Hi Allen and Everyone,

My exposure to the sugar shake test were limited to the procedures
proscribed by it's authors. My own experience with using powdered sugar
involved treating whole hives of bees and watching the mite fall on a
mite trap. Some sampling was done until I was confident of the effects
and observations of individual bees were made.

I not sure what the effects of rolling bees around in a jar of sugar for
15 minutes would be. My own observations indicate that extrapolating
infestation rates from one small sample, regardless of the technique used
to liberate the mite from the bee, is not very accurate especially at
moderate to low levels of infestation. That's why I hit the whole hive
with powdered sugar. It's much more accurate.

Give it a test and let us know what happens.

Best Wishes
Dennis