> None of us go by a Georgia researchers definition of varroa threshold. If
> we did all our hives would be dead. Hives sitting on location all year
> around usually maintain only around four frames of brood. A level which
> keeps varroa load at a minimum. Dropping hives into one pollination after
> another increases varroa load and bees have little time for grooming or
> performing hygienic behavior.  Hives in researchers back yards have time on
> their hands to do a better job of controlling varroa.


There is another reason and that is what virus' are present. Which is why
you can have a high Varroa load in some places and survival, but a low load
in other and collapse. Once the virus get going, they take over and Varroa
is an afterthought.Bees will spread it among themselves.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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