Hello All,
There are many different opinions on the subject.  The way I was taught was
by Marion Ellis of Nebraska in his talk "Living with varroa".  In his method
you do not need to pull supers right away and begin treatments with the
numbers you got but with those numbers you should treat this winter.  I have
had excellent luck using Marion's method.  Dr. Delaplane (Georgia) sees a
much higher number before he treats BUT Dr. Delaplane doesn't winter in
central New York.  Many varroa are in sealed cells now so if I wasn't going
to treat I would retest after brood rearing is done. I would say your mite
load is typical of Missouri mite loads this time of year in production hives
which were treated successfully last spring..
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Odessa, Missouri
Ps. I would treat.

> Can anybody tell me what the threshold is in central NY, for varroa =
> counts on screened bottom boards with stick board? I tested 5 hives out =
> of 10 and had low counts in 24hrs. One hive had 1mite, Two had 3 One had =
> 4 and One had 5. I need to decide if I need to treat or wait till =
> spring. Does each mite that drops represent 100 more or is it higher. =
> All hives are avg. or stronger in two deep with from one to 4 shallows. =
> By the way goldenrod flow slow, not seeing any asters yet, conditions =
> dry.   =20