Hello All,
I finnished reading the new book *Mites of the Honey Bee* edited by Thomas
C. Webster & Keith S. Delaplane.  I still recommend the book for all
beekeepers.  The book is easy to read.  At the end of each chapter is a list
of sources.  A couple chapters list almost a 100 sources.  You can go
directly to American Bee Journal articles and read the articles they are
quoting from. Chapter 1-9 deals with tracheal mites.  Chapter 10- 17 deals
with varroa. Chapter 18 deals with other mites around the world which infest
bees but not in America.  The book is a excellent starting book for those
beekeepers interested in mites.  All bee clubs should order the book right
away to support the authors of the book so other books might be written in
the future.  I believe all beekeepers should buy the book for reference.
If I had edited the book I would have expanded several areas.  I would have
included a chapter on bee viruses by Norman Carreck of the United kingdom.
Carreck is doing the research Bailey started.  Carreck has sent me graphs
and research on viruses as yet unpublished which may change the way we look
at mites.   All through the book I kept waiting for the book to talk about
varroa destructer.  In chapter 15 Marla Spivak hints at varroa destructor.
Finnally in chapter 18 the book talks about varroa destructor. Chapter 10-17
are written in the old varroa J. text which is the way the now outdated
Varroa handbook is.   It is amazing that we are learning things about varroa
so fast that a book published in 2001 could actually be behind research when
published.
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Odessa, Missouri

"What we don't know is so vast that saying what we do know is absurd"
Dr. Michael Mahoney