Adam,
 
I keep bees in north central North Carolina, not so far from you.  I have
begun to treat my bees for Varroa in February and July and have had
excellent results.  One good thing about these treatments is they both
come at brood low points and seem to be more effective.  I think almost
all of the feral bees are gone here.
 
Bill Lord
 
 >
> I've been keeping a watch on the "on bee" varroa levels in the hives I
>work in SW Virginia--an area decimated by the poor conditions of last
>winter. The "on bee" level is a good way to estimate the varroa
>infestation. If I see more than 3-4 bees in a normal colony (expected # of
>bees per time of year) with mites attached. I count the colony as heavily
>infested.
>
>Colonies here were started from southern packages, or from strong, treated
>colonies that over-wintered well--and now, some are heavily infested.
>Where did the mites come from? I have no idea, but assume that infestations
>are going to follow the typical sigmoid growth curve pattern--build up,
>peak, and then population crash; only to repeat.
>
>There will probably be light varroa years, followed by heavy ones.Does this
>sound vague and hard to manage? Yep! Such is beekeeping now.
>
>Adam
>--
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>Adam Finkelstein
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--
WILLIAM G LORD
E-Mail  : wglord@franklin
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