>
> >As you say, maybe the mites would have all died off anyhow.


Glad to see you open to discussion Allen!  FWIW, I never said that *all*
the mites would have died off.  It's obvious that some mites survive the
winter in the far north (but there is also some broodrearing in the normal
winter cluster, so that may be a factor).

When I look at your "average" chart, I see a baseline mite drop level
typically between 10 and 20 mites per day, punctuated by spikes after you
treat.  But my point is, if your oxalic treatments were effective, I'd
expect to see the baseline drop permanently after each treatment, and to
near zero after four treatments!  That doesn't appear to be the case.

I'm not concluding whether the treatments worked or not.  I'm just saying
that your data does not support the hypothesis that they did.

>You mention a bunch of studies.  How about sending me a few?


Getting ready to run to the bee yards, will do later.  Any plot of natural
mite drop over time shows a decrease in winter.  See Fig 3 at
http://scientificbeekeeping.com/fighting-varroa-reconnaissance-mite-sampling/



-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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