On Thu, 7 Sep 2000 21:30:39 -0400, Bob Harrison
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

 The coumaphous worked great for me but i think we should
>alternate and also support BetterBee and Dr. Shiminuki for getting us
>another tool in the battle with varroa.
>Sincerely,
>Bob Harrison
>Odessa,Missouri

 I was going to reply to your three little beekeepers post as I have a
fourth beekeepers story.  I have always used apistan in fall and never
applied anything in the spring.  in fall of 1999 applied apistan and noticed
in feb/march inspections that I had noticable varroa in one apiary.
 applied apicure in the spring as soon as avaialabe and following the
directions for time etc.  I noticed one hive in june that was having a
problem and took corrective measures.  in July all hive appeared to be ok
accept varroa was more noticable than normal.  by the end of july the
apiary that had the hich varroa in feb was effectively non exhistent,
no honey, six of eight hives have what appears to be pms, I'm sending a
sample for analysis.
  I realise the label says it should be more effective in the fall but i'm
somewhat scepticle about it's effectivness at this point. I still had some
left and put it on selected hives and will evaluate after I pull it off
with a mite drop test.                    Mike Bassett Massachusetts