Peter Borst writes: I am sorry you are having a hard time from the way you are writing here now Peter, but fortunately many archives written on the subject matter of enlarging honeybees survive, from Bee World, to Gleanings in Bee Culture, and the American Bee Journal, to name a few. Some are posted at beesource.com from history under POV Lusby should you want to go and read, though I would think you have access to them already at colleges near you. As for your saying: "This simply doesn't happen in southern states because the population has a much more gradual rise and fall and the varroa don't overwhelm them.",..... unfortunately this too is not true, for it is written that for example "In countries without a true winter period, and wehre pollination of early-flowering fruit stimulates early brood rearing, varroa regenerates relentlessly." or "The build-up of mite population can be slow in difficult climates...or those with long winters and late spring, but it is very rapid in those parts where bees thrive best throughout the year." Now these statements above here quoted from print, I typed from The Varroa Handbook, and sound similar maybe to early Almond pollenation, or S. Calif/Yuma, or Texas, or Gulf Port States, or Florida that have varroa problems. Respectfully submitted, Dee A. Lusby Small Cell Commercial Beekeeper Moyza, Arizona http://groups.yahoo.com/group/organicbeekeepers/ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---