Bob writes:
Some of those beekeepers this year had their hives started from
packages last spring die in late fall due to a high infestation of varroa on
arrival due to failures of a few (not all) packages sellers varroa control
programs failing (reported at our bee assn. meeting by several ).
I would like to hear a little more about this. I had one yard of 24
new (2002) packages. No other colonies in the yard. By mid-summer the
mite count was still low, 0 to 2 mites in an ether roll of about 250
bees.
By fall they were full of mites. Of course, we treated. But I wonder
which is more likely: 1) they had many mites upon arrival, or 2) they
picked them up after they got here?
Other 2002 packages that were put in yards with over-wintered
colonies had many times more mites than those in the isolated yard,
and some crashed before they could be treated in September.
--
Peter Borst <[log in to unmask]>
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
BEE-L subscribers are reminded to read and follow the
guidelines for posting, which are available online at:
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::