>     As long as 7 years ago I proposed in my writings that higher varroa
> counts in drone cells "was due to logistics," in that feeding bees, the
ones
> carrying mites on them visit drone cells far more times than they do
worker
> cells.

We are lucky not have varroa mites but I have been studying them for years
in the event that they do arrive.  The above statement seems to suggest that
the mite will enter any point of the larval development i.e. say day 3.  I
have been lead to believe that the varroa mite entered the cell just before
it was capped.  The mite going down and burying itself in the brood food at
the bottom of the cell.

If the latter is the case, then it does not matter how many times the larvae
is feed, be it worker or drone.  The point of entry is at the last stage.
So the feeding just prior to capping is when the mites can go from the
feeder to the cell.

Another point is does the mite have to come from a feeder to enter the cell?
Cannot it enter under its own power as it is crawling around the comb?

Trevor Weatherhead
AUSTRALIA

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