Regarding PB's comment about 1st year, and August-treated, packages  not making it their first Christmas: My current practice when I hear of packages being installed, particularly for new beekeepers close to my yard is to offer to  give them a one-shot of OAV before they can cap any brood.  I did three colonies,  this past spring, both from the same high-quality local supplier who has them brought up from GA.  Two dropped hardly any mites- (less than 8 by the fourth day) but one dropped more than 75.  Same source,  same local vendor, same treatment protocol and check by an experienced mite-counter (me), but a radically different number of mites.  That 75+ mite hive would have been in serious trouble by August. Killing  and making the mites visible  on a sticky board is also a good way to focus the minds of new beekeepers on the reality of the mite-challenge ahead. 

My bees are all descendants of swarms that have voluntarily fetched up here; I have only ever installed one package needed for a photo project here at my own yard. But all swarms,  even from my own hives, (and the package, too) are installed on foundation which gives me about 10 days before I need to hit them with OAV.  This gives them time to settle down.  I've never lost a queen or had them abscond after treatment.  I use the standard 1 g/box dosage.  In this instance, I don't bother to sugar roll/alcohol wash them beforehand, just treat them. I happen to use double bottom boards  (screen + solid below) so I check what the mite drop was after treatment.  And I keep a very  close eye on any newly arrived colony that drops a lot from the first OAV challenge. Early season (May-June)  swarms from my own hives typically have only minimal mites (< 5) because they are emerging from heavily-OAVed hives from the previous December's efforts.

The only downside to making a universal recommendation to do this with all packages is that the needed OAV equipment is pretty expensive (@$200, what with the wand, mask, battery, etc.) for a brand new beekeeper to spring for. Plus the mind-concentrating effect of dead mites on a sticky board is lost if they happen to be using solid BB.  But still, if you have OAV equipment,  and hear of packages being installed near you, it is in your best interest to hammer any new-to-the-neighborhood mites before they drift on over to your own colonies. 

Of course package vendors could also help this out by spraying packages through the mesh with OA solution. Which was one of the original, approved, uses of OA as I recall.  I'm not a big fan of OA solution, but that's what I would do in a pinch.

Nancy

             ***********************************************
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