Spring is coming and I'll be examining these hives in greater detail shortly, but at present,
I'd really appreciate comments and I am still looking for good info on what happens with
untreated varroa  populations over winter in regions with hard winters.  

I have been tracking colonies which were all treated before I realised that this might be 
an interesting opportunity to observe what happens, so now I wonder if anyone has 
tracked mite drops in hives which were untreated. 

Randy made some interesting observations and comments on the topic, and seems to have 
some data that implies the work is out there somewhere, but what I have been able to find 
is derived from observations which are not revealed, and are too vague to be of use to me.

Any assistance would be appreciated.
---

For those who were following this thread, which gets broken every time a new month 
comes along, here is an update.

We are now approaching Day 160 of observing and recording varroa drop counts on six hives 
which have received five oxalic acid treatments in fall  The first treatments were in early October.

All treatments were with oxalic acid fumigation except the last which was OA on four of 
the six and Apivar on the remaining two. Two different devices for evaporation were 
used at different times and compared.

Currently drops are approaching zero for all hives.

The results to date are summarized in a table and charts at
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/files/drop.htm

The details of the observations, explanations and speculation of possible 
interpretations are in the dairy beginning at
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/2011/diary101011.htm

The MS Excel data record file is also available on these pages.

Comments and queries, and especially criticisms are welcomed either here on BEE-L 
or on the honeybeeworld.com forum. http://www.honeybeeworld.com/forum/

Allen Dick, RR#1 Swalwell, Alberta, Canada T0M 1Y0
51° 33'39.64"N 113°18'52.45"W
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/ 

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