> > >About how many hives per yard? > 24-30 > >So many yards,,, Is this a strategy > to spread them out to help with > the mite pressure? > No, is strategy to give them enough forage. > > Quote: > >> Each year, the mite level at selection time each spring, > after about four brood cycles, gets lower. > What I was trying to say that every year my bees appear to have a greater degree of mite resistance due to breeding, not that mite levels are dropping due change in the hive. > > >I expect that you count mites several times > per season for the potential breeders. > Tried that--took too much time. I just do one mite assessment for the breeders, in late March, after about 4 brood cycles in spring. > > >It seems, and please correct me if I think > wrong. But I would think that the early > spring count would be the most revealing, > -more reflective of the level of resistance > at the colony level rather than later in the > season counts which are highly influenced > by colony size, drifting, drone rearing etc. > Agreed, which is why I use that count. > > > I assess by comparison, and I need to see > how the colonies I have compare to what > is out there in the market. > I agree that that is a good idea! > > >I feel that my colonies should produce larger > brood patterns and stronger population than > they are currently. So comparison should > reveal what is good and what is lacking. > I'm considering Glenn queens. > Yes, the trade offs for mite resistance. That is why I am breeding only from the most productive colonies, but slower to get mite resistance. Tom Glenn does not sell production queens--only breeders, so wouldn't be a good test, since any daughters would need to mate with your drones. You need to purchase from someone who is selling production queens. -- Randy Oliver Grass Valley, CA www.ScientificBeekeeping.com *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm