Bob Harrison wrote:

> The dark bees seem to tolerate tracheal mites better than the Italians.
> Tracheal mites are a non issue with the Russians I have tested.

Thank you for the post, Bob.

Tolerate is the operative word. Often even tolerant bees will not get
through the winter as well as they should since they have tracheal
mites. But they will pick up in the spring and most beekeepers will not
even know there was a problem other than it was a "weak" hive.

My only reason for the post was a reminder that they are still around,
but most beekeepers have forgotten them and treat exclusively for
Varroa. If the hive dies, it is always Varroa. But maybe not.

The hive that was so infested was not a singularity. Tony is seeing the
mite more this year than others.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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