Juanse, Cantwell's "standard method" boils down to this: dilute each bee or
bee gut contents with 1 ml of water.  Stir, and put a droplet into the
hemacytometer.  The "standardized spore count" is the mean number of spores
in the smallest squares of the reticule x 4 x 10^6 (4 million).  This will
give you the mean spore count per bee.

If you see, on the average, one spore per smallest square, then you would
have a spore count of 4 million per bee.

If you count the spores in 5 squares, then divide the total count by 5, and
then multiply by 4 million.  If you count 5 groups of 16 squares, then that
is 80 squares total, so you would then divide the total count by 80 x 4
million (this is the most common count).

I have just updated my page under Nosema, Protocol for rapid preparation.
There is much more detail there about my suggested methods, either for Joe
Beekeeper, or research scientists.

Randy Oliver

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