>Maybe not if you are writing a research paper but I have worked along some
of the largest beekeepers in the U.S. looking through hives and all carried
a cappings scratcher in their trucks. Drone brood is what we look at first.

The accurate determination of mite infestation level is a problem that has
bedeviled researchers and beekeepers ever since we got varroa.

I used to assume that drone brood was an accurate indicator, since it made
perfect sense.  Alas, as with many other aspects of beekeeping, just because
something makes perfect sense, doesn't mean that it is true.

Also not necessarily true simply due to the fact that the big boys do it.
Some of the big boys have been surprised by varroa in big ways.

Everyone wants a simple, fast, cheap way to quickly determine mite levels in
a yard.  As you say, no one size fits all.  And no simple method is perfect.

Dr Spivak will soon be publishing the simplest accurate, method that her
student has found.  It is based upon a sample of 245 adult bees from the
brood nest.

Randy Oliver

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