>>you need extra bees to get a cluster through the winter. death is part of the cycle of life in keeping bees upnorth...

Is anyone checking for or trying to control tracheal mites?  I think I have tracheal mites which ground a good number of bees in March.  The barely flying weather can bring a 50% drop in population (it seems the bees are [barely?] alive as long as they stay in the hive).  It seems to me the perishing bees take a lot of t. mites with them.  The colonies build up nice otherwise and go through the season with good results.

This sort of steep 'spring dwidling/cleansing' cleansing is ok.  4-5 frames of bees at the end of March will get the hive ready for the flow on May 1st.

I have heard that bees have more resistance of tracheal mites.  Through the selection from the strongest colonies, I hope to get more and more resistant bees to tracheal as well as varroa mites.

Waldemar

PS.  I am working with a friend of mine who has access to a microscope to verify the presence of t. mites.

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