreading mites through drift...proficiently. 

deknow

             ***********************************************
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